The 2026 Festa Major of Sitges focuses on the 'stitches' of the festival: the anonymous people who make the celebration possible. Joan Roca Pujadó and Maria Dolors Carbonell Tutusaus will be the banner bearers, and Zoë Puighibet Masó will be the announcer.
The Festa Major of Sant Bartomeu and Santa Tecla in Sitges already has a programme for 2026. The presentation event, held this Thursday at the Torreta (Baluard Vidal Quadras), highlighted the main novelties and the names of this year's protagonists. The leitmotif of the celebration will be a tribute to the 'stitches of the festival', that is, all those people who work discreetly but are essential for the festival to take place: seamstresses, giant doll hairdressers, cooks, municipal brigades, healthcare workers, firefighters, and many other groups.
This year's banner bearers will be Joan Roca Pujadó for Sant Bartomeu and Maria Dolors Carbonell Tutusaus for Santa Tecla. The announcer will be Zoë Puighibet Masó, while Noemí Milà has been responsible for writing the poem for the Flag. As for the fireworks, those for Sant Bartomeu will pay tribute to the libraries of Sitges, and those for Santa Tecla will honour the primary schools. The Offering of the Office of Sant Bartomeu will be handled by Suburband, and for Santa Tecla, it will be taken care of by the Gitanes de la Vila.
The municipal commission of the Festa Major has aimed to highlight the work of all the people who make the festival possible from behind the scenes. The president of the Commission, Xavier Salmerón Carbonell, explained that 'we wanted to articulate the Festa based on the stitches that support it. One of these stitches is the seamstresses, mostly women, who perform an essential and often not very visible task, and who we thought are a good metaphor for many other trades, tasks, and elements that are not very visible or not visible at all, but without which the Festa Major as we know it could not exist.' This year's image, created by Kàtia Plana, was surrounded by 36 groups of seamstresses to celebrate and advocate for their craft.
One of the highlighted novelties is the enhancement of the space La Plaça, at the Torreta, which will host 17 activities over 8 days. Among the new events are the adapted Pandereta Dance (20th August at 6 PM), a community dinner (21st August at 9 PM, with a ticket of 5 euros that includes snacks, two drinks, and dessert), and the presentation of the restoration of the cabeçut of Patufet (22nd August at 7 PM).
The festival also incorporates improvements in accessibility. The calm section for the Procession of Sant Bartomeu is maintained, and new features such as vests that vibrate with the sound of the gralles for deaf people, simultaneous sign language translation at various events, reserved spaces for wheelchairs, and time slots at the Fair of attractions without loud lights or sounds are added. Additionally, notifications will be sent to the public about events with fireworks so that people with high sensitivity or pets can take precautions.
Outside of La Plaça, there are also novelties. On 20th August at 9:30 PM, La Fragata will host a concert-dance with the orchestra La Principal de La Bisbal, which will offer a first part of a concert and a second part of dancing. Another novelty is the talk with meteorologist Gori Masip, titled 'Festa Major in times of climate change', which will take place at the Casino Prado Suburense and will address the impacts of extreme heat on health and the challenges for celebrations.
The mayor of Sitges closed the event by stating that 'the Festa Major allows us to experience the Sitges we love the most, and in 2026 we do so with special excitement for this recognition of all the anonymous people who carry forward the celebration and also for the firm commitment to accessibility for everyone at the Festa Major.' She added that 'we eagerly await both the most traditional events that remind us of those who are no longer here and the new events proposed by a Commission to whom we thank for innovating from tradition.'
The councillor for Festivals, Eva Martín Martínez, emphasised that 'this will be a Festa Major full of novelties and in which we can announce that...' (the source does not complete the sentence). The 2026 Festa Major of Sitges promises, therefore, an edition that combines tradition and innovation, with a strong emphasis on recognising those who make the festival possible and on accessibility for everyone.
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