Malaga gets ready to celebrate the return of its colourful summer fair

The show will take place on the Malagueta beach at around 11.45pm on Friday 12 August, and will be followed by the traditional firework display to announce the beginning of the festivities. The firework show – Noche de Fiesta - has been created by a Valencian company especially for the event and will consist of more 600 kilos of pyrotechnics.

The fair, Malaga’s most attended summer event, attracts hundreds of thousands of people from all over the province, many who will be dusting off their cordovan hats and colourful flamenco dresses for the first time in three years.

The daytime fair is extremely popular with visitors and tourists because it offers all of the traditional aspects of life in Andalucía.

The festivities will begin on Saturday at 1pm, when visitors will enjoy a varied programme of events until 6pm in the streets and plazas around Calle Larios. These will include rock and pop concerts, verdiales, flamenco and choral performances, children’s activities, and a series of bullfights held in the Malagueta bullring.

The daytime festivities continue throughout the week and will be concentrated on Calle Larios and the Plaza de la Constitución, and the Plaza Las Flores, Plaza del Obispo, Plaza de Merced and Plaza de San Pedro de Alcántara.

Daily flamenco recitals will be held at the Peña Juan Breva (Calle Ramón Franquelo) at 2pm, and will present some of Malaga’s most formidable singers, dancers and guitarists, including Bonela Hijo, José Chaparro, Rocío Santiago and Chato de Málaga.

The official opening of the night-time fair and the switching on of the lights will be overseen by the celebrated young Malaga singer, Maria Peláe, on Saturday at 9.30pm.

Along with the thrill of the fairground attractions, the night fair offers the chance for revellers to participate in the dancing of sevillanas and to enjoy typical malagueña-style cuisine.

The entertainment in the casetas usually gets going around 10pm and will continue into the early hours.

This year’s programme of concerts includes a variety of different genres, although the main focus is on traditional Spanish music such as verdiales, flamenco and copla.

For a full schedule of concerts and activities, see www.malaga.eu/feria-de-malaga