LA MERCÈ SINGS: a dream that comes to life in the streets
If you like the poster, you can pick up a copy at the Sala Ciutat (C/ Ciutat, 2) or the Palau de la Virreina (La Rambla, 99), while stocks last. You can also download it from the municipal website Barcelona Posters.
When I was entrusted with creating the poster for La Mercè 2025, I understood that they weren’t just asking me for an image. They were asking for a story, an emotion, an invitation to dream together.
And I thought that this year, the poster had to be something more… more alive, more tangible, more real. Not just a picture to look at, but an experience to feel, to inhabit, and to share.
That’s why, in 2025, the La Mercè poster isn’t virtual. It is physical. It is material. It is a real cart, built from wood, metal, and a touch of magic. A piece of set design brought out into the streets to carry the celebration into the heart of the city.
But above all, it is the result of a collective effort, driven by passion and generosity. This cart isn’t the work of a single artist, but of a devoted team where, just like in the city’s great annual festival, everyone has their part to play. Artisans, technicians, carpenters, welders, musicians, designers, make-up artists, costume designers, singers, dancers, circus performers, camera operators, photographers, choreographers, stage managers, assistants... Each person gave their very best to bring this dream to life. It has felt like a festival before the festival: a celebration of collaboration, shared creativity, and collective joy. Being asked to take on this project as a filmmaker and set designer is, in itself, a statement of intent: a desire to turn culture into an immersive, multisensory, and participatory experience. This cart takes inspiration from the travelling theatres of the past, but its gaze is firmly set on the future. It is modern, radical, and full of emotion. Every detail holds a world within it: the music pulsing through the neighbourhoods, the spinning circus, the popular traditions that bring us together, the food that tells our stories, the spirit of sport, and the creative, diverse gaze of La Mercè.
And behind it all lies a simple yet powerful idea: to rediscover the value of the object, something you can touch, something that transforms space and invites us to experience it. In a world that is increasingly digital and intangible, we celebrate the strength of the real: building with our hands, imagining together, and raising, collectively, a city that is vibrant, bold, and full of festivity.
As singer-songwriter Gemma Humet says in the song La Mercè canta: "She’s the hand that never hides, seeds sown in windy times…”. That is exactly what this cart represents: an open hand, a promise, a place where everything begins. A heartfelt thank you to each and every person who made it possible. And above all, thank you to the city of Barcelona for allowing me to be part of its great annual festival. This cart is for everyone: to look at, to experience, and to be moved by. We invite you to live it, to feel it, and to sing with La Mercè. May the festival bring us together, joyful, diverse, and united.
Wishing everyone a wonderful “festa major”!
See you in the streets.
Lluís Danés
Artistic Director of the 2025 La Mercè poster
Read more about the director, filmmaker, and set designer here.
