The Beatles at La Monumental, Barcelona, 3 July 1965

La Monumental is a bullring on Gran Via de les Corts Catalanes in Barcelona. On 3 July 1965 the Beatles played there, their only Barcelona concert and the last date of their European tour, to about 18,000 people. Bullfighting at the ring ended in 2011, and it now hosts concerts, sport and circus. No Beatles plaque or marker has been recorded.

A bullring from 1914

The ring opened in 1914 as the Plaza El Sport and took the name Monumental two years later. It seats 19,582 and is protected as a local heritage building. The Balañá family owns it.

The last night of the 1965 tour

The Beatles played Spain twice, and never came back: Las Ventas in Madrid on 2 July 1965 and Barcelona the next day. Both were promoted by Francisco Bermúdez, and Coñac Fundador was the official sponsor in Barcelona. It was the final date of the band's European tour.

The Beatles flew in from Madrid that afternoon. At the airport they were handed matador hats and dolls in Andalusian dress, and they stayed at the Hotel Avenida Palace on Gran Via, where they gave a press conference at 19:00.

Tickets out of reach

The cheapest seats cost 75 pesetas and floor seats 400, at a time when the monthly minimum wage was a little over 2,000 pesetas. Catalan music magazine Enderrock reports that all 18,000 tickets sold, but that many young fans were left outside while officials and guests took the best places. The Paul McCartney Project also gives about 18,000 but calls it three-quarters full. Betevé, Barcelona's city broadcaster, says the ring was packed, which it contrasts with the empty sections in Madrid the night before.

A long bill, a short set

Torrebruno presented the evening. Los Sírex, a Barcelona favourite, headed a long list of support acts that also included Beat Chics, Freddie Davis, Los Shakers, the singer Michel, Orquesta Florida and the Trinidad Steel Band. The Beatles played 12 songs through 100-watt Vox amplifiers, with no encore. Sources disagree on timing: Enderrock and the McCartney Project put the band on stage at about 22:45, Betevé says after midnight, and the set is given as 45 minutes by some and 35 by Betevé.

Colour film found 60 years later

In July 2025 Catalan broadcaster 3Cat aired two and a half minutes of colour 16 mm film of the concert, shot from the floor by an unknown spectator and kept by the Filmoteca de Catalunya. The University of Barcelona historian Magí Crusells identified parts of five songs in it, among them Twist and Shout and Long Tall Sally. The university had already marked the 50th anniversary in 2015 with an exhibition and a summer course.

The ring since 2011

The Catalan parliament voted to ban bullfighting in 2010, and the Monumental held its last bullfight on 25 September 2011. Spain's Constitutional Court struck down the ban in 2016, but bullfights have not come back. The ring is now used for concerts, sport and circus shows. No Beatles plaque or marker has been recorded there.

Barcelona's other Lennon site is the Plaça de John Lennon in Gràcia.