MALAGA’S Feria is undoubtedly the event of the year for city residents, a week-long blowout featuring family fun, fireworks, live music and multitudes of hangovers, but what does 2016 have in store?
Events begin at the Cortijo de Torres fairground on Friday, August 12, with the opening speech to be delivered by Vanesa Martin at 11.50pm, before a monstrous fireworks display is unleashed on the goggle-eyed crowd.
The jaw-dropping pyrotechnics will be followed by a set from singer-songwriter Barei, who represented Spain in this year’s Eurovision Song Contest, as the party begins in earnest on the so-called ‘Night of Fire.’
For those preferring to avoid the bustle of the main festival site, the fireworks show can be viewed from the ramparts of the city’s cathedral for the first time, with tickets available from the website mientrada.net for €18 a pop.
As always, daytime and night-time events are split between the city centre and fairground, with a diverse series of parades, concerts, shows, workshops, and other activities taking place around the old town from 1pm every day, while the ‘casetas,’ those temporary huts which house restaurants and bars in the fairground, will be open from 2pm in a new initiative for 2016.
In celebration of its 50th anniversary, official festival sponsor San Miguel is donating an extra €270,000 this year in order to boost the image of the jamboree at the national level, with a number of high profile artists performing at Cortijo de Torres every night from 11pm, while a multitude of live performances will enliven the city streets.
Love it or hate it, bullfighting is an integral component of the feria, and 2016 is no exception, with daily fights at 7pm starting on Sunday, August 14, and an impressive line-up featuring Sevillano matador Morante de la Puebla in addition to Miguel Angel Perera, Enrique Ponce, Alberto Lopez Simon and Madrid-born legend Jose Tomas.
While the majority of events come to a close on the evening of Saturday August 20, or more accurately, Sunday morning, there is a final parade scheduled for 8pm on August 21, which will attempt to recreate the entrance of the Catholic Kings to the city.
