XTRAX and Without Walls bring Manchester to La Mercè Festival

Manchester is the official Guest City for La Mercè 2025, Barcelona’s biggest annual festival, in a  landmark cultural collaboration that brings two powerhouse cities together in a spectacular  celebration of outdoor performance, diversity, and artistic innovation. 

Curated and produced by Manchester-based international outdoor arts organisation XTRAX, in  collaboration with Without Walls, Manchester at La Mercè 2025 will showcase some of the  city’s trailblazing outdoor artists across six days of parades, installations, music, dance, and  performance in public spaces throughout Barcelona. 

Each year, La Mercè shines a spotlight on a Guest City – and for 2025, Manchester was selected  in recognition of its global creative impact, pioneering spirit, and vibrant outdoor arts scene. The  festival annually attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors and is considered a highlight of the  European cultural calendar. 

Manchester at La Mercè features thirteen projects and over eighteen UK artists and companies.  Together, XTRAX and Without Walls have made Manchester a powerhouse for cultivating and  supporting outdoor arts in the UK. Manchester at La Mercè highlights Manchester’s artistic  depth and cultural diversity – spanning Carnival, circus, dance, hip hop, fire installations, and  large-scale puppetry.  

Throughout the festival, Mercè Street Arts (MAC) will fill Parc de l’Estació del Nord, Parc de la  Trinitat and the streets and squares of Barcelona with artists including those reflecting  Manchester’s proud heritage of inclusivity and innovation. 

XTRAX has initiated several new international commissions for La Mercè, including Bee for  Barcelona, a stunning collaboration between Manchester carnival group Global Grooves and  Catalan artists Pau Reig and Dolors Sans – introducing two Giant Bee puppets, celebrating shared  industrial heritage, cultural pride, and artistic exchange and parading with thirty community  performers and musicians including from Saddleworth Womens Morris and Clog, Indian  Association and others. Another highlight is an exuberant dance performance The Ultimate  Player’s Handbook a new collaboration between Manchester’s Company Chameleon and  Barcelona’s Clémentine & Lisard, and Barcelona Beehive from Artizani featuring an evocative  new installation, merging scenes from Catalan traditions with the beloved Bees! The Colony  (supported by Without Walls). These world premieres will debut in Barcelona before  transferring to Manchester in 2026. 

Without Walls has supported vibrant outdoor performances featuring: DamaeDance IRMÃ sister, a poignant exploration about the complex emotional landscape of human relationships;  Stopgap Dance Company, who have collaborated with Cambodian artist Nadenh Poan making  his choreographic debut for their latest production RO-TES-រទ េះtogether with diverse and  world class dancers, and Mark Anderson in collaboration with Liam Walsh who will share their  immersive sound and mechanical art installation, Warning Notes. 

More outstanding performances are from: Ghetto Fabulous with their glittering Family Catwalk  Extravaganza, the ultimate competition in fashion, dance and performance; Joseph Toonga (Just  Us Dance Theatre) with their electrifying Born to Protest, an all-female cast sharing bold Hip  Hop dance that challenges racial bias and reclaims identity through movement, sound, and  testimony; Mr Wilson’s Second Liners will roam with their high-energy rave meets brass band;  Company Chameleon has another show in La Merce, Umbra, a powerful and nuanced dance  trio, delicate and explosive in equal measure; and Motionhouse will defy gravity with WILD, a  daring acrobatic and circus performance atop a forest of tall bamboo poles.  

Manchester’s signature cultural boldness will also be on show at Manchester at La Mercè, with  thrilling works including Fire Garden, inviting audiences to wander amongst a glowing landscape  of metal and fire, by world-renowned Walk the Plank with local performers and music created  by musicians in Barcelona, and six artists from OUR CITY SPEAKS, poetry films from Manchester,  with Manchester City of Literature and Barcelona City of Literature. 

Alongside the outdoor performance programme at La Mercè, XTRAX, Without Walls and Catalan  partners will host free international panel discussions and professional networking events,  amplifying the importance of outdoor festivals in giving visibility and representation to diverse  communities, and bringing people together in public space. These discussions will include  international speakers and policy makers and will prelude Mondiacult, the world’s biggest 

cultural policy conference for the member states of UNESCO taking place in Barcelona from 29  September – 1 October 2025. 

Maggie Clarke, Director of XTRAX comments ‘I’m delighted that Manchester will be Guest City at  La Mercè 2025, which is the result of many years of collaboration between XTRAX and  colleagues in Barcelona City Council and the Catalan arts scene. La Mercè is recognised as one of  the greatest festivals of outdoor arts in the world, and it is an honour to present some of the  fantastic work from Manchester at this prestigious event, and to have created opportunities for  collaboration between Manchester and Barcelona artists. 

We are proud that this project is generating valuable international investment in the artists  taking part, enabling them to showcase their work in one of Europe’s most iconic cities. Since  Brexit these opportunities have become even harder to secure, and we are working hard to  ensure that other festivals around Europe and beyond take note of the programme of work for  Manchester at La Mercè, and recognise the quality and diversity of artists from Manchester and  the UK.’ 

Ralph Kennedy, Chief Executive at Without Walls comments ‘Without Walls are honoured to  have collaborated with XTRAX as a strategic partner for MAC, the La Mercè 2025 outdoor  programme. Without Walls has been proudly based in Manchester since its founding, and we  are absolutely thrilled to be part of this exciting city to city partnership. 

Manchester is a vibrant hub for some of the best outdoor art being created in the UK today. The  programme of shows curated by XTRAX and Without Walls for La Mercè 2025, in partnership  with the Artistic Director of MAC, stands as a testament to the city’s incredible creative energy.’ 

La Mercè is delivered by ICUB/Barcelona City Council. 

Manchester at La Mercè has been produced by XTRAX, and co-curated by Without Walls.  The music programme is presented by Manchester Music City, led by Brighter Sound. 

Supported by Manchester City Council, Arts Council England and Unlimited.  Additional funding for Bee for Barcelona from GMCA, GMArts, Oldham Council and Tameside  Borough Council. 

In collaboration with ICEC/Catalan Arts, British Council and British Embassy in Spain. La Mercè will announce the full programme in September 2025.

Main Image: Company Chameleon - Umbra (photo credit unknown)

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