Cave foundation confirms suspension of one of the oldest festivals on the Costa del Sol and in Spain

The Nerja Cave Festival 2025 will not go ahead, the cave foundation has confirmed. The decision was taken at its meeting on Monday 30 June, "due to the impossibility of meeting the deadlines necessary for its proper celebration".

The tender process initiated for the organisation of the festival was suspended following an appeal by one of the companies bidding for the contract to manage this year's event. "The subsequent resolution of the central administrative court of contractual appeals has clarified and strengthened fundamental aspects of the process, laying the foundations for future improvement," the foundation explained in a statement on Tuesday.

The impact of the appeal has made it "unfeasible to hold the festival this summer due to the time constraints" the statement said. The foundation "sincerely regrets the interpretations and effects derived from this scenario and is grateful for the understanding of all the agents involved, especially the festival's loyal audience and the cultural fabric of the region".

The foundation went on to say that they are starting to work on a tender for the Cueva de Nerja Festival for the 2026-2030 period, which they hope will be of "greater stability, quality and national and international projection for this historic musical event". The statement went on to say, "Our commitment to Nerja, the Axarquía and culture remains intact."

The Nerja event is one of the oldest festivals on the Costa del Sol and indeed in Spain. It started in 1960, the same year that the cave itself opened to the public after it was discovered by five boys playing in the area in 1959.

Throughout the history of the festival, artists including Maya Plisetskaya, Mstislav Rostropovich, Yehudi Menuhin, Alfredo Kraus, José Carreras, Ainhoa Arteta, Monserrat Caballé, Antonio El Bailarín, Paco de Lucía, Miguel Poveda, Sara Baras, Pablo Alborán, Joan Manuel Serrat and Kiri Te Kanawa, have performed.