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What's on in Spain: August 2017

The Local Spain
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What's on in Spain: August 2017
La Tomatina takes place on August 30th. Photo: AFP

August is a month packed full of summer fun across the nation from music concerts to street festivals, and the world's biggest food fight!

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Culture

Semana Grande, San Sebastian (August 12th - 19th) 


Photo: Donostiako Festak / Flickr

San Sebastián’s “big week” offers a wide range of activities for children and adults. Besides bullfighting and live music (rock, pop, jazz, classical), the event is largely known for its international firework contest - the main attraction of the week.

Fiesta mayor de Gràcia, Barcelona, (August 15th - 21st) 

Barcelona’s biggest neighbourhood festival takes place every summer in the streets of Gràcia, with local residents competing for the best decorated street. Live music stages are set up and at night, the whole barrio welcomes a mix crowd of families, students, artists and intellectuals for some lively summer nights.

Moors and Christians festival, Ontinyent, Valencia (Aug 25th - Aug 29th)


Photo: Esther Sánchez/ Chocolatisimo.com/ Flickr

The town of Ontinyent in Valencia has celebrated the Christian conquest of the town from Muslim troops since 1860. The entire town gets involved in a vivid and colourful dramatization of the conquest of the town by Jaime I in the 13th century. 

Aste Nagusia (Big Week in Basque), Bilbao, (August 19th–28th)

Similar to San Sebastián’s event, Bilbao’s nine-day festival offers dancing, fireworks, concerts and bullfights. It also holds a hilarious “ugly competition” where participants are asked to pull the ugliest face possible. 

La Tomatina Tomato Fight, Buñol, Valencia, (August 30th)

The small town of Buñol, 40km from Valencia, probably offers one of Spain’s funniest festivals. Each summer, 40,000 people take part in the world’s biggest food fight, throwing tomatoes at each other. Participants are told to squish the tomatoes beforehand to reduce the impact, take a look at the (messy) result:

Individual tickets are sold out but you can still buy tickets including camping packs and concerts or get some tickets through tour operators.

Fiestas

Fiesta de la Virgin de la Paloma, Madrid (August 11th-15th) 


Photo: Antonio Garcia / Flickr

Many towns and cities have fiestas throughout August, one being the celebration of Our Lady of the Paloma, centred around the La Latina neighbourhood in Madrid, renowned for being the centre of the city’s tapas culture. The day is celebrated with street parties stemming off the central Calle de Toledo. 

Cuéllar bull run, Cuéllar (August 27th - 31st)


Photo: fgp / Flickr

Considered the oldest running of the bulls in Spain, the bull run in the town of Cuéllar, near Segovia, has been declared of special national tourist interest by the Spanish government. 

Music 

Festival Internacional de Santander (All August)

Every summer, the elegant city of Santander on Spain's north coast welcomes one of Spain’s oldest music festivals, including opera, ballet and theatre companies. Churches and parks in Santander will host dance, music or theatre performances until the end of August.

Starlite Festival Marbella - (Until August 2th)

A series of concerts held throughout August include The Gipsy Kings, Andrea Bocelli and Elton John. 

Sport

King's Cup Regatta, Palma de Mallorca (July 29th - August 5th) 

Held in Palma de Mallorca bay on the Balearic island of Mallorca, this popular sailing competition is now a fixture on the international circuit. 

Art

PhotoEspaña (Madrid, until August 27th)

photoespaña
Photo: Casa de América/Flickr.

For those interested in visual arts, PhotoEspaña is an incredible opportunity to see internationally renowned photographers display their latest projects, videos, and developments in photography..

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