The esplanade of the Three Chimneys of Sant Adrià del Besòs became the stage for the Opening Ceremony on the evening of 28 June. The ceremony, hosted by architect and communicator Núria Moliner, featured addresses from institutional representatives, organisers and the curatorial team, among them Regina Gonthier, President of the UIA; Marta Vall-llossera, President of the CSCAE and Congress President; Sandra Bestraten, Dean of the COAC; the mayors of Barcelona and Sant Adrià de Besòs, Jaume Collboni and Filo Cañete; representatives of the Ministry and the Government of Catalonia; and the full curatorial team. The closing address was delivered by Joan Busquets, honorary president of the Congress.
As night fell, over 5,000 attendees witnessed the CABO & CUBE SHOW, a performance created specifically for the occasion by Cabosanroque and Estudio Cube. For half an hour, six crane operators performed a choreography that moved between celebration and contemplation, the monumental and the minute, a performance that turned material, technique and gesture into questions about how humans transform the world.
The show culminated in the uncorking of a bottle of cava with one of the cranes and a toast served to UIA President Regina Gonthier, an image that brought the ceremony to a close and marked the symbolic start of three days of architectural debate.
The Opening Ceremony of the UIA World Congress of Architects 2026 Barcelona brought together over 5,000 people from over 130 countries at the esplanade of the Three Chimneys. Attendees witnessed a performance by Cabosanroque and Cube Studio, in which six cranes choreographed the uncorking of a bottle of cava, a celebratory image to mark the start of the Congress.