Gràcia’s festa major, or big annual festival, is upon us, and local residents have been working flat out for weeks to get all the street decorations ready. This year, visits to the streets are adapted to Covid-19 regulations with pedestrian traffic being one way only, and always ensuring social distancing. In general, there will only be overhead decorations in the streets, so that people can circulate more freely. There will be no competition this year.

A total of twenty-one spaces will be decorated, including streets, squares and passages. Although the theme chosen by each street is always a closely guarded secret, not revealed until everything is in place, details found in some street programmes offer clues about the chosen theme. However, some streets prefer to keep things quiet until the last moment.

Here are the themes chosen by the streets:

• Carrer de Berga: ‘Dolça cirera’ [Sweet cherry]
• Carrer de Ciudad Real: ‘Lletres i paraules’ [Lyrics and words]
• Carrer de la Fraternitat de Baix: ‘Després de la tempesta ve la calma’ [The calm after the storm]
• Carrer de la Fraternitat de Dalt ‘Ecofraternal’
• Carrer de Jesús: ‘Temps de Gràcia’ [time of grace]
• Carrer de Joan Blanques de Baix: ‘Joan Blanques de Glaç’ [Joan Blanques in Ice]
• Carrer de Joan Blanques de Baix de Tot: ‘Mirant amunt’ [Looking upwards]
• Carrer de la Llibertat: ‘1871: Llibertat enramada’ [Llibertat arbour]
• Carrer de Lluís Vives: ‘The garden of Lluís Vives’
• Carrer de Mozart: ‘The street, the festival’
• Carrer del Perill: ‘The Perill Universe’
• Plaça de la Vila de Gràcia: ‘EmulART’
• Plaça del Nord: ‘Vitrall del Nord’ [Stained glass from the North]
• Plaça de Rovira i Trias: ‘Rovirafest’
• Placeta de Sant Miquel and surrounding area: ‘Flags of imaginary islands’
• Carrer del Progrés: ‘A sky of popular tradition’
• Carrer de Providència: ‘Jardiprovi’ [Provigarden]
• Carrer de Puigmartí: ‘Festa’
• Carrer de Tordera: ‘Space Tordera’
• Travessia de Sant Antoni: ‘Travessia estrampada’ [free-verse street]
• Carrer de Verdi del Mig: ‘Les flors de Verdi’ [The flowers of Verdi]