Malaga Festivals and Events
Málaga’s calendar has two heavyweights, Semana Santa in spring and the Feria in August, plus a serious film festival and a scatter of smaller coastal and seasonal events. If your dates are flexible, timing a trip around one of these changes the whole feel of the city. All of the movable dates below shift each year, so verify them before you book.
Semana Santa (Holy Week)
Málaga’s Holy Week is one of the most spectacular in Spain, declared a Fiesta of International Tourist Interest back in 1965. Dozens of brotherhoods stage processions carrying enormous carved wooden thrones, some weighing several tonnes and borne on the shoulders of well over a hundred people, through the old town over Palm Sunday to Easter Sunday. The standout is the Holy Thursday procession of the Cristo de Mena, escorted by the Spanish Legion, who arrive by boat at the port and sing their anthem. Expect huge crowds and closed streets; arrive early to claim a spot on the route. Dates move with the church calendar.
Feria de Málaga (August Fair)
The Feria is the city’s biggest party, ten nights and nine days each August, commemorating the Catholic Monarchs’ conquest of the city on 18 August 1487. It runs in two zones at once: a daytime fair in the historic centre, with flamenco, verdiales music, decorated horses and sherry in the streets, and a nighttime fair out at the Cortijo de Torres fairground, with the funfair, casetas (marquee bars) and big concerts. If you want the daytime version, come into the centre around midday; for the night version, head out to the fairground. Book accommodation months ahead, as the whole city fills up.
Málaga Film Festival
The Festival de Málaga is Spain’s premier festival for Spanish-language cinema, first held in 1998 and settled into a fixed March slot since 2019. It broadened to Ibero-American films in 2017 and gained competitive accreditation in 2024. It brings premieres, red carpets and a genuine industry buzz to the theatres and Calle Larios for about a week.
Coastal and seasonal events
Two smaller traditions are worth knowing. The Noche de San Juan on the night of 23 June brings bonfires and parties down onto the city beaches for the summer solstice. In mid-July, the Virgen del Carmen processions honour the patron of fishermen in the old fishing quarters of El Palo and Pedregalejo, when an image of the Virgin is carried down to the water. Both are local, low-key and free to join.
Christmas on Calle Larios
Come December, Calle Larios hosts the city’s famous Christmas lights display, with timed light-and-music shows most evenings that draw big crowds along the pedestrian street. It has become one of the busiest short-break periods of the year, so expect the centre to be packed after dark.
Read more: our Málaga travel tips cover the practical side of visiting during a festival, and the full Málaga guide sets out the rest of the city.