The 2015 Saint Eulalia festivities kick off
From the 6th to the 12th of February the centre of the city will be transformed by the Llum BCN illuminations, the Barcelona City Awards ceremony and popular cultural activities such as human towers, fire runners and the Dance of the Eagle
On the 6th, 7th, 8th and 12th of February Barcelona will celebrate its winter festival in honour of the city’s co-patron saint, Saint Eulàlia. As has been the case in recent years, tradition will coexist alongside new forms of expression, on this occasion the fourth edition of the Llum BCN festival, in which the centre of the city will be the subject of a series of twenty light-based installations which will transform the physiognomy of many emblematic buildings and interior courtyards of the Ciutat Vella district.
These illuminations can be seen on Friday and Saturday, the 6th and 7th of February, from 6.30 pm to midnight, and on Sunday the 8th from 6.30 pm to 11 pm, and will include a dozen or so courtyards, including the Pati Llimona, the Porxo del Saló del Tinell and the Palau Moja, which can be visited via three separate itineraries, namely “sea”, “cathedral” and “rambla”, each of which will be marked by different coloured lights. In parallel to these itineraries, Llum BCN has also programmed a series of artistic installations in various squares throughout Ciutat Vella, including the Plaça de la Mercè, the Plaça de Sant Felip Neri, the Plaça del Rei, among others.
The installations, as well as all points of interest along the itineraries, will offer explanatory QR codes.
As with previous editions, evening and night-time projections of the façades of emblematic buildings will be a feature of the festival, with the City Council building displaying the mapping entitled Barcekholm, previously displayed during the Mercè 2014 festival, and Trets de llum, five audio-visual capsules created by students of the Barcelona School of Design and Engineering, ELISAVA. La Pedrera, for its part, will be the subject of the projection entitled La Pedrera, emotions in motion.
This year’s edition also coincides with the United Nations designation of 2015 as International Year of Light and the Barcelona City Council and the Institute of Photonic Sciences (ICFO) have jointly organised an event which will mark the starting point for a series of activities that will take place throughout the year and which will begin with an inaugural ceremony on the 6th of February which will include an opening address by architect Benedetta Tagliabue and performances by illuminated human tower groups, or “castellers”, from Barcelona (Colla Jove) and Badalona (Micacos).
In addition to light-based, or illuminated activities, the Saint Eulàlia festivities are also noted for their popular culture activities, including giants, big-heads, dragons, devils, etc... This year’s invited guest is the city of Manresa and, as usual, festivities will include traditions such as the Ball de l’Àliga (Dance of the Eagle), the hanging of the Saint Eulàlia banner on the balcony of the city council, the parade of the “Laias”, human tower builders (castellers) and fire-runners (correfocs), among many others. Novelties this year include the presentation of a new group of stick dancers, the Ball de Bastons de Barcelona, consisting of members of other stick-dancing groups throughout the city, and a reproduction of the Saint Eulàlia flag made by the association for historical recreation La Coronela de Barcelona.
Public participation via social media will also be encouraged via the Fotomòbil campaign, in which visitors to the Llum BCN installations are free to share their photographs via Instagram and Twitter using hashtag #LlumBCN15. These photographs will go on to form part of the collaborative festival album. Those who so wish may register here.
In addition, on Tuesday the 10th of February at 7 pm, the Saló de Cent of the Barcelona City Council will host the 2014 Barcelona City Awards ceremony, in which the city offers recognition to its resident creators. With more than sixty years of history, the principal objective of the awards is to offer recognition of excellence in the fields of creativity, research and culture in the city over the course of the previous year.
Saint Eulàlia Winter Festival
When: February 6th to 12th
Price: Free
Where: Barcelona City Centre
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