The La Mercè procession, held on the eve of the annual festival, serves as a showcase for Barcelona’s popular culture. Almost all of the city’s giants participate and take the lead. They are accompanied by beasts, capgrossos (children wearing “big heads”), entertainment groups, music bands and festive elements related to this year’s theme. There will also be specially adapted giants that will be carried by people with disabilities.

This year, on the afternoon of 24 September the procession will be paying tribute to transport, commemorating the 100th anniversary of the city’s buses. With this in mind, the procession is being organised with the title “Barcelona on the move” in collaboration with the public transport company TMB, and is to feature a number of historical vehicles. The city’s festival groups will be spread around five fictitious bus lines: one along the seafront, another through the hillside neighbourhoods and three that vertically traverse Barcelona. All this will be rounded off by Guàrdia Urbana (city police) officers on horseback, various vehicles and the Barcelona ‘Seguici Popular’ (People’s Procession).

As if that weren’t enough, the Albesa aviator giants will take us on a trip to Rome, this year’s guest city. That way we’ll discover giants and capgrossos that look as if they’ve just stepped out of ancient Bàrcino, but are actually from Plaça Nova, Caldes de Malavella, Tarragona (Escipions) and Borges Blanques (Estimem els gegants). The spectacular parade will be rounded off with a very unusual bus and the Pare Manyanet Band.

The event will begin at 6 pm at the junction of C. Pelai and C. Gravina, and will end at around 8 pm at Plaça Sant Jaume with all the participants making their way into City Hall, and the dances of the Capgrossos Macers, de l’Àliga and the city’s own giants.