Tarragona Tourist Information - fiestas in Tarragona

        • The Santa Telca Festival

This is the most important and the largest summer festival in the region. It is celebrated on the 23rd September every year when it’s the Day of Santa Telca.  The festival is marked by a week of lively festivities. Mythical Catalan characters in traditional and folkloric attire dance down the streets in a procession. There are people attired as dragons, bulls, devil, giant etc. The famous Castellers also perform at the festival. The festival has been declared of “National Tourist Interest” in Spain.

        • The Castellers Competition

This stunning sport cum art form originated in Tarragona. It is here that it is celebrated with the most. Men climb up on each- others shoulders to form huge human towers.  These towers can go up to heights of 9-10 storeys. These human towers reach up to heights of 7-9 storeys; a small boy climbs up to the top- he is known as the “anxaneta”- raises one hand with four fingers erect, said to symbolize the stripes of the Catalan flag, climbs down the other side of the castell, and then everyone else comes down safely.

The history of the festival goes back a century when groups known as “colles” began to compete in forming different types of human structures. Even today the participants are known by the same name. They have a special costume for the purpose: it’s usually white trousers, a black sash, a bandana and a colored shirt bearing the team's emblem. The towers are a part of many a festival of the region. The motto of the Castellers is “strength, balance, courage and reason”. The performance is usually accompanied with traditional music.

        • The Tarragona Annual Fireworks Displays Competition.

This world famous competition is organised in Tarragona in the first week of July every year. The city council of Tarragona appoints a selector board to choose the participants. A total of six international pyrotechnic companies are selected each year, and the fireworks are fired from the “Miracles bay” area. There are two types of fireworks: aquatic and aerial. The jury is usually formed by sixteen international members chaired by the Lord Mayor.

The jury mainly takes into account the occupation of the air space; purity, intensity, brightness and duration of the colours; the chromatic variety, luminosity, dimensions, form designs, elegance, diversity of effects, sonority, conjunction with the environment, originality, rhythm, the plan of the performance, the starting, the final crescendo and acceptance by the public.
Around 60,000 people come to Tarragona to witness this spectacular competition; some pryotechnicians also come here to buy the latest products.

This year the 18th edition of the competition will be organised in Tarragona.