Sant Joan Night in Barcelona

The festival

What is Sant Joan Night in Barcelona

La Revetlla de Sant Joan, St. John’s Eve, is one of the most celebrated nights in Barcelona and throughout Catalonia. On the night of June 23–24 the city marks the arrival of summer with fire: neighborhood bonfires, fireworks, small firecrackers and groups of devils and dragons that dance among sparks. There isn’t a single central party: each neighborhood, each street and each association organizes its own, and residents gather for outdoor dinners, dancing and waiting for dawn.

The tradition of lighting bonfires on the solstice night is ancient and was absorbed into the Christian calendar as the eve of Saint John the Baptist. In Catalonia it gained its own symbol in the 20th century: the Flama del Canigó. Since the 1950s the fire has been lit on the summit of Canigó, a Pyrenean mountain linked to Catalan identity and celebrated by the poet Jacint Verdaguer, and carried in relay by volunteers to Catalan-speaking towns and villages. The flame burns year-round in Perpinyà and is rekindled on the peak shortly before the festival.

In Barcelona, the Flame arrives on the afternoon of June 23 at the Plaça de Sant Jaume in the old town, in front of the city hall and the Catalan government. The reception includes sardanes, the Catalan circle dance, gigantes, the city’s eagle and sometimes castellers forming a human tower in tribute to the fire. After a message is read, neighborhood representatives light torches and carry the flame to ignite the bonfires across the city.

The night continues in different rhythms. In the neighborhood squares of Gràcia, Sants, Poblenou, Sant Andreu and the Raval there are bonfires, correfocs, concerts, communal dinners and dancing until dawn. Many Barcelonans go to the waterfront, where the beaches fill with groups of people, with music and fireworks in the distance. On the table you’ll find coca de Sant Joan, a sweet dough topped with candied fruit and pine nuts, and cava, the Catalan sparkling wine.

For visitors, Sant Joan night is a way to see Barcelona in neighborhood celebration, away from the usual monument routes, on a night when the whole city seems to be out on the street. The following morning, a public holiday, starts slowly after a night many end only at sunrise.