A citizen festival will inaugurate La Rambla on the weekend of February 13 and 14, 2027

With the final stretch of the transformation works on La Rambla underway, which are expected to be completed during the first quarter of 2027, preparations for its inauguration are already in progress. On the weekend of February 13 and 14, 2027, a citywide celebration will mark the culmination of a process aimed at restoring the emblematic avenue to its historic status as a central space in the lives of Barcelona's citizens. Under the artistic direction of visual creator Lluís Danés and inspired by the theme "Rambles amunt, rambles avall" ("Rambles up, rambles down"), the celebration is envisioned as a major artistic and participatory event, reclaiming La Rambla's role as both a symbol and a stage, a place for gathering and coexistence that is once again the realm of the people.

The public space and the people who inhabit it will be the main protagonists of the event, which will feature an ambitious blend of artistic disciplines, including circus, music, dance, and poetry. It will be a space to evoke the major milestones and personalities from all walks of life who have left their mark here, as well as the emotions tied to personal and family memories. This participatory celebration also aims to showcase and highlight the work of the social and cultural agents around the promenade, who are invited to be involved in conceptualizing and bringing to life the activities throughout this great festive weekend. In the two-day festival program, Amics de La Rambla and other organizations from the Raval, the Gothic Quarter, Ciutat Vella, and the rest of Barcelona will participate, working together with artists and collectives to make the avenue a truly shared space, moving beyond a merely contemplative celebration.

The artistic and civic proposal being developed under the direction of Lluís Danés is loaded with symbolism. It is both a tribute to the past and a vision of what La Rambla should become from now on, once its profound and long-awaited transformation is complete. It's a love declaration to La Rambla and a statement of principles-a new beginning and an invitation for citizens to reclaim it, made up of memory, humor, emotion, popular culture, and community.

To give it shape, Danés has imagined it as a major collective experience that also evokes the spirit of all the people who have made it their own over time. His proposal is based on dividing the promenade into its five sections: Canaletes, Estudis, Flors, Caputxins, and Santa Mònica. In each section, with the baroque, colorful, and delicate style characteristic of Danés' creations, he winks at the imprint and energy invested over the years. The chairs, for rent or free use, which have affirmed Canaletes as an audience area on the grand stage of the world; the flowers and the florists, inseparable elements from the essence of the promenade; the birds that once lived there in cages and are now remembered as a claim for freedom; the characters and corners that have become popular and projected from La Rambla to the world… During the two inauguration days, the promenade will become a stage of stages, inviting the public to wander from side to side and enjoy this great artistic installation dedicated to La Rambla's history.

The Artistic Director

Lluís Danés is one of the most singular and recognizable visual creators on the Catalan contemporary stage and audiovisual scene. Set designer, artistic director, filmmaker, and creator of visual worlds, he has developed a unique language of immense poetic and cinematic strength, making him a reference figure in scenography, large events, and visual direction.

Trained as a sculptor in Barcelona and with a deeply self-taught career, Danés has built a creative universe where visual theater, cinema, music, light, and emotional architecture coexist. His work is notable for its ability to transform spaces into immersive experiences with high visual and emotional impact.

Throughout his career, he has signed as artistic director and set designer for some of the most relevant cultural events in recent years: the Goya Awards Gala, the Gaudí Awards, the official celebrations of the National Day of Catalonia, La Mercè's Pyromusical, major televised ceremonies, and shows for the Gran Teatre del Liceu.

In the field of cinema, he directed the multi-award-winning film La vampira de Barcelona, winner of five Gaudí Awards-including Best Film and Best Art Direction-and the Audience Award at the Sitges Festival, consolidating him as one of the most distinctive visual storytellers in contemporary Catalan cinema.

He has worked with international artists and creators such as Peter Gabriel, Bono, The Edge, Michael Stipe, Cat Power, and Vanessa Redgrave on projects linked to Amnesty International and major international musical productions. He has also collaborated with outstanding figures from the Catalan music and performing arts scene like Lluís Llach, Sopa de Cabra, Txarango, Roger Mas, and Gemma Humet.

Among his most notable works in the performing arts are La torre dels somnis, Els colors de la Terra, Geronimo Stilton the musical, and Llits-productions that have helped define a spectacular, deeply emotional, and recognizable visual aesthetic.

His work, marked by an artisanal yet radically contemporary approach, places image at the center of the narrative. With a cross-disciplinary career spanning cinema, theater, television, concerts, and major ceremonies, Lluís Danés has established himself as one of the country's leading visual creators and an essential voice in contemporary stage design.

The completion of the works and the starting point of the new Rambla

The inauguration of the new Rambla will mark the culmination of more than four years of urban redevelopment, which began in October 2022 on the section between Colom and Santa Madrona and is now in its final stretch, renewing the central section up to Plaça de Catalunya. The goal is to complete the works in the first quarter of 2027, after more than 50 months and with an investment of over 55 million euros.

The redevelopment has been accompanied by efforts to involve citizens and organizations and by strengthening coordination and communication. Among other measures, the Rambla Coordination Office has been created, and the Rambla Space-a center for information and communication aimed at citizens, organizations, shopkeepers, and cultural and economic agents of the promenade-has been opened.

Within this context, the Ciutat Vella District has also recently approved the new Ciutat Vella Uses Plan, which regulates the establishment of new activities in the district and positions La Rambla as an axis of distinctive activity.

In parallel, an agreement has been reached with the Boqueria Market traders' association for the market's renovation, including an interior overhaul, the reorganization of sales to ensure at least 50% fresh products, and an opening onto Plaça de la Gardunya as a natural entry point from the Raval to the market.

As for elements on La Rambla itself, work is already underway to make La Rambla the city's first Terrace Excellence Zone, with a more orderly layout and a more refined aesthetic for café terraces along this iconic avenue. As part of this redevelopment process, the 11 stalls of the former bird sellers and seven unused florists' stalls have already been removed, and collaboration with the florists' collective has enabled the temporary relocation of their activity to Plaça de Catalunya for a few months, before returning after the works with new locations and renovated stalls.

All these actions aim to create a new Rambla that the citizens can make their own and that will once again occupy the central place it deserves in the city.