The Prodigy benefit from the new era of Sónar

L'Hospitalet de Llobregat150,000 attendees at Sónar 2026. This is the data provided by the festival's management. It is a global figure that also includes Sónar Kids (1,500 people), Sónar+D (4,000), Sónar District parties at Parc del Fòrum, and OffSónar at Poble Espanyol. However, the festival does not detail the audience for OffSónar activities, nor for Sónar District, nor for the three musical days at the Fira Gran Via venue. Therefore, it is difficult to compare it with 2025, beyond the fact that last year the global figure was 161,000 attendees: 52,000 at Sónar de Dia in Montjuïc, 66,500 at the two days of Sónar de Nit in L'Hospitalet de Llobregat, and 42,000 at OffSónar.

To compensate for the loss of Sónar de Dia, this year the total capacity of Sónar at Fira Gran Via has increased, with 22,500 people on Thursday and 42,000 on both Friday and Saturday, for a total of 107,500 possible attendees. On Friday and Saturday, the sensation was of good attendance, especially from 10 p.m. onwards, but on Thursday there was barely half capacity.

Beyond the numbers, which are difficult to assess without more details, the first edition of Sónar under the direction of François Jozic admits several considerations. One is purely superficial, a result of the change in model. In Montjuïc, Sónar greeted you with the effervescence of the Village; at Fira Gran Via, you have to look for it, crossing the entire venue until you find the green carpet at SonarVillage where the SonarPub used to be. Regarding the artistic programming, there is continuity because a large part of the lineup was finalized by the previous management. Therefore, we will have to wait for the 2027 edition to see which line Sónar under Jozic will follow.

The most positive consideration is the capacity for attendance that the early morning techno sessions maintain, a consolidated claim that preserves the festival's status as an essential event for club culture. The people wanted techno, and on Friday Sónar gave them Charlotte de Witte. The Belgian DJ, well known at the Barcelona festival and who has achieved milestones such as closing the Belgian Tomorrowland with a crowd, set the pace from the start at SonarClub (with a capacity of 15,000 people), and dedicated herself to delivering hard techno and some breakbeat counterpoints in a SonarClub full of an audience that sweated profusely, devoted to a set that De Witte organized under the concept of resistance and with the will to reclaim a way of experiencing music: "Protect club culture," the screens proclaimed.

Protecting club culture

Last year Sónar was boycotted by artists who canceled their performances when it became known that the festival was (and continues to be) owned by the pro-Israeli fund KKR. Among those who performed in 2025, many expressed support for Palestine and condemned the Israeli government for the genocide committed in Gaza. This year, nothing at all, not even Palestinian flags on stage (which are present at other festivals like Primavera Sound). This year the most powerful slogan has been an identitarian retreat: “protect club culture”. But there have been others, like those of the Alicante rapper Main Costa: "ugly trap better" and "fuck pretty privilege".

The segregation of Sónar+D at the Llotja de Mar has been good for the professional and academic sector, and aesthetically it has improved, as the new location in a Gothic jewel wrapped in monumental historicist mediocrity allows for striking contrasts. However, the most direct connection with what is happening on the stages at Fira Gran Via has been lost. In fact, experimentation has lost some momentum in a musical program that promotes XXL hedonism, more physical than cerebral. Nevertheless, on the small stages at night there have been great shows, such as that of the British Nia Archives at the Lab, and emerging projects continue to be supported at the Park. 

The Hall inherits the legendary echo of Montjuïc (where Rosalía premiered El mal querer and Maria Arnal, Ama, and where Arca and Liberato gave memorable concerts), and now at Fira Gran Via, in a larger space (for 5,000 people), it has presented a quite interesting offering, with Catalan talent like Ani in the Hall on Friday and 30drop on Saturday. But in general, it has been extremely difficult to gather enough audience at The Hall.

The Village, the other revived stage from Montjuïc, has also maintained the DNA of a danceable and festive stylistic stew on the green carpet. For example, Saturday's set by the North American Colleen Cosmo Murphy, pure Ibizan eclecticism that allows the audience to dance and chat at the same time, and that of the British Nimino, full of vano and beer beats.

(1997), the album that continued the successful techno-rave-rock of On the other hand, the rave nostalgia of the nineties did work with The Prodigy, who performed at the Mallorca Live Festival a week ago, and who filled the SonarClub on Saturday. The British group's tour coincides with the 30th anniversary of the song Firestarter (1996), one of the singles that preceded the release of the album The fat of the land (1997), the record that continued the successful techno-rave-rock of Music for the jilted generation (1994). In fact, the concert is a succession of hits, especially from these albums, such as Voodoo people (which caused the first explosion of thunderous energy among the audience), Breathe and Smack my bitch up. After Keith Flint's death in 2019, the stage presence is shared by Maxim, Liam Howlett, the smoke, and a spasmodic light show. Although at times there were some dips in rhythm, The Prodigy offered a concentrated version of what was expected of them and with the power required to bless the new era of Sónar.