Barcelona, ​​ready to host today the best team presentation in the history of the Tour de France

Under the motto ‘Barcelona embraces the Tour’, Today the city will transform the traditional presentation ceremony of the cycling teams into a unique and spectacular event. The peloton will really start rolling on Saturday with the first stage, a team time trial through the streets of Barcelona, ​​but previously the Tour’s agenda of activities has spread both in the Catalan capital and in Tarragona, from where the second stage leaves, and Granollersstart of the third day, a wide and varied program of events. Beyond the sporting event, the will of the municipal government has always been to bring the Tour closer to the citizens, so that they feel it is theirs, so that they enjoy it – and proof of this is the more than 4,000 volunteers who will contribute their grain of sand to the race –, claiming the sporting capital of the city and the cycling passion that is breathed in Barcelona. The mayor Jaume Collboni trust that this is the best Grand Départ of the Tour and David Escude, sports councilor, has stated on more than one occasion that “we want to write a page in the history of the Tour.”

Since ASO –the company that runs the Tour– and Barcelona began to talk about the option of hosting the Grand Départ. The understanding was total and the desire of the municipal government was clear, it wanted to make history in the Tour, involve the city and offer a different scenario, never seen before; which will begin to be enjoyed today with the presentation of the 23 teams that will star in the race. It is a protocol act, of rigor, that on more occasions than desired goes unnoticed and generates little expectation, but so that this is not the case in Barcelona, ​​an unprecedented presentation has been designed, which will turn the city into a great cultural and sporting stage; in a ceremony that “will transform the sports parade into a collective journey that will define the Barcelona of today: feminine, Catalan, international, generational, welcoming, inclusive, diverse and committed to peace and coexistence.”

Starting at 6:30 p.m., the team presentation ceremony will unite andl Modernist Precinct of Sant Pau and the Holy Family in a tour that will be broadcast to 190 countries. The 23 teams will begin the tour at the Sant Pau Modernist Campus and will parade through the Gaudi avenue to the main stage, located in front of the Sagrada Família, offering fans a unique opportunity to see the great figures of cycling up close and hear their words. The ceremony will bring together some of the most prominent names on the cultural scene, such as Sílvia Pérez Cruz, Lia Kali, Doctor Prats, the OMAC, the Cor de Teatre, the Castellers de Vilafranca, the Castellers de Barcelona and the Castellers de la Sagrada Família, as well as contemporary circus, dance and music artists. The show will be directed by Martí Torras Mayneris and presented by journalists Carlos de Andrés, Elisenda Pineda and Jordi Basté.

The event will also include a tribute to the city’s cycling clubs and volunteers, recognizing the fundamental role of the associative fabric and citizen involvement in the organization of the Grand Départ. Furthermore, the celebration coincides with the World Capital of Architecture 2026 that Barcelona boasts, giving the event a special symbolic dimension; and in three days the 113th edition of the Tour de France will begin at full speed.