Sónar was founded in Barcelona in 1994 by three people — Ricard Robles, Enric Palau and Sergio Caballero — with the concept of a festival dedicated to Advanced Music and Multimedia Art. The first edition was held across the CCCB and Sala Apolo with 30 shows and 6,000 attendees. Three decades later, individual editions draw over 120,000 visitors and the format has been replicated in Bogotá, Lisbon and Hong Kong.
In October 2025, all three historic founders left the organisation after 32 years. François Jozic took over as CEO, with majority shareholder Superstruct Entertainment (which acquired its stake in 2019) now fully in operational control. The 2026 edition is the first under this new structure — and the first to structurally break from the Day/Night format that defined Sónar since 1994.
2026 festival dates: 18–20 June at Fira Gran Via, L’Hospitalet.
What is Sónar Barcelona and how does it work? A three-day electronic music, creativity and technology festival held each June in Barcelona. 100+ acts across 6 stages at Fira Gran Via, L’Hospitalet. 3-day SonarPass from €184. Parallel congress Sónar+D at Llotja de Mar in central Barcelona. OFFSónar parties run independently at Poble Espanyol. The 2026 edition merges Day and Night into one venue for the first time.
The 2026 change: what’s different from every previous edition
The defining structural difference for 2026: Sónar by Day and Sónar by Night no longer exist as separate events. For the first time in 32 years, all programming — from the afternoon opening to the 7am close — takes place at the Fira Gran Via under a continuous music model.
Schedule by day:
- Thursday 18 June: 5pm to 3am
- Friday 19 June: 5pm to 7am (14 consecutive hours)
- Saturday 20 June: 5pm to 7am
Re-entry policy: one re-entry per session before 11pm.
The six stages of 2026:
| Stage | Format | Key characteristic |
|---|---|---|
| SonarVillage by Estrella Damm | Outdoor | Only stage running uninterrupted across all 3 days |
| SonarClub | Indoor, large-format | New-generation sound and lighting system |
| SonarHall | Indoor | No gaps between artists; central stage design |
| SonarCar | Indoor | Dedicated to STOOR: 6+ hour live hardware sessions |
| SonarPark | Outdoor | Hyper-connected subcultures, until 6am |
| SonarLab | Indoor | Underground rave culture with sensory immersion systems |
Only four stages operate on Thursday. All six run Friday and Saturday.
Quick decision: which ticket type for which profile
- Three full days at the best price → SonarPass from €184 — complete access to all musical programming, re-entry before 11pm
- Only available Friday and Saturday → Weekend Ticket from €149 — the two longest sessions (until 7am) with all six stages active
- First time at Sónar, Thursday entry → Day Ticket Thursday from €44 — the shortest session (until 3am), four stages active, the calmest entry point to the festival
- Festival plus technology congress → SonarPass+D from €204 — includes Sónar+D access at Llotja de Mar on Thursday and Friday
- Club-format events in a different setting → OFFSónar at Poble Espanyol — independent events from Keinemusik, Solid Grooves and elrow, 18–21 June
- Technology conference without the festival → 2-day Sónar+D ticket from €25 — Llotja de Mar congress access only, no festival entry
- Families with children → Sónar Kids (Saturday 20 June, Parc del Fòrum) — parallel programme of music and creativity for all ages, separate from the main festival
The 2026 lineup: what kind of programming Sónar actually curates
Sónar doesn’t work like summer pop festivals. The curatorial logic is different: over 100 acts per edition, mixing artists with genuine international reach alongside experimental proposals that don’t appear at any other regional festival.
The most significant bookings for 2026:
- The Prodigy: the debut of the most important act in rave history on the Sónar stage
- Charlotte de Witte and Amelie Lens (AURA): the current peak of high-intensity European techno
- Kelis and Skepta: R&B and grime that expand the festival’s genre range beyond its electronic core
- Reinier Zonneveld with R2: a back-to-back set with an AI trained on Zonneveld’s own music, with holographic visuals — the most technically advanced artificial intelligence experiment programmed at a live music festival in Europe
- Daito Manabe x Google DeepMind: live collaboration between digital art and AI technology
- STOOR Live (Speedy J): fully improvised electronic hardware sessions of 6+ hours in SonarCar
- Goldie b2b Doc Scott ft. Medic MC: the most significant drum’n’bass performance of the year on the continent
- Cabaret Voltaire: one of the founding bands of electronic music, active since the 1970s
The presence of generative AI in the lineup — Zonneveld with R2, the Manabe/DeepMind collaboration — is the clearest signal of the festival’s thematic pivot toward the music-technology intersection.
What most guides miss: the Reinier Zonneveld R2 experiment
Reinier Zonneveld’s set with R2 is being described in press materials as an AI trained on his musical catalogue performing alongside him in real time. The technical claim — an AI responsive to live performance at festival scale — would make this the most ambitious live AI integration at a major music event anywhere in Europe.
Whether R2 functions as described or as a sophisticated pre-generated accompaniment is something the actual performance will clarify. But the programming decision itself reflects Sónar’s consistent pattern: platform proposals that aren’t proven until the night they happen. That uncertainty is part of the curation logic, not a bug in it.
Sónar+D: the technology congress at Llotja de Mar
Sónar+D is the parallel congress targeting the creative and technology industry. For 2026, it moves from Fira de Barcelona to the neoclassical Llotja de Mar building in the historic centre, near El Born.
It runs Thursday 18 and Friday 19 June. The 2026 thematic axes:
- AI & Music (S+T+ARTS): the post-generative-AI landscape in music creation, with the AI Performance Playground — a three-day hacklab for musicians and researchers with final performances from collectives including dadabots
- Beyond the Screen: the return of the physical; tangible experiences through creative code and TouchDesigner workshops
- Digital Gardens and Dark Forests: digital sovereignty and alternative web futures; speakers include Yancey Strickler, Joana Moll and Mindy Seu
Access requires either the SonarPass+D (from €204) or a standalone 2-day Sónar+D ticket (from €25). Transit between Llotja de Mar and Fira Gran Via takes under 25 minutes by metro.
OFFSónar and the broader festival ecosystem
OFFSónar at Poble Espanyol runs 18–21 June with events from the most significant labels in European electronic music. 2026 highlights: Keinemusik (Rampa & Adam Port and Adriatique), Baddest Behaviour by Mau P, Lone Romantic by Maceo Plex, Fuse London and Mochakk Calling. The Sunday 21 June closing is elrow.
OFFSónar tickets are separate from the SonarPass and sell out weeks before the festival — reserve as soon as they’re available.
During Sónar Week (days before the festival), additional events run at Sala Apolo (Nitsa programming), club Moog and the Sónar District at Parc del Fòrum. Most are at reduced prices or free.
Sónar Kids runs Saturday 20 June at Parc del Fòrum — music and creativity programme for families, no age restrictions.
For the broader Barcelona festivals context, the Barcelona festivals calendar guide covers what else is happening around the same period in June.
Getting to the venue and between sites
Fira Gran Via (main festival): Metro L9 Sud, Fira or Europa-Fira stations. The SonarBus runs Lines 0, 1 and 2 connecting key city points with the Fira. Night buses N1, N2, N13, N15, N16, N17 and N18 also serve the area.
Llotja de Mar (Sónar+D): Metro L4 (Barceloneta) or L1 (Arc de Triomf). 5 minutes’ walk from El Born.
Poble Espanyol (OFFSónar): Bus 23 or 150, or the Montjuïc cable car from Paral·lel.
Driving is not practical: Fira Gran Via car parks fill in the first hours of each session and there are no viable alternatives nearby.
Is it worth it?
Yes — if Sónar’s curatorial logic matches what you’re looking for. The festival rewards people who are interested in the intersection of electronic music and technology, and who want discovery alongside recognisable acts. The SonarCar with six-hour live hardware sessions and the AI programming are the experiences that don’t exist at Tomorrowland or Ultra.
Not worth it if: you’re primarily looking for the biggest pop or mainstream EDM headliners in a field-festival format. Sónar’s programme has broad appeal but is curated for a different intention. The Primavera Sound guide offers a useful comparison — different festival, different logic, same city and same month.
Mistakes to avoid
- Booking accommodation after tickets sell out — hotels near Fira Gran Via and in L’Hospitalet fill 4–6 months ahead of the festival; Poble Sec is the closest neighbourhood with consistently available options, as covered in the Barcelona neighbourhood accommodation guide
- Assuming OFFSónar is included in the SonarPass — it’s a completely separate event with its own tickets; the two ecosystems overlap in time but not in access
- Not reading the bag size policy — maximum 40x20x25 cm or under 20 litres; full backpacks, camera bags with interchangeable lenses, selfie sticks and drones are all turned away at the gate
- Ignoring the SonarCashless recharge window — the wristband is the only payment method inside; loading it online before arrival eliminates queues at the in-venue recharge points
- Missing Sónar+D because it seems niche — the congress at Llotja de Mar is in a significantly more beautiful building than the Fira, the sessions are free to attend if you have the pass, and the Llotja itself is worth the metro journey
Practical details before you go
- SonarCashless: wristband only payment system inside the festival. Free wristband, recharge online or at physical in-venue points. Balance refund is free and without processing fees; refund period runs approximately 17 June to 20 July.
- Bag policy: maximum 40x20x25 cm or under 20 litres. No large backpacks, no external food or drink, no bottles, no drones.
- Ecogots: reusable cups made from rice husk from the Ebro Delta — 72% lower CO2 than standard plastic. €2 refundable deposit via Cashless.
- Welfare programmes: Energy Control (harm reduction), No Callem Punto Lila (anti-harassment protocol), Cruz Roja medical services.
- Young Cultural Bonus: the Spanish Ministry of Culture’s Bono Cultural Joven covers up to €200 toward the SonarPass for eligible applicants.
For visitors combining the festival with a first visit to Barcelona, the Barcelona first-time visitor guide covers the city logistics separately from the festival planning. For the best neighbourhoods to stay during Sónar week — when central hotels triple in price — the guide includes L’Hospitalet and Poble Sec as the most practical options closest to the Fira.