The biggest events in San Sebastián and Bilbao fall between July and September: Jazzaldia and BBK Live in July, the two Semana Grande festivals in August, and the regattas and the Film Festival in September. Winter has two of the most local days of the year, Santo Tomás in December and the Tamborrada in January. Below is the calendar, with 2026 dates as a guide; exact dates move each year, so check the official sites linked before booking.
January: the Tamborrada (San Sebastián)
On 20 January, the feast of the city's patron saint, San Sebastián drums for 24 hours. At midnight the flag is raised in the old town's Plaza de la Constitución and the drumming companies, dressed as cooks and soldiers, march through the streets until the flag comes down at midnight the following night. During the day the children's tamborrada takes over. The square is packed for the midnight start, so arrive early. The date is fixed every year; programmes are on the San Sebastián tourism site.
July: Jazzaldia and BBK Live
- Jazzaldia, the San Sebastián Jazz Festival, has run since 1966, which makes it Spain's oldest jazz festival according to the organisers, and takes place over five days in the second half of July (22 to 26 July in 2026). Alongside paid concerts at the Kursaal and other venues there are free stages, including on Zurriola beach. Programme and tickets: jazzaldia.eus.
- Bilbao BBK Live is a three-day rock, pop and electronic festival on Kobetamendi, a hill above the city, in early or mid July (9 to 11 July in 2026). In recent editions free shuttle buses have run up the hill from San Mamés and from the BEC exhibition centre, with a special night metro service; check the festival site for the current transport plan. Line-up and tickets: bilbaobbklive.com.
August: Semana Grande in both cities
San Sebastián's Semana Grande (Aste Nagusia in Basque) is built around 15 August and lasts about a week (8 to 15 August in 2026). It opens with a cannon shot (the cañonazo) and is famous for its international fireworks competition: each night a different team fires over La Concha bay, and the whole city watches from the beach and the promenade. There are concerts, Basque sports and street events throughout. See the official agenda.
Bilbao's Aste Nagusia comes a week later: nine days that start on the first Saturday after 15 August (22 to 30 August in 2026). It opens with the txupinazo rocket from the balcony of the Arriaga theatre and is presided over by Marijaia, a giant figure with raised arms who is burned at the end. The city-run programme is huge and mostly free, while the festival groups (konpartsak) run their txosnas, open-air bars with music, on El Arenal by the river. Details on Tourism Euskadi.
Book accommodation early for both, and expect higher prices.
September: the regattas and the Film Festival
- The La Concha regattas (Bandera de la Concha) are held on the first two Sundays of September, as they have been since 1879. Rowing crews from coastal towns race traineras, the traditional Basque fishing boats, across the bay, and thousands of supporters line the promenade, many in their club's colours. A great, free spectacle (6 and 13 September in 2026).
- The San Sebastián International Film Festival (Zinemaldia) runs for nine days in the second half of September (18 to 26 September in 2026, the 74th edition), centred on the Kursaal and the Victoria Eugenia theatre. Many screenings are open to the public; general ticket sales open only a few days before the festival (on 13 September in 2026), online and at the box offices, and popular sessions sell out fast. Programme: sansebastianfestival.com.
December: Santo Tomás
On 21 December, both Bilbao and San Sebastián hold the Santo Tomás fair, a farmers' market where people from town and country meet to eat txistorra (a thin fresh sausage) wrapped in a talo (corn flatbread) with a glass of cider. In San Sebastián the stalls fill the Plaza de la Constitución and other squares and streets of the centre; in Bilbao the market and the talo and cider stands spread around El Arenal and the Arriaga theatre. Check each city's programme, as the layout changes from year to year. It feels like the start of Christmas.
Planning around events
- Accommodation goes first. For Semana Grande, Aste Nagusia, the Film Festival and BBK Live weekends, book well in advance.
- Bars and restaurants are busier. Our San Sebastián pintxo route and Bilbao pintxo route work best on weekday lunchtimes during festivals.
- Beaches are full in August. See our San Sebastián beaches guide.
- Moving between the two cities: see getting to San Sebastián and getting around Bilbao.
Staying connected
Festival programmes change daily, the official apps show what is on and where, and finding friends in a crowd of thousands is far easier with data. A data eSIM for Spain, installed before you travel, gives you local data from arrival without removing your own SIM. See how to install it.