Carnival arts specialists Global Grooves (MCR) and Catalan artists Pau Reig and Dolors Sans (CAT) create Queen Bee Gigante and Worker Bee for La Mercè.
Bee for Barcelona is a new commission of two Giant Bees, celebrating shared industrial heritage, cultural pride, and artistic exchange.
Queen Bee Gigante, wears a costume reflecting Greater Manchester’s communities and cotton legacy. She transforms into a maypole, surrounded by 30 community dancers and musicians in a fusion of Morris and Classical Indian dance—reimagining May Day and Carnival traditions.
Alongside her, Worker Bee, a four-metre kinetic sculpture, shimmers with hand-painted silks encased in fibreglass, evoking stained glass. Copper legs and cog motifs nod to the textile mills and industrial histories of Manchester and Barcelona and the birth of the Industrial Revolution.
La Mercè is famous for its incredible parades – of beasts, giants and fire carrying devils, all of which are created in by Catalan artists working with community groups, parading through the streets of the old city by day and by night.
Blending Mancunian, Catalan, Pan-African, and South Asian influences, Bee for Barcelona will be accompanied by 30 diverse performers and musicians from groups including Saddleworth Women’s Morris & Clog, and The Indian Association Oldham Dancing Diyas.
A new commission by XTRAX for MCRxLaMerce2025 produced by Global Grooves. Supported by Manchester City Council, Arts Council England and XTRAX. Funded by Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA), GM Arts, Oldham Council, and Tameside Metropolitan Borough Council.
Following their parades and performances throughout La Mercè, Barcelona from 23 – 27 September 2025, Queen Bee Gigante and Worker Bee will return for Manchester Day in July 2026.
Image: Bee for Barcelona, photo credit Barcelona City Council
