Founded by Queen Elisenda of Montcada in 1327, the Monastery of Pedralbes is one of the finest examples of Catalan Gothic architecture and monastic life in a cloistered community. It offers numerous activities delving into its 700-year history, reflecting its spaces or enabling visitors to enjoy time there with the family. You can find them at the monastery’s domain: monestirpedralbes.barcelona. 

Besides visits to the monumental site, every month visitors can attend one of the various guided tours by booking in advance on the website. These tours offer a chance to discover different aspects of the monastery: its architecture, the food its residents eat or the importance of water on the site.

With Christmas just around the corner, there are also many family activities linked to the festive season, such as a workshop on cyanotypes, another on advent crowns and another on Christmas sweets for little ones.  

Yet one of the main events at the monastery are undoubtedly the concerts, the centuries-old walls providing one of the finest settings. Tickets are now on sale for this year’s Christmas concert, with works by Händel, Scarlatti and Geminiani.You’ll find full information and more activities at monestirpedralbes.barcelona.

Hamburg hosted the 78^th Annual General Meeting of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) from 21 to 26 October, a key event in the world of internet governance.

The presence of the .barcelona domain at this global forum is significant as it demonstrates the city’s commitment to internet governance and active participation in the decisions that affect global digital architecture. Through this participation at ICANN 78, the .barcelona domain reaffirms its determination to be a fundamental part of the discussions that shape the future of the internet.

During the congress, representatives from the .barcelona domain took part in working sessions, debates and meetings with other key stakeholders in the internet community.

Through this interaction, representatives of various domains were able to share the successes and challenges experienced to date, as well as perspectives on the role of city domains in the configuration of the digital ecosystem.

At the same time, the presence of the .barcelona domain offered the chance to establish collaboration with other cities and regions looking at adopting city domains as a tool for digital projection. Through its own exclusive domain, the city of Barcelona can become a role model and source of inspiration for other cities looking to consolidate their digital presence.

One of the main topics addressed at the meeting was the European NIS2 directive on cybersecurity, a very important issue as it highlights how the European Union regulates and how its legislation can influence an international institution such as the ICANN, with repercussions for a global market and thousands of organisations in the world.

While there are still a lot of doubts over how the NIS2 directive will affect domains, we believe that collaboration in this area is essential to guarantee internet security, and that meetings such as this hold the key to establishing some guidelines for action.

Finally, we were also able to celebrate Nacho Amadoz being named as the vice-chair for the Generic Names Supporting Organisation (GNSO), one of the main organisations making upthe ICANN. Nacho Amadoz, the corporate director for the Fundació.cat (the organisation that manages the .barcelona and .cat domains), will combine this new role with his role as the chair of the geoTLD.group.

La Mercè 2023 is being held from 22 to 25 September and will once again see popular culture, street arts and music in all its forms take centre stage. The four-day festival brings hundreds of free activities for all types of audiences, all around the city. The writer Najat El Hachmi will be giving the opening speech on Friday, 22 September, at 7 pm, signalling the start of a festival which has Kyiv as this year’s guest city.

The full programme for La Mercè 2023 can be found on the website lamerce.barcelona. Here is a summary of some of the highlights:

Popular culture

The festival’s traditional side will play an important part again this year, with parading giants, traditional processions, early morning gralla pipers and stick dances, sardana dancing, tabalada drumming and havanera singing. Once the opening speech concludes, the Ministrils del Camí Ral figures will be kicking off the fun with the opening ceremony, or Toc d’Inici, where there will be a presentation of Olga and Volodímir, the giants tha Kyiv is gifting to Barcelona and which represent their prince saints. Highlights in the programme of popular culture activities include human towers displays on Saturday and Sunday in the morning, the fire festival, with a children’s fire run and the opening of Hell’s gate on Saturday evening, plus the music and fireworks spectacular which marks the 30 anniversary of the Sònar festival on the night of Monday 25 September.

Besides the activities in Pl. Sant Jaume and Passeig de Gràcia, the other main stages for popular culture during La Mercè 2023 will be Av. Catedral, with the traditional Cors de Clavé choral concert (Monday 25); El Born CCM, with an exhibition of dragon and fire beast figures; Pl. Mercè and the Basilica de la Mercè, with a concert by the Cobla Sant Jordi – Ciutat de Barcelona; La Rambla and the streets of Ciutat Vella, with the giant parade known as the Xambanga, and the Palau de la Virreina, with an exhibition of giant figures.

Mercè Arts de Carrer

The MAC street arts festival offers 61 shows this year, with over 300 functions providing a varied array of the best acts in circus, urban dance, theatre humour and more. The epicentre for this year’s MAC will be the Parc de l’Estació del Nord, offering an ongoing programme all through the day at the different stages. Another new space is the Oasi MAC, set out in the pedestrian area of Consell de Cent, where artists will look for pedestrians to offer them their creations in the street.

The other usual spaces being used again for this edition are the Palauet Albéniz, Montjuïc Castle, with the traditional selection of circus shows, the Parc de l’Aqúeducte, with a clowning programme from Pallassos Sense Fronteres, and the Parc de Joan Miró, for young children and with activities conceived specially for people with autistic spectrum disorders.

La Mercè is also joining in with the commemorations for Picasso Year, marking 50 years since the artist died. The Comparsa Visca Picasso returns, consisting of a set of eight figures that represent well-known elements of the painter’s artistic career, and there’s also a recreation of the house in Plaça de la Mercè where the artist lived for nine years.

Music for all tastes

Over a hundred artists and groups will be filling the city with music of all styles through the programme for the BAM, Acció Cultura Viva and Música Mercè. The best music on the local, national and international scenes will be performing at sixteen different public stages, with free admission. Besides the return of iconic spaces such as the Teatre Grec, Rambla del Raval, Jardins del Doctor Pla i Armengol and Av. Catedral, other spaces will be back and include the stages at the Bogatell beach, the Moll de la Fusta wharf, the Antiga Fàbrica Estrella Damm, Plaça Major de Nou Barris and the Nau Bostik, as well as new venues such as Pl. Can Fabra, Passeig dels Til·lers and the stage in C/ Menéndez y Pelayo. The classic stage in Plaça Reial also makes a return, marking the 30^th anniversary of the BAM. Artists and groups taking to the stage for La Mercè include ZOO, Ginestà, Vicco and many more.

Local talent currently breaking out will be well represented at La Mercè 2023, with artists from the city’s higher music schools and new music projects such as the Sona 9 and the Brot. Música Mercè will be presenting fifty varied and festive acts, with something for everybody in a parity programme combining local artists, such as Rumba All Stars, Anna Colom with Ángeles Toledano and Marina Herlop, along with others from as many as eleven countries, including Pongo (Angola), Ile (Puerto Rico) and Bala Desejo (Brazil), plus the show Mil veus per a Víctor Jara, a concert marking fifty years since the coup in Chile and combining texts with songs performed by young Catalan and Chilean artists.

Symphonic music will be back to transform Pl. Major in Nou Barris into a large auditorium, offering the chance to enjoy music from the Barcelona Municipal band and Symphony Orchestra and the choir from the Gran Tearte del Liceu, the Barcelona Symphony Orchestra and National Orchestra of Catalonia and Vozes, the project for children’s and young people’s choirs and symphony orchestras for integration and social cohesion. This year’s programme includes longer hours on Sunday and Monday to present two new concerts when it’s time for that aperitif before lunch, with Latin American music. All stages in the Música Mercè programme feature some Ukrainian acts, with artists such as DakhaBrakha, Maryana Klochko, Daria Kolomiec, Poly Chain and Alyona Alyona.

Barcelona Acció Música reaches its 30th edition this year, presenting the current alternative music scene with 55 artists and 4 stages and notable acts including the likes of Baiuca, Mushkaa, EU.CLIDES, The Notwist, Remei de Ca la Fresca and Queen Asher & Rehema Tajiri. For its part, the Acció Cultura Viva sector turns seven with a programme based on an open call which attracted over 600 projects. For three days there will also be a space with participatory activities and workshops, a discussion about models for music festivals, the Independent Disc Fair, various food spaces, radio programmes and much more.

Kyiv as the guest city for La Mercè 2023

Ukrainian culture plays a significant part in the programme for La Mercè 2023. The Kyiv Academic Theater of Ukrainian Folklore Berehyni will be performing traditional Ukrainian dances for the Mercè Arts de Carrer, and also at midday on the final day of festivities in Pl. Sant Jaume. Elsewhere, the Parc de l’Estació del Nord will be exhibiting works by the Ukrainian artist Maria Primatxenko (1909-1997) and the most contemporary and feminist scene will be represented by Alina Sokuslka and Apache Crew. Maryana Klochko, the quartet DakhaBrakha and many other artists from Ukraine will combine with Ukrainian artists living in Barcelona, performing at the Ucraïna Fest at the Palauet Albéniz.

Another example of Ukrainian creativity is the film and video fair at the former building of the Editorial Gustavo Gil on the last two days of the festival, a collaborative initiative between La Mercè and the teams from the biennial art event Manifesta 15, which is being held in Barcelona next year.

Themed spaces

One of the festival’s traditional venues, the Parc de la Ciutadella, will once again be hosting activities this year. One is the Terra i Gust fair, a well-established sustainable food event combining gastronomy with the concert programme. The park will also be hosting Associa’t, a community event where city associations offer a programme brimming with popular culture, play-based activities, games and participatory workshops for people of all ages. This year’s Associa’t is being held in various spaces, with over fifty activities in the Parc de la Ciutadella on 23 and 24 September and music shows in Av. Catedral during the morning of 25 September.

We spoke about the project elmeuclubesportiu.barcelona with Verònica Sanz, a leading figure in the .barcelona domain from Barcelona City Council, and Manuela Becerra, country manager for Nominalia.

Elmeuclubesportiu.barcelona is a digitalisation project to provide professional websites for sports organisations and clubs in the city which still haven’t got a website or have one which is obsolete.

“At the .barcelona domain we reinvest part of the profits in social impact projects with the goal of digitalising specific sectors in the city where we know there is a digital divide”, notes Verònica Sanz.

So far the focus has been on local commerce with the project elmeucomerç.barcelona,  which offered a fast and free process for small shops and businesses to get a professional website with a .barcelona domain.

This project is possible thanks to the collaboration of the domain registration company Nominalia. Their country manager, Manuela Becessa, explains that: “Helping others go digital is in our DNA, it’s what we try to do every day. But it’s very important to work with the City Council, which has the possibility of reaching sectors that by themselves might not ever contact a registration company to register a domain”.

The application period for sports clubs and organizations without a website to take part in the project elmeuclubesportiu.barcelona and get a professional website with a .barcelona domain ends on 31 December 2023.

More information on this project can be found on the information page.