Hanging tomatoes, the Greek and the cathedral: this is the poster for La Mercè 2026

BarcelonaAntoni Falgueras, master vintner, will be the herald of La Mercè 2026. This was announced this Wednesday by the mayor of Barcelona, Jaume Collboni, during the presentation of the first novelties of the city's main festival. During the speech, the herald will be accompanied by his daughter, Meritxell Falgueras, a prestigious communicator and sommelier. The mayor highlighted the Falgueras family's career as a reference in wine culture and their roots in Barcelona. The master vintner will be in charge of kicking off a festival that will feature a poster designed by visual artist Cinta Vidal as its image.

Antoni Falgueras (Barcelona, 1948) represents the fourth generation at the helm of Celler de Gelida, the emblematic establishment on Vallespir street founded in 1895. Since then, the family business has specialized in the selection and sale of wines, cavas, and spirits from around the world. Falgueras received the Medal of Agricultural Merit from France in 2008 and the Aliments d'Espanya award, granted by the Ministry of Agriculture. He is also a founding member of Mestres Cellerers de Catalunya and the Catalan Association of Sommeliers, a member of the Tastavins Sant Humbert Academy and all Catalan confraternities, as well as an honorary member of the Confraria del Cava. Furthermore, he is part of the French confraternities Clos de Vougeot, Armagnac and Champagne, as well as the confraternity of Northern Catalonia.

During the event, which took place at Palauet Albéniz, the poster for Mercè 2026 was also presented, which Collboni explained would "also be a mural". The author is the visual artist Cinta Vidal, who has created a work that incorporates emblematic spaces of Barcelona from an innovative perspective to represent a city made of connections and discoveries. Collboni described the mural poster as a "nod to the city" and assured that it is a "representation of the richness of our city", with Barcelona's ten districts present in the composition.

33 m² of tributes in the Catalan capital

As the author explains, the work "demands a second look, and a third and a fourth" due to the large number of details hidden in this 33 m² composition. On a first layer, where all the action takes place, some of Barcelona's most emblematic buildings are depicted, such as the Greek Theatre, the cathedral, the Venetian Towers, or the sculpture Woman and bird, located in Parc de Joan Miró, next to Plaça d'Espanya.

This urban panorama is complemented by a second layer made up of objects and symbols linked to Catalan culture and Barcelona's main festival. It features a pair of running shoes, in reference to the Mercè Race; a cruet and tomatoes, evoking the Terra i Gust fair, held during the festivities in Parc de la Ciutadella; the stage of Plaça de la Catedral, and espadrilles and human towers, as a tribute to the popular culture program.

Visibly moved, Antoni Falgueras stated that being the pregoner of La Mercè is "an unimaginable honor" and he advocated for the role of local businesses, of which Celler de Gelida is a benchmark. "What this business has is that our customers end up being friends," he said, before defining Barcelona as "a great open-air market" and defending the need to support the neighborhood's commercial fabric. In the same vein, his daughter and sommelier Meritxell Falgueras highlighted the family business's ability to adapt over the decades and advanced that the pregoner will also serve to reflect on "how we have been transforming" and on the progressive disappearance of local businesses, one of the focal points of the speech her father will deliver.

Shanghai, the great guest at the party

The city of Shanghai has been one of the main protagonists of the presentation of the new edition of La Mercè. It will be the first Asian city invited as guest of honor, coinciding with the 25th anniversary of the twinning with Barcelona. Beyond institutional recognition, this prominence will translate into an extensive cultural program with the participation of nearly 110 artists from Shanghai. "Mainly circus, dance, drone shows, pyrotechnics, and Chinese dragons that we will see at the Fòrum," detailed Collboni, who remarked that "Chinese culture will shine this Mercè."

The Consul General of China in Barcelona, Meng Yuhong, wanted to thank, in Catalan and Spanish, the trust and invitation of the Barcelona City Council. The diplomat highlighted that La Mercè, "guided by a spirit of inclusivity, openness, and innovation," contributes to making Barcelona "an even more vibrant city."

Among the new features of this edition are also the programming of festive activities in the ten districts of the city; the premiere of the new Porta de l'Infern, which will become the starting point for the correfoc; an exhibition that will bring together all the posters of La Mercè since 1979, and a show at Parc Güell that will combine music and traditional dances, in collaboration with the Department of Culture, to commemorate the Gaudí Year. All this programming will take place on the usual festival stages, to which new spaces will be added such as Plaça de les Glòries, Plaça de Sarrià, and Plaça de Comas.