Barcelona lights up 26 November, Madrid 21 November, Seville 27 November, Avilés 4 December

Barcelona fixes its switch-on for 26 November

Barcelona will switch on its Christmas lights on Thursday, 26 November, with a central act on Passeig de Gràcia between Rosselló and the Diagonal that starts at 18:00. Simultaneous events are planned in every district, and the city says the displays will cover 140 kilometres of streets. The lights will stay on until 6 January, running from 17:30 to 01:00 on Sunday to Thursday and until 02:00 on Fridays and Saturdays. The council puts the installation cost at 4.6 million euros and says the stage will sit higher up the avenue than in recent years to ease traffic.

Two new author-designed light installations will appear this year on Rambla Prim and Passeig Maragall, joining the displays on Via Laietana, Aragó street, Gran Via and Passeig de Sant Joan that date from last year. The giant Galet totems designed by Ramon Bigas will return to twelve markets, as well as to Plaça del Rei and the corner of Rambla de Catalunya and Provença. Barcelona will also host the European Capital of Christmas and Proximity Commerce title it holds in 2026, with an advent-calendar installation lighting the windows of six landmark buildings.

Plaça Catalunya stays without its planned lights

The square will not get the author-designed lights it had last year, because the housing protest camp has occupied it since late September. Municipal sources told El País that the council no longer has time to install what was planned, and that the Artec Light Studio proposal will not be moved to another site. Raquel Gil, the deputy mayor for economic promotion, said the council is working on several options and that the camp does not stop the city from being lit.

“We have all the scenarios in place to have the maximum number of possibilities.”

Gil said the only deadline the council has set is the end of Christmas itself. Technicians may install garlands along the edges of the square, depending on when the camp ends. The camp is not expected to close before the general elections on 29 November. The Institut de Cultura de Barcelona is also searching for another venue for the traditional Nadal festival that usually takes place on the square.

Madrid, Seville and Avilés follow later in November

Madrid's council began installing the Christmas tree in Puerta del Sol on Monday, 9 November, and the lights will switch on on Saturday, 21 November. Mayor José Luis Martínez-Almeida said the tree will reach the switch-on on that date, with a show that he expects will draw thousands of residents. The city's lighting contract is worth 5.9 million euros for installation, maintenance and removal, and this year's lighting is around 7.3 million euros. The display will reach more than 250 locations across the 21 districts, with more than 14 million LED bulbs and up to 164 kilometres of garlands. As in recent years, the contractor will cover the electricity cost.

Madrid, this year's lighting (around)7.3

Barcelona, lighting programme4.6

Madrid, this year's lighting (around)

7.3 EUR million

Barcelona, lighting programme

4.6 EUR million

Data from the article text

Seville will switch on its lights on Friday, 27 November, at Plaza de San Francisco, where Mayor José Luis Sanz will press the button alongside guest singer Niña Pastori and a group of children. The city's lights will stay up until after Epiphany. Last year the switch-on lit nine million lights. In Avilés, the event is on Friday, 4 December, at 18:45 in Plaza de España, where the fairy Brillantina will invite children to press a magic button that lights thousands of bulbs. The act begins at 18:20 when she arrives at the town hall on a float, after setting off from the Factoría Cultural at 18:00, and it continues with the show Carrillón Noel by the company La Tal.