Sónar Lisboa 2026

Sónar Lisboa 2026: Three Days of Electronic Music at Parque Eduardo VII for the 5th Edition

When Sónar Lisboa launched its first edition in Lisbon, it brought the DNA of one of the world's most respected electronic music and arts festivals to a city that was ready for exactly that: Pavilhão Carlos Lopes in Parque Eduardo VII, a glass-and-iron exhibition hall built in 1932 that sits at the top of the Avenida da Liberdade with one of the great views in the Portuguese capital.

Four editions later, the festival has proven that Lisbon was not just ready — it was the right city. The 5th edition of Sónar Lisboa takes place from Friday, April 10 to Sunday, April 12, 2026, with the full programme spanning Sónar by Night on Friday and Saturday evenings and Sónar by Day across Saturday and Sunday. Tickets are available now through DICE — the exclusive ticketing partner for all Sónar festivals worldwide — at sonarlisboa.pt.

What Sónar Lisboa Is: Barcelona's Festival in Lisbon's Most Beautiful Park

The Sónar Festival was founded in Barcelona in 1994 and has grown into one of the most influential electronic music and arts festivals in the world — a festival that has consistently defined the conversation about where electronic music, technology, and creativity meet. Over three decades, the Barcelona edition has presented an extraordinary roll call: artists whose names have defined the history of club culture alongside emerging voices that the festival has consistently identified before the wider world caught on.

Sónar Lisboa is the Lisbon satellite — launched in 2022 and returning each April as the first major festival of the European electronic music season, giving Portuguese and international audiences the Sónar experience in the specific architectural and geographical context that Lisbon provides.

The festival's structure is the same two-part format that defines the Barcelona original:

• Sónar by Night — the evening and overnight programme, running from dusk until dawn on Friday and Saturday, with a single indoor stage at Pavilhão Carlos Lopes. The night programme is concentrated, high-intensity, and focused on the longest possible uninterrupted music experience — with past editions running to 4:00 AM on both nights.
• Sónar by Day — the daytime and early evening programme on Saturday and Sunday, with the music moving outdoors to Parque Eduardo VII's additional open-air stages alongside the indoor main hall. The day programme combines music with the Sónar+D (Sónar Advanced) strand — the technology, creativity, and digital arts conference dimension of the festival that has always distinguished Sónar from a pure music event.

The Venue: Pavilhão Carlos Lopes and Parque Eduardo VII

The choice of Pavilhão Carlos Lopes as the festival home was one of the most intelligent venue decisions in recent European festival history.

The building was constructed for the 1932 International Exhibition in Lisbon and renovated for the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles (where it served as the Portuguese Olympic House). It is an extraordinary structure — its interior a soaring, column-free exhibition hall capable of housing a full festival production with room for thousands of people, its exterior glazed in azulejo (Portuguese decorative tile) panels depicting historical and mythological scenes. The combination of industrial scale and Portuguese decorative tradition is entirely unique, and it gives every Sónar Lisboa night a visual and atmospheric quality that no purpose-built festival venue could replicate.

Parque Eduardo VII — the formal garden that extends from the Pavilhão down the length of the Avenida da Liberdade toward the city centre — provides the outdoor stages for Sónar by Day, with the park's central esplanade and surrounding topiary creating a setting that is genuinely extraordinary for outdoor festival programming.

Looking down from the top of Parque Eduardo VII toward the city centre, with the Avenida da Liberdade stretching away and the Tagus glinting in the distance beyond the Baixa Pombalina — this is one of the great festival views in Europe.

What Previous Editions Tell Us About 2026

The 2026 lineup had not yet been confirmed at the time of writing — Sónar Lisboa typically announces its programme in the weeks before the April dates. But the four previous editions give a clear, consistent picture of what the 5th edition will offer.

The 2025 edition headlined by:

• Underworld — the British electronic duo, one of the defining acts of 30 years of rave culture, whose live show is considered among the finest in electronic music
• Nina Kraviz — the Siberian DJ and producer who has defined the harder, more intense end of the international techno circuit for a decade
• Richie Hawtin as DEX EFX X0X — the Canadian techno pioneer performing his new live hardware project
• Anetha presents EXHIBIT — a brand-new audio-visual show from one of Paris's most vital figures
• The Blaze — the French duo whose combination of house, hip-hop influences, and cinematic visual work has made them one of the most distinctive acts of the current era
• Jeff Mills — the Detroit techno legend, whose DJ sets are consistently among the most technically extraordinary available anywhere
• Modeselektor (DJ set) — the Berlin duo in a rare DJ-only configuration
• Marcel Dettmann presents My Own Shadow (live) — one of Berghain's defining figures, presenting a new live project
• Max Cooper presents Lattice 3D/AV — immersive audio-visual live performance

In total, the 2025 edition brought 43 acts from Portugal and around the world to Parque Eduardo VII. The 2026 edition will follow the same formula of balancing international headliners with significant Portuguese and Iberian artists, and including exclusive stage takeovers that connect Lisbon's own underground scenes with international communities.

Stage Takeovers

One of the most distinctive programming features of Sónar Lisboa is the dedicated stage takeovers — dedicated sessions given to specific collectives, labels, or scenes. In 2025, these included takeovers specifically designed to connect Lisbon's local underground with international partners. The 2026 takeover lineup will be announced as part of the full programme release — watch sonarlisboa.pt for the first confirmations.

Tickets and Passes for Sónar Lisboa 2026

Sónar Lisboa tickets are sold exclusively through DICE — the ticketing app and platform that is the exclusive global partner for all Sónar events.

Based on the 2025 pricing structure (as a guide — 2026 prices are subject to progressive increase, with early buyers benefiting from lower rates):

• Sónar by Night (single night): from approximately €40 early
• Sónar by Day (single day): from approximately €45 early
• Day + Night combo (Saturday): available as combined pass
• Full Festival Pass (Day + Night across all sessions): higher rates applicable

Important: Ticket prices increase progressively as the festival approaches — purchasing early always delivers the best price.

Ticket platform: DICE (available through the DICE app or at dice.fm)

Sónar+D (the technology, creativity, and digital arts programme) is accessible to all Sónar by Day and Full Festival Pass holders.

SónarLab and the Technology Dimension

The Sónar+D strand of the programme is one of the things that distinguishes Sónar Lisboa from a pure music festival. Sónar+D is the conference and creative technology exhibition dimension of the festival — running alongside Sónar by Day on Saturday and Sunday — that engages with the intersection of music, technology, and creative practice.

Past editions have included talks and workshops on AI in music production, audiovisual performance technology, the economics of independent music creation, and the broader future of electronic music culture. The programme is open to all Sónar by Day ticket holders, adding significant intellectual depth to the festival experience without requiring a separate ticket.

Lisbon Around the Festival: Three Days in a City Worth Every Day

The April 10–12 dates put you in Lisbon in what may be its finest seasonal moment — warm, not yet crowded with summer tourists, the light over the Tagus at its most golden, and the city fully alive after the quieter winter months. A three-day festival pass gives you the days for the city itself.

Must-See Lisbon in Three Festival Days

Day 1 (Friday, April 10):

• Arrive with the morning. Walk Alfama — Lisbon's ancient Moorish quarter — up to the Castelo de São Jorge at the summit. The Miradouro da Graça is the city's most authentic viewpoint, preferred by Lisboetas over the tourist-heavy São Pedro de Alcântara.
• Lunch in Mouraria — the multicultural neighbourhood at the hill's base — then take the afternoon gently before Sónar by Night begins.

Day 2 (Saturday, April 11):

• Morning at the Mercado da Ribeira (Time Out Market) in Cais do Sodré for coffee and a pastel de nata.
• Walk through the Chiado — Lisbon's intellectual and cultural neighbourhood, with the Livraria Bertrand (the world's oldest operating bookshop, founded 1732) — then up the Bica funicular to Bairro Alto for lunch.
• Sónar by Day begins in the afternoon at Pavilhão Carlos Lopes, a short walk from the Avenida da Liberdade — and Sónar by Night follows directly.

Day 3 (Sunday, April 12):

• Take the tram to Belém for the morning. The Mosteiro dos Jerónimos (UNESCO World Heritage, Manueline Gothic, one of the finest buildings in Portugal) and the Torre de Belém on the Tagus waterfront are essential.
• The Pastéis de Belém bakery (established 1837, the original source of the pastel de nata) is three minutes away. Return for Sónar by Day's final afternoon session.

Getting to Pavilhão Carlos Lopes

• Address: Pavilhão Carlos Lopes, Av. Sidónio Pais 16, 1070-051 Lisboa
• By metro: Blue Line (Linha Azul) to Parque station — directly at the Parque Eduardo VII entrance, 2-minute walk to the Pavilhão
• By Avenida: The Pavilhão is at the top of the Avenida da Liberdade — an easy uphill walk from the Marquês de Pombal metro hub (Blue and Yellow Lines)
• From most central Lisbon accommodation: walkable in 15–25 minutes or a short metro hop

April in Lisbon, Three Nights at Pavilhão Carlos Lopes

Sónar Lisboa 2026 — April 10, 11, and 12 — is the most significant electronic music event in the Portuguese calendar and one of the finest festivals in southern Europe. The venue is extraordinary. The city is extraordinary. The programming tradition is extraordinary.

Whether you are coming from within Lisbon, from elsewhere in Portugal, or from across Europe for a festival city break — the 5th edition of Sónar Lisboa at Pavilhão Carlos Lopes is the event that belongs at the top of the April calendar.

Check the full programme and buy tickets through DICE at sonarlisboa.pt the moment the lineup drops — prices rise progressively and demand across four sold-out editions has proven consistently strong.

Verified Information at a Glance