Only three out of every ten concerts scheduled for this year’s La Mercè festivities will be performed in Catalan. According to figures provided by Platform for the Language, out of 108 shows on the programme, just 29 (26.8%) will be entirely in Catalan, while seven more (6.5%) will include at least one song in the language. The organisation has condemned the situation, warning that Barcelona’s own language continues to be marginalised in the official celebrations with the complicity of the City Council.
Despite its criticism, the group acknowledged a slight improvement compared with last year. The BAM festival has risen from 18% of performances in Catalan in 2024 to 33% in 2025, with twelve concerts fully in Catalan and three partially so. Cultura Viva will host twelve performances, of which three will be in Catalan and one partially. At Música Mercè, of 51 concerts planned, only 14 will be in Catalan and three partly so.
The group described this as a modest step forward but emphasised that the percentage remains ‘a long way off’ what they believe is necessary. In 2024, BAM included just nine concerts in Catalan out of fifty, while the Mercè’s closing pyromusical offered only 6.7% of its music in the language. By contrast, English accounted for 53.3% of the playlist and Arabic for 13.3%.
The debate over Catalan’s place at the Mercè festival comes against a backdrop of growing concern for the health of the language in Barcelona.
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