Barcelona will celebrate its traditional Three Kings Parade on January 5th, a festivity that has been repeated every year since 1940, to offer a grand welcome to Their Majesties the Three Wise Men.
After a long sea journey from the Far East, Melchior, Gaspar, and Balthazar will arrive in the city around 4:30 p.m., docking their ship at the Moll de la Fusta. There, they will be greeted by the mayor, who will give them the keys to the city so that, just for that night, they can open the doors of all the houses in Barcelona and deliver their gifts.
At 6 pm the parade of floats will begin, accompanied by groups in costume, dancers, royal postmen, and a retinue of pages. The route, which will last three hours, will pass through the streets of Av. Marquès de l’Argentera, Pla de Palau, Pg. Isabel II, Via Laietana, Pl. Urquinaona, Fontanella, Pl. Catalunya, Pl. Universitat, Rda. Sant Antoni, Sepúlveda, Av. Paral·lel, Pl. Espanya, until it reaches Av. Maria Cristina.
In addition to the main parade, other neighborhoods in the city celebrate their own festivities: Sant Andreu, Horta, Les Corts, Sant Martí, Sants, or Sarrià. King's parades are also held in Badalona, Hospitalet, Sant Adrià del Besós, or Santa Coloma de Gramanet.
No child without toys!
This year Radio Barcelona celebrates the 50th anniversary of its Three Kings special “No child without toys” with a 20-hour charity marathon.
The program, which has aimed since its inception to ensure that no child in Barcelona goes without toys on Three Kings' Day, will be broadcast on January 5th starting at 9 a.m. and will feature some of the network's most prominent journalists (Àngel Casas, Andreu Buenafuente, Antoni Bassas, Gemma Nierga…).
Every hour, one of the items donated by prominent figures from the world of culture, sports, and politics will be auctioned off. The auction for the rest of the items will begin at 9 p.m., hosted and directed, as every year, by Rosa Badia.
Discover here how to participate!
And for the last-minute shopping...
Remember that if you have any pending purchases or want to take a walk after the Parade, you can visit the Fira de Reis, which since 1877 has set up more than 200 stalls on the Gran Vía de les Corts Catalanes in Barcelona, between Muntaner and Calabria streets, and on the night of Kings they are open until 3 am!
