On 10 June, Pope Leo XIV will bless the Sagrada Familia’s recently finished Tower of Jesus Christ at a mass. The completion of the Spanish cathedral’s tallest, central tower coincides with the centennial of the building’s architect Antoni Gaudí’s death (10 June 1926), presenting an excellent opportunity to celebrate the symbolic completion of a church long deemed unfinishable. (In reality, work on the building is expected to continue for another decade.) The inauguration will see the head of the Catholic church preside over a gathering of 8,000 guests, including Spain’s prime minister Pedro Sanchez.
For those not lucky enough to be on the guest list for the auspicious event, technology is stepping in: TikTok have partnered with the Sagrada Familia team to create a dedicated content series around the inauguration. “Through a series of exclusive activations, including TikTok Live sessions and short video content, a global audience will be able to participate in this historic event, connecting architecture, heritage and digital innovation in real time through the global TikTok community,” a TikTok statement says.
In the week leading up to the event, TikTok España—the official channel for TikTok in Spain—has hosted several live videos broadcast from the Sagrada Familia. These films feature popular content curators and show “the engineering and craftsmanship behind the monument”, a statement says. These include a tour and interview between Mauricio Cortés, one of the architects of the Sagrada Familia, and Marlène Diard, from the art history-focused duo @Aartemisartworks; a concert by the violinist Astrid Torrente (@AstridTorrente); and an interview between Jordi Martí (who runs the architecture-led channel @jordimartix) and the architect director of the Sagrada Familia, Jordi Faulí. To top it all off, the Sagrada Familia TikTok account (@sagradafamiliagaudi) will livestream the Pope’s blessing on 10 June at 6pm BST.
Bringing culture alive
The Sagrada Familia content is part of TikTok Live Comes Alive, an initiative that provides TikTok users with exclusive livestreamed content across the realms of education, food, travel, music and culture throughout the year. As well as keeping TikTok users’ feeds fresh, it aims to help accounts like the Sagrada Familia’s drive engagement with target audiences, which it says fosters “thriving communities in a way that is organic to TikTok”.
Courtesy of TikTok
TikTok has partnered with many museums over the years, from the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York to the Grand Egyptian Museum in Cairo, but why has it chosen the Sagrada Familia this year? According to TikTok’s data, from January to May 2026 searches for “Sagrada Familia” on the platform were 85% higher than during the last six months of 2025, which it says “reflects a growing interest in the monument and its history”.
According to Christine Grahn, TikTok's head of government relations and public policy in Europe, “It’s difficult to think of many projects [like the Sagrada Familia] that have connected so many generations, cultures, and communities around the world. What makes TikTok unique is its ability to connect people to moments that matter, wherever they are.” She notes that through TikTok's live content, “people don’t just watch history after it happens, they can experience it as it unfolds”.
We are likely to see more TikTok cultural partnerships in the future: according to data from the market research company GWI in 2025, 40% of global TikTok users have an active interest in history and the hashtag #HistoryTok has doubled its volume of posts in the last year. TikTok reports that the hashtag #Museum has experienced a 67% year-on-year growth, surpassing one million posts, while #MuseumTok grew 48%.
But fear not—for those who are not TikTokers, you can watch the Pope’s blessing directly on the Sagrada Familia’s website.
