Madrid Festivals & Major Events
January
New Year's Day (1 January): public holiday..
Día de los Reyes (5-6 January): the main gift-giving occasion. The Three Kings arrive in Spain on the night of 5 January, bringing gifts to children who leave out their shoes. Many shops in Madrid stay open until midnight for last-minute purchases, and a Kings' Parade with camels, floats and music wends its way through the city centre. The following day is a public holiday.
Día de Sant Anton (17 January): traditional blessing of animals outside the church of St Anton at Calle Hortaleza, 63. Madrileños bring along theirpets.
Opera Season begins at the Teatro de la Zarzuela.
FITUR: one of the world's largest trade fairs dedicated to tourism. Held at the end of January or first week in February in ifema's new installations in the Campo de las Naciones, close to Barajas airport.
February
FITUR: see above.
ARCO (International Contemporary Art Fair): another trade show in Ifema's Exhibition Park in the Campo de las Naciones, held in early February.
Carnival: not quite Río de Janeiro (or even Tenerife or Cádiz), but the traditional pre-Lenten celebrations are a lot of fun. The highlights are the parade of decorated floats, with music and dancing, through the centre of the city on Shrove Tuesday, and the strange Ash Wednesday custom of the "Burial of the Sardine".
March
San José (Fathers' Day): 19 March): a public holiday in most parts of Spain.
Easter week: Holy Thursday and Good Friday are public holidays. Madrid and surrounding towns stage solemn Holy Week processions, though these lack the splendour of the Andalusian ones.
Bullfights: start of the season.
Madrid Flamenco Festival: attracts artists from around Spain. Usually runs for a week in late March.
On the first Friday in March thousands queue to enter the Basilica of Jesús de Medinaceli to kiss the feet of the 17th-centruy image of Christ and make three wishes.
April
Andalucía in Madrid (usually follows Holy Week celebrations, but may be later): started by homesick Andalusians celebrating the Seville Fair with horses, music and dancing, this has grown into a popular annual event. It is held over a couple of days in the Casa de Campo park .
Ibermusica (Spring Music Festival): is held throughout the month at the National Auditorium of Music.
Marathon: Madrid province's only marathon race, is held in April.
May
May Day (1 May): public holiday.
Dos de Mayo (2 May): fiesta commemorating 2 May 1808, when citizens rebelled against occupation by Napoleonic forces. Public holiday in Madrid with concerts, street theatre and fireworks.
Día de San Isidro (Patron Saint of Madrid, 15 May): a public holiday marking the start of a month-long of daily bullfights in the Madrid Plaza de Toros. There are concerts, open-air dancing, fireworks and fairground amusements in the city during the week.
Festimad (Independent Arts Festival): showcasing local and foreign alternative culture at the Círculo de Bellas Artes and Soto de Mostoles Three days of concerts.
Feria del Libro: Spain's major public book fair at the Parque del Retiro.
Festival de las Américas, focusing on Latin American culture.
June
Día de San Antonio de la Florida ("Day of the Matchmaker", 14 June): fiesta during which s ask the saint to find them a husband. Celebrations take place around the hermitage of St Antonio on the Paseo de la Florida. Single s dip their hands into the font of holy water; if one of the pins dropped into it sticks to her finger, she will marry during the next year.
European Music Day (23 June): marked by a series of concerts around the city, notably an outdoor performance on the shores of the lake in the Parque del Retiro.
Día de San Juan (24 June): Spanish mid-summer fiesta celebrated in many parts of the country with bonfires and fireworks.
Festival of 18th-Century Music: held throughout the month in the nearby town of Aranjuez.
Madrid Dances: some of the world's top classical and modern dance companies come to Madrid to perform during this month. Chamber Music Festival starts.
Summer University: famous academics from around the world gather at El Escorial for a programme of lectures, debates and performances (charge).
Día del Orgullo (Gay Pride Day, 28 June): weekend of street festivals focused in the Chueca quarter.
July
Ongoing summer events.
Top
August
Festival of Baroque and Rococo Music: in the historic 18th-century Carlos III theatre in El Escorial. (On 10 August the town also celebrates its local fiesta of San Lorenzo with bullfights, dancing and fireworks.)
Titirilandia: international puppet festival in the Parque del Retiro.
September
Autumn Festival: as madrileños return after the summer holidays, Madrid's cultural life hots up (programmes in the press). There is also an autumn bullfighting festival which lasts for about a week.
Fashion Week: second week of the month. Features top Spanish designer' spring-summer collections. Usually at the Palacio de Congresos y Exposiciones, Ifema's Juan Carlos I Exhibition Centre, at the Campo de las Naciones and in many hotels.
October
Opera Season begins at the Teatro Real
All Souls Day (31 October): Spaniards visit family graves.
Art Futura: virtual reality and audiovisual art show at the Círculo de Bellas Artes.
November
All Saints Day (1 November): public holiday.
Day of Our Lady of Almudena (the official patron of the capital, l9 November): a local holiday.
Jazz Festival: international jazz stars perform in halls, theatres and clubs around the city.
Women's Film Festival: run by the Filmoteca (official film library) at Cine Doré.
Feriarte: arts and antiquities fair. An occasion to see and buy Spanish paintings, furniture etc.
December
Winter Ballet Season starts at the Teatro Real, and other major venues.
Christmas: festivities get underway mid-month when the Christmas Fair opens in the Plaza Mayor. Noche Buena (Christmas Eve, 24 December): a family occasion when Spaniards eat their Christmas dinner and then attend Midnight Mass.
Christmas Day (25 December): public holiday. Families often dine out.
Day of the s (28 December): the Spanish equivalent of April Fools' day.
Noche Vieja (New Year's Eve, 31 December): The Spanish tradition is to swallow one grape with each chime of midnight, washing them down with sparkling wine. Thousands gather in the Puerta del Sol to celebrate together.