Barcelona will celebrate Sant Jordi's Day 2026 on Thursday, April 23, on a working day and with significant changes to the usual map of stalls. La Rambla will be outside the books and roses circuit because the promenade will still be under construction, so the points planned for that area will be distributed between Portal de l"Àngel, the Cathedral, and Plaça de Catalunya.
A part of the stalls will also be integrated into the literary super-block of Eixample, the space promoted to decongest the central axis of the festival. The setup will be completed with hundreds of stalls distributed throughout the districts of the city, although the complete list of locations for 2026 has not yet been made public.
Change of axis in the city center
The absence of La Rambla will again mark the organization of the day in the center of Barcelona. The transfer of stalls to the surroundings of Portal de l"Àngel, the Cathedral and Plaça de Catalunya seeks to absorb part of the flow of visitors that traditionally concentrated on that promenade. At the same time, the literary super-block of Eixample will maintain its role as a large distribution space for bookstore activity.
The city will also have protection measures in some of the most crowded points. Barcelona will shield Sant Jordi with 256 New Jersey barriers on Passeig de Gràcia and Rambla de Catalunya, two of the axes with the most traffic during the day.
Now can be consulted the book signings of authors, with exact schedules and locations of the stands where they will be held.
Libraries and previous events with reservation
The libraries of Barcelona will once again organize meetings between authors and readers as a prelude to Sant Jordi. All activities will require prior reservation and registrations will open on Tuesday, March 24 at 16:00 hours.
- Wednesday, April 15 at 6:30 p.m. with Lídia Jorge, Hugo Gonçalves and Mercè Ibarz at the Biblioteca Esquerra de l"Eixample Agustí Centelles
- Thursday, April 16 at 6:30 p.m. with Sandro Veronesi and Lucía Solla Sobral at the Biblioteca Jaume Fuster
- Friday, April 17 at 6:30 p.m. with Maria Rovira and Desirée de Fez at the Biblioteca Gabriel García Márquez
- Monday, April 20 at 6:30 p.m. with Eudald Espluga and Donatella Di Cesare at the Biblioteca Sarrià J. V. Foix
- Tuesday, April 21 at 6:00 p.m. with Zülfü Livaneli and Burhan Sönmez at the Biblioteca Francesca Bonnemaison
- Tuesday, April 21 at 7:30 p.m. with Han Kang and Mar García Puig at the CCCB
In the case of the CCCB meeting, tickets can be reserved on April 9 at 11:00 hours and will have a price of 3 euros.
Proclaimer, heritage and open buildings
The British writer Ali Smith will be the proclaimer of Sant Jordi 2026. The day will also bring back the open doors in unique buildings and emblematic spaces of Barcelona, one of the parallel proposals with most follow-up each year.
Among the most recognizable images of the diada, Casa Batlló will once again be present. Its facade will be covered with red roses on April 23 and the balconies will be decorated with a thousand artisan flowers from the early morning of April 21 until the night of the 23rd.
It has also been announced that people named Jordi, Jordina or equivalent in any language will be able to enter the Sagrada Família for free on April 23 with a companion. Information about the system to obtain these tickets is still pending confirmation.
La Grossa is delayed to April 27
La Grossa de Sant Jordi will not be held on April 23. The 2026 draw has been set for April 27, outside the central day of the festival.
Sant Jordi was proclaimed patron of Catalonia in 1456 and with the Renaixença the day gained prominence in the intellectual and civic world of the country. In 2026, Barcelona will once again combine that cultural dimension with a large occupation of public space, although with a center reordered by the works on La Rambla and awaiting to know the definitive detail of all the book and rose stalls.