More than 100,000 people celebrate New Year's Eve in Barcelona
During the celebrations there have been around 100 arrests, 27 of which were for gender-based violence.
BarcelonaAround 115,000 people welcomed visitors to Barcelona in 2026. the music, pyrotechnics and drone show The New Year's Eve celebrations were organized on Maria Cristina Avenue, on Montjuïc mountain, according to the Barcelona City Council. In addition to the chimes, one of the most unique and anticipated moments of the night was the activation of the Magic Fountain of Montjuïc after... several years of inactivity due to drought and the subsequent renovations to the hydraulic system.
The interplay of water has been one of the elements integrated into the visual narrative of the show, with choreography created especially for the occasion and designed for its symbiosis with drones, music, and light. This year's show has been completely revamped, the city council indicates, with the participation of the Catalan musician Marc Parrotwho devised a show that united a past of traditional rhythms and songs with a future marked by electronic music and new sounds.
The show was designed by the French company Groupe F, with musical and creative direction by Parrot. The French group, specialists in large-scale productions, returned to Barcelona, as in previous years, for a show that blended music, drones, audiovisual technology, and pyrotechnics. The performance was divided into four parts, inspired by the four elements: air, earth, water, and fire.
Detainees and security
In the report released by the Ministry of the Interior, the celebrations ended with 117 arrests, of which 27 were for gender-based violence offenses, 46 related to property crimes, 10 for assault, one for sexual offenses, and 33 for other incidents. Civil Protection, for its part, reported that during New Year's Eve and up until 9:00 a.m. today, Thursday, January 1, the emergency hotline received a total of 6,171 calls related to 4,358 incidents connected to the New Year's celebrations. This represents an 8% increase compared to last year's celebrations. The calls were registered mainly from Barcelonès (2,852), Vallès Occidental (578), and Baix Llobregat (415), the most populated regions, and were mostly made between 2:00 and 6:00 AM. The majority of the calls (28%) were for medical assistance, followed by reports of assaults (12.4%), antisocial behavior (9%), security problems (6%), fires and rescues, and robberies (6%), among other reasons. The peak time for calls related to New Year's Eve celebrations was between 2:00 and 6:00 AM. The hour with the most calls was 6:00 AM, with 571 calls, followed by 3:00 AM, with 552 calls.
Fatal accident
On the other hand, a woman died this past New Year's Eve when the car she was traveling in ran off the road to Malgrat de Mar and subsequently caught fire. Two other men sustained minor injuries in the same accident. With this death, Catalonia ends 2025 with 144 fatalities in traffic accidents on its intercity roads, according to data from the Catalan Traffic Service.