Barcelona Mobile World Congress

It’s time to catch up with mobile technology’s latest wave of evolution at the GSMA Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, the “GSMA World Capital”, from February 24-27 2014. This is the most important international exhibition and conference for the mobile industry, bringing together top executives and representatives from all sectors of mobile technology; vendors, manufacturers, content owners and entrepreneurs. Mobile telephony is transforming communications, promoting new payment systems that will change commerce and providing us with new ways to interact with each other. And the most important sector in the world is continuing to grow. Once again the congress with be taking place at the FIra Gran Via, a fantastic venue right in the centre of the Mobilie world Capital. Don´t miss this opportunity to witness the unstoppable expansion and growth of the is sector.

Sitges Carnaval

If you visit Barcelona this February, then you absolutely must hit one of the biggest and most anticipated festivals in Europe: Sitges Carnaval! Just 45 minutes south of the city lays the quaint seaside town of Sitges, and from February 25th – March 5th this usually quiet neighborhood comes to life for the Carnival.

This fantastic party is famous for its colorful parades, costumes, masks, folk dances, timeless traditions, and of course, delectable gastronomy! 

Sunday, March 2nd 2014

• ‘The Parade of Debauchery’ at 7:30 pm, kicking off at Cap de Vila. Expect bright costumes and music.
• For families with youngsters, catch the Children’s Parade at 3pm.

Also, in Vilanova (a little further outside Sitges) there will be a candy war on February 10th! Here, sweet treats fill the streets as the different teams of ‘Comparses’ battle it out with candy to see who comes out top in the friendly neighborhood ‘Guerra de Caramelos’.

For more info on how to get to Vilanova from Barcelona, check out the Renfe website.

Tuesday, March 4th 2014

• ‘The Parade of Extermination’ at 7:30pm, starting point at Cap de la Vila. More cool costumes and dancing on colorful floats!

Wednesday, March 5th 2014

• ‘The Burial of the King’ kicks off at 7pm at Plaça Ajuntament, while the festival officially wraps up with the ‘Burial of the Sardine’ taking place at 8:30pm on Passeig de la Ribera. The tradition goes that the‘King of Carnestoltes’ makes an appearance on the first Thursday of the celebrations, absorbs everyone’s sins throughout the weekend, and ‘dies’ during the rituals on the 5^th, in which everyone exchanges their festive garb for black mourning attire, marking the end of the festival and the beginning of Lent.

New years Eve The Millennium Soul

A big celebration featuring water, fire and appearance of the figure of Millennium Soul will be held on Avda Maria Cristina and the Montjuic fountains, to usher in the New Year. 

A 15 m tall human figure made of iron, the Millennium Should will have the privilege of seeing off 2013 and ushering in the New Year. 

This event bears the La Fura dels Baus stamp and will combine water, pyrotechnics, and music in a show that aims to be lively and open to everybody. 

The Castellers de Sants will build a human tower, where they perform alongside the Montjuic fountain and water show. 

The bells, which pay tribute to Wagner's Parsifal on the quarter hours, will chime to volcanoes of fire and a huge explosion behind the Magic Fountain. The event will culminate in a pyrotechnic show mixed with the fountains.

And all in all, "this area, featuring the Buïgas fountains, the Catalan flag, the Venetian Towers... will be practically perfect mathematically for everyone to meet up and represent the essence of our culture, the sense of togetherness".

A great experience for the New Years Eve in Barcelona! 

Mercat de Santa Llucia 2013

This is probably Barcelona's most well-known and classic Christmas market. It is very specific to Christmas time, with a large percentage of the stalls selling Christmas trees, decorations and mistletoe. It is also a place to buy your Christmas Caga Tio- a log with a friendly face that is an important part of Catalan Christmases (please see our Guide to Spanish Christmas Traditions for more details). 
The real fair, located at Avinguda de la Catedral, celebrates his 227 anniversary, from 1786, 
and will open until 23 december. 

X GAMES BARCELONA 16-19 MAY

Coming right on the heels of X Games Foz do Iguaçu, X Games has announced the preliminary athlete lineup for X Games Barcelona, which makes its debut next month as the fourth stop in the X Games global tour.

Over 200 athletes have committed to the event, which will feature women in the Skateboard Park competition for the first time and the first Real Women bracket ever, with eight female athletes from four different disciplines (snowboarding, skateboarding, surfing and skiing). The two new events are nestled among X Games mainstays like BMX, Skateboard Big Air and Park and Moto X Freestyle, Speed & Style and Enduo X, as well as the second installment of Street League Skateboarding at X Games, among other disciplines.

There will be a mix of familiar faces (Travis Pastrana, Jamie Bestwick, Nate Adams, Ryan Sheckler and Bob Burnquist) and some notable X Games debuts (Lizzie Armanto and Nora Vasconcellos in Women's Skateboard Park, Alain Goikoetxea in Men's Skateboard Park and Jose Miralles in Moto X Speed & Style, just to name a few).

Below is the first round of invites. This list is subject to change and will be finalized closer to X Games Barcelona, which runs May 16-19.

BARCELONA OPEN SABADELL

The Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell, Trofeu Conde de Godó Trophy is the clay-court tournament which Barcelona hosts every year. The competition attracts the world’s top players and has become one of the city’s key social events. The 61st tournament will be held on the courts of the Reial Club de Tennis Barcelona – 1899 from 20th to 28th April.
Once again, the Mallorcan player Rafael Nadal will be the hot favourite to carry off the trophy. In 2012, he claimed his seventh Barcelona Open title. In addition to Nadal, some of the top ten ATP players are also expected to play. This is because the Barcelona Open Banc de Sabadell is considered one of the best tournaments on the ATP 500 World Tour. 
In addition to the tournament at the Reial Club Tennis Barcelona, the square in front of Barcelona Cathedral will once again be the setting for an alternative activity which is also associated with tennis and met with great success last year: ‘Tennis in the street’, an initiative which seeks to bring tennis to the community.

FORMULA 1 BARCELONA

There is an exciting variety of sports in Barcelona, besides culture and nightlife. We are not talking only about soccer, even though it is probably the most famous sport in the city, but also about the next Spain Santander Grand Prix 2013 to be held in May.

Formula 1 in Montmelo arrives as every year. The Catalunya’s Circuit comes to life from 10 to 12 May celebrating the first date of the European season. 

We suggest you to buy tickets early if you want to watch the Formula 1 in Barcelona. You can choose from the payment of three days (from 120 € to 450 €) or one day tickets from 50 €. All children under 5 years not occupying a seat and those less than 12 years attending Pelouse have free admission. Tickets can be purchased through ticketmaster or at “El Corte Inglés”.

You should remember that the Formula 1 Montmelo circuit is located 32 km from Barcelona, so the best transportation alternative is the train. R2 Line has departures from Barcelona Sants station, Pg de Gracia and El Clot. The journey time is about 30 minutes. Once at the Montmelo station you have to walk for about 30 minutes to the circuit. If you decide to come by car, consider purchasing the entrance to the parking in advance.