BAM Festival

Beirut is to be the guest city for the 2019 La Mercè festivities, to be held from 20 to 24 September

A Mediterranean city that is one of the great cultural centres of the Arab world will be this year's guest city for the La Mercè festivities. Theatre, dancing, street art and Beirut-made cinema will take centre stage from 20 to 24 September, when Barcelona celebrates its big annual festival.

Barcelona and the Lebanese capital are currently putting the finish touches to the plans for Beirut’s involvement in the celebrations. What we can say for certain is that you will be able to see many artists from this city, so many times ravaged by war but always determined to retain its privileged position in the world of creativity. 

With its particularly rich contemporary art scene, Beirut has much in common with Barcelona. The two cities share the same sea, the same commitment to culture, common traditions and even similar foods.

Get ready not only for some great examples of Lebanon’s rich array of films screened over here but also for discovering a scene of young artists whose past and tradition - as is often the case in Barcelona - have been greatly influenced by a variety of cultures (from Phoenician to French) which have served as a source of inspiration for the creation of highly topical works.

Every year since 2007, Barcelona’s big annual La Mercè festival has had a guest city bringing over its most innovative talent Previous guest cities include Medellín (2007), Quito (2008), Istanbul (2009), Dakar (2010), Saint Petersburg (2011), Montreal (2012), Vienna (2013), Stockholm (2014), Buenos Aires (2015), Paris (2016), Reykjavik (2017) and Lisbon (2018).