Barcelona will introduce accessibility measures at selected La Mercè events from Wednesday 23 to Sunday 27 September, including vibrating backpacks, sign-language interpretation, audio description, quiet areas and reserved viewing spaces. The arrangements will give disabled residents and visitors clearer access to major festival performances across the city, including the closing Piromusical at Bogatell.

According to reporting by Diari de la Discapacitat, the programme will cover concerts, circus shows, street performances and family activities. The Ajuntament de Barcelona, the city council, has published the complete festival programme on its official La Mercè webpage.

Quiet areas and reserved spaces at performances

Circ de les Musaranyes, a participatory installation inspired by Antoni Gaudí, will be at Parc de les Glòries on Thursday 24 September from 11:00 to 15:00 and from 16:00 to 19:00. It will have a reserved area for people with reduced mobility and a quiet space for sensory rest.

STELI, an interactive work by Stalker Teatro, will offer relaxed performances at Parc de l’Estació del Nord on 24, 26 and 27 September, at morning and afternoon times listed in the festival programme. Relaxed sessions are adapted to reduce sensory pressure for audience members who may find conventional performance settings difficult.

  • Fuensanta will perform at Jardins del Doctor Pla i Armengol on Friday 25 September, from 21:00 to 22:30, with an induction loop, sign-language interpreters and vibrating backpacks.
  • Marina y su Melao will play at the same venue on Friday 25 September from 23:00 to 00:30, with the same hearing-access measures.
  • Agost will perform at Recinte Fabra i Coats on Saturday 26 September from 19:30 to 20:20, with a quiet area available.

Audio description and accessible Piromusical viewing

The circus and magic show Surcouf, by Cie Sacekripa, will be staged at Parc dels Auditoris on Saturday 26 and Sunday 27 September from 14:30 to 15:10. The production includes artists with disabilities, hearing-access provision and a reserved area for people with reduced mobility.

The family experience Beatrix Potter’s Podcast, by Companyia Minimons, will be held at Jardins de Joan Maragall, Palauet Albéniz, over the weekend. It will offer audio description for blind and partially sighted audience members, as well as reserved spaces.

The Piromusical will close La Mercè at Espigó de Bogatell on Sunday 27 September, from 22:00 to 23:30. A viewing area for people with reduced mobility will be available on the upper walkway, but there will be no adapted area on the beach sand for safety reasons.

People planning to use a quiet space, hearing-access equipment, audio description or a reserved area should check the Ajuntament’s official La Mercè programme for the relevant venue, performance time and access arrangements before travelling.

Reported by Diari de la Discapacitat.