Grec 2025. Leticia Martín Ruiz’s first edition as artistic director was marked by a strong turnout and loyal audiences.
The 49th edition of Barcelona’s summer festival has come to a close, wrapping up a five-week programme featuring 97 shows across 42 venues throughout the city. Around 127,724 people attended this year's festival, the first under the direction of Leticia Martín Ruiz, with an average occupancy of 92% at Grec-managed venues and 68% at the others.
One month after opening with the Le Petit Cirque performance on 26 June, El Grec has closed this year’s edition with a strong record of high attendance, strengthened local and international networks, and co-productions taking on a central role in the festival.
During Grec 2025, estimates show that festival-managed venues achieved 92% occupancy, while other venues reached 68%. This year’s vibrant, decentralised festival resonated with the cultural landscape, fostering stronger connections with local, state and global cultural institutions. It also welcomed new partners, including Fundación SGAE, La Virreina Centre de la Imatge, the D’A Festival and Centro Danza Matadero.
The co-productions were hosted in iconic venues and played a significant part in the festival, which is establishing itself as a driving force in contemporary creation by supporting local talent and exploring new formats and performance spaces. In this spirit, the festival worked closely with the city’s Creation Factories, which was involved in several projects presented this year.
Once again, the 2025 edition centred on the Teatre Grec, which hosted spectacular performances by musician Max Richter, theatre director Tiago Rodrigues, dancer and choreographer Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui and a collaboration between Indi-Gest and the Barcelona Municipal Band in La nit del músic més alt.
The venues with the highest turnout were the Teatre Grec, Teatre Lliure Gràcia, Jardí Botànic, Jardins de Rubió i Lluch and—achieving 100% occupancy—the Arc de Triomf, which hosted a new event as part of Marc Salicrú’s Teatres de Campanya project. The most popular shows were Le Petit Cirque, the Rozalén concert, the performance by Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, and the concert dedicated to Pau Riba, among others.
67% of the shows originated in Barcelona, 11% in the metropolitan area and 12% in the rest of Catalonia. It’s estimated that 64% of the festival-goers were returning visitors, with the other 36% attending for the first time.