7 facts about Málaga Feria

Malaga Feria will be held from 12 to 19 August this year. Furthermore, usually this huge festival attracts around 2 million visitors. In 2022 this popular celebration attracted 25% more visitors than in 2019, the last ‘normal year’ before the pandemic. InSpain News brings you 7 facts you may not know about this popular festival.

7 interesting facts about the Feria of Málaga

• Málaga feria’s origins date back as far as 1487, when Fernando and Isabella (the Catholic Kings) rode triumphantly into the city to reclaim it as a part of Catholic Spain. The council subsequently decided to hold a celebration on August 15, 1491.

• There were various feria locations throughout its history. These sites included Pier Heredia (port of Malaga), the park of Malaga, and the neighbourhood Teatinos.

• The feria lasts for about 8 – 10 days, starting on Friday the 12^th

• Málaga Feria starts with the ‘Pregón de la Feria’. This is the official announcement of the opening of the festival read out from the balcony of the townhall by a famous local celebrity. This year the capitan of the basketball team of Unicaja, Alberto Díaz, will be the preacher of the Malaga Fair 2023.

• There are technically two fairs – the day fair and the night fair. By day activities are centred in and around Malaga’s most famous street Marques de Larios in the heart of the city centre. Consequently, women stroll around in flamenco dresses, and the procession of horses, riders and carriages is a wonderful sight. Impromptu dancing and singing breaks out in the streets and there’s plenty of sherry and Cartojal to keep people merry! However, the night session is at the Real de la Feria on the outskirts of the city. The Feria de Noche gets going at about 9pm and continues until dawn. This is a huge fairground with over 200 casetas each of which houses different groups of Malagueños, known as peñas. They also serve food and drink.  

• The biznaga, one of the symbols of Málaga, was an integral element of the 2014 street decorations and 2017 Feria poster. Again, the symbol dominates this year’s Feria poster.

• There is an annual competition to design the poster for Málaga feria. You can see posters from bygone years on the Malaga Feria website. There are also some fine examples adorning the walls of El Pimpi restaurant in the city.

The colour and energy of Malaga Feria

Feria poster from 1887

Biznagas adorn Calle Larios in 2014

Also read: Fiestas, Ferias and Celebrations in Spain 2023