The Manchester Day 2026the great public celebration that will take place on Sunday July 26will have an important participation of Catalan companies, with the support of the Ramon Llull Institute (IRL). This prominent presence is part of the cultural reciprocity relationship established between Barcelona and Manchester after the English city was the guest of honor at La Mercè 2025.
For the first time, Manchester Day, one of the most popular and emblematic events in the city’s cultural calendar, produced by the British company Walk the Plank on behalf of Manchester City Council, will incorporate a strong Catalan presence through a program of street arts that will turn the streets and squares of Manchester into a great showcase of contemporary Catalan creation.
The initiative is part of the cultural collaboration framework promoted following the signing, in 2024, of a memorandum of understanding between Barcelona and Manchester, which has favored the exchange of artists, projects and cultural institutions between the two cities.
Catalan programming distributed throughout the city
Between twelve noon and five in the afternoon, several spaces in the center of Manchester will host performances by some of the most prominent Catalan companies in the current street arts. The program, coordinated by Walk the Plank in collaboration with XTRAX Arts and with the support of the Ramon Llull Institute, includes proposals for Joan Català, Kamchatka, Zum-Zum Teatre, Elelei, Clementine & Lizard and theAlways Drinking Marching Band.
Among the outstanding shows will be The Ultimate Player’s Handbooka dance piece co-created by Clementine & Lizard and the British company Chameleon companypremiered at La Mercè and now presented to the Manchester audience. The company will also participate Eleleiwith the physical theater and dance show Too Muchi Kamchatkawith its characteristic immersive interventions in public space.
The program will be completed with giant inflatable hippos from Zum-Zum Theatre and with the musical energy of theAlways Drinking Marching Bandone of the Catalan street groups with the most international exposure.
In addition, the program will incorporate various elements inspired by Catalan culture, such as figures from the bestiary and giants, flags and visual elements present in the main parade, as well as the joint participation of theInstitute of the Arts Barcelona and the International University of Catalonia in a specific artistic proposal created for the event.
The central moment of the day will be the traditional one Manchester Day Paradewhich will start at 1 pm St. Peter’s Square and will gather more than 500 participants representatives of the various communities of the city.
The parade will go through the city center in a circular route of 1.7 kilometers and will have a prominent Catalan presence. The public will be able to see elements inspired by Catalan popular culture, great festive figures and various artistic interventions that will dialogue with the traditions of Manchester.
The parade will be led by the group Global Grooves with the popular Queen Bee and the Worker Beefigures who already participated in La Mercè in Barcelona last year. The day will culminate with a great final show Albert Squareat 5 p.m., with the participation of several Catalan and British companies.
Culture as a tool for international dialogue and connection
Catalan participation in Manchester Day reinforces the role of the Ramon Llull Institute in the international projection of Catalan culture and in building stable links with international cultural institutions and events.
The director of the IRL, Anna Guitarthighlights that this collaboration “it is part of a logic of reciprocity that strengthens cultural relations, initiated with the participation of Manchester as a city invited to La Mercè 2025, and emphasizes the role of culture as a tool for international dialogue and connection”. According to Guitart, Manchester Day is “an exceptional platform to show the quality, diversity and innovative capacity of Catalan street arts, and generate new opportunities for artistic and professional cooperation”.
For his part, the Councilor for Culture and Creative Industries of Barcelona City Council, Xavier Marcéhas remarked that Barcelona’s participation in Manchester Day allows “strengthen the cultural ties that unite the two cities” and celebrate “creativity, diversity and the capacity of culture to connect people and communities across borders”.
With this participation, Catalan culture is once again one of the main popular events in the United Kingdom and consolidates a collaborative relationship that aims to generate new opportunities for exchange and international exposure for the creators and cultural institutions of both territories.
