Festivals are an integral part of social life in Spain. Those in Bilbao and Rioja region are no exception, eagerly awaited by youngsters and adults, locals and tourists. Local and regional governments, wineries and private companies organize festivals and events around the central theme of food, wine and culture.
Festivals in Bilbao
Bilbao is a city that lives for its festivals. Basque gastronomy is at the heart of every celebration, from the smallest neighborhood gathering to the city’s most iconic events.
Aste Nagusia (Semana Grande) is Bilbao’s biggest festival and one of the most popular in the entire Basque Country. For nine days between August 22 and 30, the party takes over the streets of Bilbao. The popular soul of the festival are the txosnas — self-managed stalls set up on the El Arenal esplanade, where Basque gastronomy and affordable pintxos and live music come together. Each day, a gastronomic competition in El Arenal is devoted to a traditional Basque recipe, bringing together culture, fine food and public participation. Every night, a spectacular international fireworks competition lights up the estuary.
Bilbao BBK Live is one of Europe’s most celebrated music festivals and a key date in the summer calendar. It takes place from July 9 to 11 at Mount Kobetamendi, overlooking the city. The festival brings together over 80 international, national, and emerging artists, combining music, gastronomy and the spectacular natural setting of the Basque hills. The festival grounds feature food stalls showcasing the best of Basque cuisine, making it as much a gastronomic experience as a musical one.
Famous wine festivals in Rioja
The Rioja Wine Harvest Festival celebrates the grape harvest in Rioja. This weeklong celebration takes place in Logroño during the third week of September, local San Mateo festivities. Highlights of the festival include the blessing of the first grape juice, live music, a gigantic fireworks display every night, bullfights, a jai alai (Basque handball) tournament, outdoor cooking exhibitions by the city’s social clubs and of course, wine and tapas in Logroño’s old town.
Rioja Wine Harvest Festival. Photo archive: Gobierno de La Rioja.
The Rioja Alavesa Wine Harvest Festival celebrates the grape harvest in Rioja Alavesa on the north bank of the Ebro River in the Basque Country. It is held in a different town in Rioja Alavesa every year during the last week in September. The festival features the blessing of the first grape juice from the harvest, tastings, live music and gastronomy.
Rioja Alavesa Harvest Festival. Photo archive: Irekia.
The Battle of Wine is held every year on June 29 in the hills overlooking Haro. This festival commemorates an old border dispute between the cities of Miranda de Ebro and Haro. Today however, it’s an excuse for partygoers to spray one another with red wine using pails, squirt guns and other means of shooting liquids. Once everyone is drenched in wine, they enjoy a traditional mid-morning snack or almuerzo with baby lamb chops and spicy sausage cooked over grapevine cuttings along with, of course, more wine!
The Wine Battle in Haro, La Rioja, Spain. Photo: Rafael López Monné. Courtesy of Haro Town Council.
The Battle of Clarete takes place in the village of San Asensio at the end of July. This is another excuse for partiers to drench one another with clarete, a popular style of wine made in the area. Clarete is made by co-fermenting red and white grapes, while rosé is made by bleeding red grape skins and juice from a fermenter before the skins give much https://concentrico.es/festival-2026/ color to the juice.
Live music festivals
Our region is the home of several important music festivals. Actual in Logroño kicks off Spain’s music festival season in January, featuring a host of superstar performers from Spain and abroad.
The MUWI La Rioja Music Fest -MUWI is the abbreviation of Music and Wine, Best Of Wine Tourism Award, that takes place at the end of August every year with stages in the Parque del Ebro in Logroño.
Esférica Rioja Alavesa takes place in a different town in Rioja Alavesa. It features local wines, gastronomy, and live music with a backdrop of the spectacular landscape of the Cantabria mountain range. Esférica 2026 will be held from July 3 to July 5 in Samaniego.
Popular festivals in each city, town and village
To understand festivals in Bilbao and the Rioja region (and all over Spain), you must know that each city, town and village has a patron saint. For example, in Logroño, it’s San Bernabé (St. Barnabas), a weeklong festival in June. In Haro it’s the Festival of Saints Pedro and Pablo on June 29th. In addition, towns often celebrate a summer festival in addition to the official Saint’s Day celebration. La Rioja also celebrates St. Matthew (San Mateo) with the Rioja Wine Harvest Festival, while Haro celebrates la Virgen de la Vega (the Virgin of the Plain). Many parents from a village add the name of the local saint to the given names of babies when they’re born.
Because of the importance of grapegrowing and wine culture in our region, wine is a central theme in our festivals, that feature concerts, dances and food.
Well-known village festivals are the Villabuena Wine Fest in Villabuena de Álava and the Fuchu Festival in Fuenmayor (‘Fuchu’ is a popular nickname for the village of Fuenmayor).
Rioja wineries have organized their own festivals in recent years. Undoubtedly the best known of these is the Vintae Wine Fest – Best Of Bilbao-Rioja Jury Special Mention, held in the village of San Asensio and at the winery itself. Vintae creates a theme for every festival, such as the Wild West, the Roaring Twenties, the Circus or Rome. Partygoers are encouraged to wear period outfits for a party that lasts all weekend, featuring skits, musical numbers and of course, wines from Vintae. This festival attracts mostly Gen Xers and Millennials, consumer cohorts that the winery hopes will be converts to Vintae wines and wine in general.
Festivals and events in the Rioja region take place all year around, but most are in the late spring, summer and early fall. Tourists can enjoy them just about every weekend, so no matter when you visit, you are sure to be able to participate in our most popular and beloved traditions.
The Santo Tomás Fair is one of Bilbao’s most popular traditional events, held every year on 21 December. Rooted in centuries-old Basque rural traditions, the fair transforms the city into a vibrant marketplace where local farmers, food producers and artisans showcase the best of the region’s products. With traditional music, folk performances and a festive atmosphere, it marks the beginning of the Christmas season in Bilbao.
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Text by Tom Perry, Inside Rioja
Featured photo: Haro Battle of Wine. Courtesy of Haro Town Council.
Learn more about Bilbao-Rioja Great Wine Capitals