Primavera Sound | Barcelona 2026

Basically, Primavera Sound, colloquially just Primavera, is one big and popular yearly music festival but has recently been recognized as one of the most visited musical festivals across Europe. Normally organized within the Parc del Fòrum complex in Barcelona, Spain, Primavera Sound conventionally takes place during late May and early June, welcoming the leading visitors from around the world.

Small-scale Origins
Started in 2001 by Pablo Soler, Primavera Sound was an outlet for Spanish noise bands. First held at Poble Espanyol it outgrew its initial home and, by 2005, shifted to the much larger seafront location at Parc del Fòrum. This really launched the festival as the Mediterranean's biggest music festival.

Musical Evolution
Starting off with indie rock, Primavera Sound has broadened its musical scope. These days, headliners and performers range across a wide selection of indie rock, hip hop, EDM, and pop. What's more, Primavera differs in its schedule from many other European festivals-music starts at 4:00 pm, with headliners taking the stage around midnight, and some acts performing as late as 6:00 am.

In 2019, Primavera Sound made headlines as the first major festival to achieve a gender-balanced lineup, under the slogan "The New Normal". This progressive stance on representation, along with its use of exclusively mobile tickets, set new standards within the industry.

Growth and Expansion
It started as a one-day event, grew to two days in 2002, and then by 2004 had expanded to a three-day festival. The same year, 2008, free performances began at local venues for ticket holders-a tradition that has continued as part of Primavera a la Ciutat. Like many global events, the festival was canceled in both 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but it returned in 2022 with a special two-week format to accommodate the acts that had been booked for the missed years. By 2023, it had returned to its usual one-week structure.

The success of the festival in Barcelona opened the way for international expansion. In 2012, Porto, Portugal, was the first city outside Spain to host Primavera Sound, held at Parque da Cidade a week after the Barcelona event. Its presence continued to spread globally in 2022 with new editions taking place in Los Angeles, Santiago de Chile, Buenos Aires, and São Paulo. In the year 2023, the festival also expanded to Asunción and then a Madrid edition, but that experiment was short-lived, lasting only one year. Since 2019, Primavera Weekender also takes place every November in Benidorm with the festivals shortened version.

Iconic Lineups and Record-Breaking Attendance
During this period, Primavera Sound has seen several headliners reprise the festival on one or more occasions. These include Pulp, Sonic Youth, Wilco, Pixies, PJ Harvey, Belle and Sebastian, The Flaming Lips, My Bloody Valentine, Arcade Fire, Patti Smith, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, Interpol, Pavement, Tame Impala, The Strokes, Kendrick Lamar, Rosalía, and Justice, among many others.

Since it was first organized, the festival has grown massively. From the mere 7,700 tickets sold during its inaugural year in 2001, Primavera Sound now receives hundreds of thousands of people each year. It attracted 460,500 people in 2022, positioning it as the fourth most attended music festival in the world that year. It also left a dent on Barcelona's economy, earning an estimated €349 million in revenue.

In 2025, Primavera Sound took its legendary lineup to new heights with a star-studded selection of artists across genres, offering something for every kind of musical soul.

Highlights from the 2025 Lineup
Some of the biggest acts who lit up the stage at Primavera Sound included:

• Charli XCX – Brought dynamic energy to pop with bold, genre-blending hits.
• Sabrina Carpenter – The rising star showcased her pop prowess to a devoted fanbase.
• Chappell Roan – Indie pop’s newest ingénue delivered catchy tunes with infectious energy.
• LCD Soundsystem – The legendary electronic titans returned with their trademark sound.
• FKA Twigs – Captivated audiences with her eerie vocals and stunning avant-pop visuals.
• HAIM – The beloved Californian rock trio radiated feel-good, upbeat vibes.
• Jamie xx – Blended electronic beats with indie influences in a genre-defying set.
• Fontaines D.C. – Delivered raw, intense post-punk straight from Ireland.
• Beach House – Enchanted crowds with their lush, atmospheric dream-pop soundscapes.
• IDLES – Unleashed fierce energy with a live show full of electric intensity.
• Clairo – Mesmerised with introspective lyrics and smooth alt-pop melodies.
• Turnstile – Pushed the boundaries of hardcore punk with a powerful performance.

With its live pop, rock, electronic, and indie vibes, Primavera Sound 2026 was one for the books — all the details were found here.

Tickets for 2026 are now on sale, through the Primavera Sound website. With a lineup soon to be announce, the tickets are sure to get sold out in no time, so be quick before it's too late!

A Cultural Icon
Once described by The New York Times in 2014 as "the Coachella of Europe," Primavera Sound retains its own feral DNA, eschewing the celebrity nonsense and style affectations of its American cousin. True to its spirit of musical diversity and inclusivity, and with continuous innovation, Primavera Sound is one of the most loved institutions on the music festival circuit in the world.