Six international casteller teams will be excluded from Tarragona's 2026 Diada Castellera Internacional, the human-tower gathering held as part of the Concurs de Castells competition, despite having asked to participate, according to a statement issued on Saturday by the Federació de Colles Castelleres Internacionals (FCCI).

For Tarragona residents and visitors attending the Concurs de Castells, the programme will therefore include six overseas teams rather than the 12 that the FCCI says were ready and willing to perform. The federation says 11 of those teams have already successfully built six-level human towers, the technical threshold historically used for the event.

“This year, however, not all of us who would like to be there will be there,” the FCCI said in its statement.

The federation, which says it represents 22 active international casteller teams, said the teams omitted had accepted the decision so that the selected groups could perform without disruption. It did not challenge the invitations issued to the six participating teams.

Six invited teams will perform in Tarragona

The FCCI lists the following teams as invited to the Tarragona event:

  • Xiquets de Copenhagen
  • Castellers de Paris
  • Castellers d’Andorra
  • Colla Castellera de Madrid
  • Castellers of London
  • Castellers de Prado, travelling from Chile for their second performance in Catalonia

According to the federation's account, Tarragona City Council asked international teams earlier this year whether they wanted to take part and whether they could build six-level towers. Twelve teams replied positively.

At a meeting in March, the Ajuntament de Tarragona, the city council, cited logistical and organisational difficulties in accommodating every team within the planned format, the FCCI said. The federation put forward an alternative intended to allow wider participation, but said the organisers did not consider it suitable.

The FCCI statement does not say what the alternative involved or how the six invited teams were chosen.

Competition dates begin in Torredembarra

The international gathering forms part of the 2026 Concurs de Castells calendar. The competition will hold a day in Torredembarra on Sunday 27 September, followed by Tarragona dates on Saturday 3 and Sunday 4 October.

Castells are traditional Catalan human towers, built by teams known as colles castelleres. The FCCI said the number of overseas teams able to build at least six levels has grown substantially since Tarragona first hosted its international event in 2016.

It cited the fifth international casteller gathering in Berlin, held in May 2025, where it says 10 teams performed, 18 six-level towers were completed and one seven-level tower was attempted. Berlin and Edinburgh teams completed their first six-level towers there, according to the federation.

People planning to attend the Concurs de Castells can use the published calendar dates to distinguish the Torredembarra round on 27 September from the two Tarragona competition days on 3 and 4 October.

Reported by rab.cat.