Lorraine Williamson
The COAC 2026 quarter-finals begin this Friday in Cádiz, and after weeks of rain headlines and winter disruption, the city’s sharpest tradition is doing what it always does: lifting the mood with music, satire, and a very Cádiz brand of truth-telling.
Overnight, the official jury confirmed the 54 adult groups moving through from the preliminaries. Now the competition shifts gear at the Gran Teatro Falla, with seven nights that will decide who gets a place in the semi-finals — and who heads back to the street to become part of the wider carnival soundtrack.
What starts now, and what it leads to
Quarter-finals run 3
From there, Cádiz flips from theatre to street. The city’s official carnival programme lists the main celebration dates as 12 to 22 February, with the Pregón on Saturday 14 February (delivered this year by Manu Sánchez) and the Gran Cabalgata on Sunday 15 February.
Why the COAC matters (even if you’ve never watched it)
The COAC is not just a contest. It’s Cádiz’s annual pressure valve.
Chirigotas bring punchlines and swagger. Comparsas arrive with poetry and politics. Coros fill the theatre with big harmonies. Cuartetos keep it quick, theatrical and brilliantly odd. Together, they set the tone for everything that follows outside — the costumes, the street groups, and the jokes that travel far beyond the city walls.
How to watch the quarter-finals live
If you don’t have a seat in the Falla, you still won’t miss much.
Canal Sur starts its live coverage on F
A few storylines already bubbling up
This year’s quarter-final line-up includes 10 coros, 20 comparsas, 20 chirigotas and 4 cuartetos — and Canal Sur notes that the cuarteto category has t
There are also fresh angles for long-time followers. Canal Sur highlights first-time quarter-finalists, including a coro from Huelva, as well as a notable breakthrough for the Sobri de Conil chirigota, La Purga.
Friday night at the Falla
The quarter-finals open with a line-up that mixes heavyweight names and crowd-pleasers. Friday’s running order includes El sindicato, La palabra de Cádiz, El despertar de la fuerza, and Los hombres de Paco, among others.
If you want the full night-by-night running order for the entire quarter-final week, Diario de Cádiz has it listed session by session.
The best bit is still outside
Even as the competition tightens indoors, Cádiz is already warming up in the streets with the traditional food-and-music gatherings that locals treat as the real start of carnival season. The city programme flags the calendar of popular events that build momentum towards the main February week.
The message from the Ayuntamiento is blunt, too: this isn’t a “macrobotellón”. It’s a cultural festival built on coplas, humour and craft — and it works best when visitors treat the city with the same respect Cádiz shows its own traditions.
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