Are you familiar with stick dancing? It is one of the most traditional dances in Catalonia, and certainly the most widespread geographically. You can find it all over the world in one form or another.

In this case, the Santa Eulàlia Festivities are bringing together all the Barcelona groups, from various neighbourhoods and districts. There will also be a group from outside Catalonia and the Estelladors de Prats de Lluçanès, the group that is organising the National Stick Dancing Meeting this year. Furthermore, you can also enjoy a singular performance: the sword dance, which has a lot in common with stick dancing.

The event will begin with a dance on Avinguda de la Catedral, then continue with a procession (11 am) along Avinguda de la Catedral, Plaça Nova, Carrer de la Palla, Carrer dels Banys Nous, Carrer de Ferran and Plaça de Sant Jaume. Once there, at around 12 noon, the last dances will begin, group by group.

New generations of sardana dancers will be meeting up again at this big annual gathering to dance to the ever fresh and innovative rhythms of the Cobla Contemporània, a modern sardana orchestra founded in 1995.

Street parade: 11.30 am.

Route: Plaça dels Àngels, Elisabets, Bonsuccés, la Rambla, Ferran and Plaça de Sant Jaume.

The children’s figures from the giant-carrier groups created over the years to encourage children’s participation in the world of giant carriers, will be meeting up to parade along the city's streets.

Barcelona has some twenty traditional dance groups, located in various districts and neighbourhoods. Some regularly perform traditional dances at our local festivals, while others experiment and create new dances with folk roots. Yet nearly all of them have a children’s section which acts as a school and a means of ensuring the future of this tradition.

For Santa Eulàlia, children take on a more central role and this is why the children's sections of these groups have their own dance. The event is on Saturday and Sunday, at 12 noon, offering a chance to see seven Barcelona dance groups and one from Andorra. Saturday brings performances from the traditional dance groups of Català de Dansaires, Ciutat Comtal, Maragall and Sant Martí, while on Sunday we can enjoy the groups of Sant Jordi, Joventut Nostra, Rubí and Colla Dansaire Picacrestes del Prat.

A unique chance to see the youngsters dance!

Esbart Santa Eulàlia, with the Cobla Maricel, offers a modern take on the St Eulalia Dance on Avinguda de la Catedral.

Street parade: In Plaça Reial (start)

Route: Plaça Reial, Passatge de Colom, La Rambla, Carrer de Ferran, Plaça de Sant Jaume (arriving at 6.15 pm)

The drummers from Barcelona’s devil and fire-beast festival groups will assemble in Plaça Reial for the 8th Drummers Gathering where they will evoke St Eulalia’s heartbeats [batecs] with their thundering drum strokes. It will be a big drum session to spread the festival sounds and rhythms round the Barri Gòtic streets.

The Joan Amades Cultural Association will show you all the nooks and crannies of Barcelona associated with St Eulalia, on a guided tour which will even have musical accompaniment.

All groups are complete.

Group 1, setting off on 11 February, at 5.30 pm

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Group 2, setting off on 11 February, at 6 pm
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Group 3, setting off on 12 February, at 10.30 am
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Group 4, setting off on 12 February, at 11 am
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Do you like traditional dances? Come along and enjoy the Esbart Català de Dansaires, the oldest active dance group in the city and in Catalonia, originally formed in 1908.

The group has a repertoire of dozens of traditional dances which become a journey around the country, based on the dances typical of each place. The group also conserves the traditional Catalan dance archive, holding information on hundreds of dances and compiled down through the years.

The dance group was awarded the Creu de Sant Jordi by the Government of Catalonia in 2010, along with the City of Barcelona award in the sphere of popular culture in 2012.

The music for the dancing at the Santa Eulàlia Festival 2023 will be courtesy of the cobla formation Ciutat de Granollers.

Coro Kudyapi is a Filipino choir made up of children from the Raval neighbourhood. The group was created in 2004 to bring children of Philippine origin born in Barcelona closer to Philippine culture and music. The choir plays an active part in the traditions and festivals of the Philippine community, as well as in numerous initiatives and festivities in the neighbourhood.

Actea Cor Femení is a choral group made up of sixteen singers. Since is was first presented in 1992, they have performed at various festivals around Europe. The singers resumed their activity in 2009 and since then have had praise heaped on them for their mature style, technical quality and great communication capacity.

Organised by the Barcelona branch of the Catalan Federation of Choral Groups (FCEC), the concert boasts a range of contemporary songs, plenty of joy and a fabulous vocal show. Created in Manresa in 1982, the Catalan Federation of Choral Groups (FCEC) includes around 520 federated choirs from the Catalan-speaking lands and elsewhere.

Santa Eulàlia is the city's youngest festival, something which is clear to the children and young people's devil and beast groups. When it gets dark, they will leave City Hall and fill the following streets with fire: Plaça de Sant Jaume, Carrer de Ferran, La Rambla, Passatge de Colom and Plaça Reial, where they will finish at 7 pm.

The fire festival stimulates all your senses, with drum percussion, the smell of gunpowder and the light of the fireworks. The kids perform a made-to-measure festival, and although it is especially designed for children, it is not entirely risk free.

So remember!You should wear long-sleeved cotton clothes that cover your entire body. It is also important to wear appropriate footwear, so you can run when you need to.

Take care of children and ensure they are a safe distance from the fire.

If the fire run goes past your home or shop, roll back the awnings, cover your windows and close your shutters.

And remember, follow the instructions given by security personnel, so you can enjoy a safer festival!

Route: Plaça Reial, Passatge de Colom, La Rambla, Carrer de Ferran, Plaça de Sant Jaume (arriving around 8.45 pm).

When it gets dark, the fire beasts and devils will come out onto the streets, spurred on by the deafening beat of the drums, and they will come together to start an unrestrained, pyrotechnic street parade. The children will lead the fire events, with the child-size fire run of small devils and beasts on Saturday evening. Later, the Correfoc de Santa Eulàlia will begin: the Dragon, She-dragon, Serene Dragon, Mule, Bull, Marsh Harrier and the Dolphin dance between the flames and sparks with the devils of Kinta Forka, the Barri Gòtic and Tarascaires, until they reach Plaça de Sant Jaume and the end of the fire run, where the participating festival groups will put on a show of drums and flames.

PLEASE NOTE:

The fire festival is one of the most entertaining events of the St Eulàlia celebrations but it is important to take great care. If you wish to participate, don’t forget that: You will need cover your head, wear a neckerchief and long sleeves and trousers. Always wear clothes made from cotton and not from synthetic materials. You should wear comfortable footwear so that you can run when necessary.

• Be particularly careful if you are with small children and keep a safe distance from the fire. Don’t let go of your children’s hand and remember they have their own children’s fire run with less intense fire .
• If the fire run goes past your home or shop, fold up the canopies, cover your windows and close your shutters.
• No alcohol or glass: while the fire run is taking place, avoid alcohol. If you are carrying a drink, do not use a glass or glass bottles. Broken glass is dangerous.
• Do not forget that the fire run is a lot of fun, but if you do not follow the basic safety rules, it can also be dangerous. Join in the festival but enjoy it sensibly!
• Remember to always follow the instructions of the stewards, who will be well identified.

Esbart Ciutat Comtal will be staging the ninth edition of ‘Eulalia’ (City of Barcelona Award 2013), a music and dance show performed inside Barcelona Cathedral on top of the crypt where the body of St Eulalia lies, in homage to the patron saint and in celebration of the values of freedom, equality and justice.

Organised by choreographer Lluís Calduch and with music by Francesc Cassú, ‘Eulalia’ recreates the life of the saint from her profession through to her crucifixion, including the different forms of torture she suffered, through dance numbers, non-verbal performance and compositions with choreographed movements based on various folk and religious sources from Catalan popular culture.