Spanish festivals report strong summer

A string of festivals in Spain have reported positive attendance figures for 2023 as the summer season begins to draw to a close.

Barcelona boutique event Festival Jardins Terramar, held from 28 July to 9 August, welcomed 24,220 spectators across 12 days for headline performances by the likes of Kraftwerk, Tom Jones, Malú and Niña Pastori.

Crowds were up slightly on last year’s event, reports AP Musicales.

“In just six editions, Terramar has been consolidating, improving aspects since the first edition, which took place in 2017), and overcoming all the vicissitudes of recent years, in addition to achieving a new success in public attendance in 2023 with
a 86.5% of the capacity, which is one and a half points higher than the percentage of 2022, which was 85%,” says co-director Juan Ramon Rodriguez.

The Cap Roig Festival, which took place from 14 July to 19 August, boasted a total of 12 sold-out shows and 53,025 attendees across 23 dates for an overall occupancy rate of 94%. Acts such as Rod Stewart, Sebastián Yatra, Norah Jones, Damien Rice, Mika and Simply Red starred at the event, organised by the Clipper’s Group, in the town of Calella de Palafrugell, Girona.

“We started our management with 11,000 spectators and now, 10 editions later, we are close to 60,000”

Clipper’s Group president and festival director Juli Guiu says he is “proud” to see how the festival “has once again been received with confidence by the public, which has supported the various proposals artistic year after year”.

Meanwhile, Mallorca Live’s Es Jardí concert series, staged from 16 June to 6 August, brought together 60,000 people in Calvià over 23 nights, featuring 4,500-cap shows by artists such as UB40, Luz Casal, Carlos Sadness, Vanesa Martín, M Clan, Rosario and Danny Ocean.

And the historic Porta Ferrada Festival in Sant Feliu de Guíxols celebrated its 61st edition on the Costa Brava with 73 concerts and close to 60,000 attendees from 30 June to 20 August. The bill was comprised of 13 exclusive concerts, 15 international artists and 25 Catalan productions. Acts included Ludovico Einaudi, Ben Harper, Pat Metheny, Earth Wind & Fire Experience, Crystal Fighters, Jethro Tull, Michel Camilo & Tomatito, Jorge Drexler and Wilco.

“We started our management with 11,000 spectators and now, 10 editions later, we are close to 60,000,” says executive director Sergi Roselló.

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