"We celebrate that all institutions are betting on Primavera Sound"

BarcelonaWith various acknowledgements, the press conference to review Primavera Sound 2026 has begun, held this Saturday at the SLS Hotel in Port Fòrum in Sant Adrià de Besòs. "We overcame a very demanding difficulty," said Alfonso Lanza, co-director of the festival, regarding the rain and wind that on Thursdayforced the cancellation of headline concerts by artists like Massive Attack and Doja Cat and the evacuation of the main stages. Lanza thanked the Primavera Sound team for their work, the artists for their "empathy," the audience for their "civic-mindedness," and the support of "sponsors, Barcelona, the police, and the authorities." "We celebrate that all institutions are committed to culture and to Primavera Sound," he added, recalling that on Thursday the festival was attended by the Minister of Culture, Sònia Hernández Almodóvar; the Councillor for Culture of Barcelona City Council, Xavier Marcé; and the Minister of Culture, Ernest Urtasun. Lanza also explained that the festival has renewed its agreement with the City Council and will continue to be held at Parc del Fòrum and the marine platform until 2030. Primavera Pro, however, will change its location: it will leave the CCCB and in 2027 will be held at the Dhub.

Regarding Thursday's communication policy, Lanza admitted the difficulty of providing information in such a variable weather context. "The key was to give accurate information, not to over-communicate things that could change at any moment," he said. The solution was to communicate through social media, the festival app, and especially the stage screens.

As for attendance figures, they are similar to those of 2025, when a record of 293,000 people was reached (213,000 of whom attended the three main days at Fòrum). This year the festival had 287,000 attendees, 6,000 fewer, due to Thursday's rain. And as in 2025, according to the festival's management, there were 30,000 people at the free Wednesday event, another 30,000 are expected to attend Sunday's event, and around 20,000 have attended the Primavera a la Ciutat concerts.

As announced on Friday, Primavera Sound will refund Thursday's daily tickets, which, according to Lanza, represent between 20% and 25% of the total spectators for that day. That is, of the approximately 70,000 attendees that day, between 14,000 and 17,400 will be able to request a refund starting Monday.

Other data provided by the festival: the average age of attendees has risen from 29 to 32 years (surely due to the appeal of headliners like The Cure and Massive Attack). Regarding international audiences, it has dropped from 65% to 62%. "It has been a transversal and intergenerational edition. Seeing Addison Rae and The Cure playing one after the other was contemplating 50 years of popular music," added Lanza.