Sónar 2025 draws 161,000 attendees and announces major format change for 2026

Sónar 2025 concluded in Barcelona this weekend with a total of 161,000 attendees, which marked a a 7,000-person increase over the previous year and reaffirmed the event as a leading international platform for electronic music, digital culture and creative technologies.

This year’s edition featured programming across Sónar by Day for 52,500 attendees, Sónar by Night for 66,500 attendees and various parallel events during Sónar Week for 42,000 attendees, including OFFSónar showcases and cultural collaborations across the city.

A total of 1,400 artists, speakers and exhibitors from the fields of music, technology and science participated in the festival across nearly 200 performances on 10 stages.

Sónar by Day highlights included performances from MOCHAKK, Honey Dijon, Alizzz, Tarta Relena and Maria Arna alongside tributes and special live collaborations such as Alva Noto & Fennesz’s homage to Ryuichi Sakamoto. The Saturday program featured acts such as Overmono and the Spanish premiere of Concrète Waves by Actress and Suzanne Ciani.

Sónar by Night opened with a visually striking DJ set from BICEP and featured artists such as Peggy Gou, Four Tet, Jayda G, Richie Hawtin and Barry Can’t Swim. Saturday's programming included Spanish artist Nathy Peluso’s GRASA show and collaborative sets from Armin van Buuren b2b Indira Paganotto, Skrillex b2b Blawan and Dee Diggs b2b Ultra Naté.

The festival’s innovation and technology-focused program, Sónar+D, hosted over 580 speakers and exhibitors and the Sónar Week program expanded to include events at key cultural institutions such as the Palau de la Música Catalana and the Mies van der Rohe Pavilion.

Organizers have since announced a major change for Sónar 2026, which will take place on June 18–20 at Fira Gran Via: for the first time in the festival’s 33-year history, all components, Sónar by Day, Sónar by Night, and Sónar+D, will be held at a single venue.

Presale for Sónar 2026 opens on Tuesday, 17 June at 12:00 PM (CEST) at sonar.es.