What’s on in Alicante this week includes free concerts in the old town, the spectacular Moors and Christians festival in Villajoyosa, outdoor cinema, contemporary art, open-mic nights, karaoke and several sociable ways to meet people without having to invent an elaborate excuse for talking to strangers.
It has also been an unusually dramatic week for the weather. Alicante was placed under a red heat alert on Thursday 23 July, together with warnings for storms and potentially powerful winds. The city closed parks and gardens, Santa Bárbara Castle and outdoor terraces from 5pm, while red flags were raised on the beaches and swimming was prohibited. Temperatures were forecast to reach 34°C, with a possible “feels like” temperature of 42°C.
Conditions can change quickly, so keep an eye on official announcements, particularly before attending an outdoor event. Even when no alert is in force, late July in Alicante is not the time for heroic midday exertion. Carry water, seek shade and save your energetic cultural pursuits for the evening.
What’s on in Alicante this week: free music in Plaza del Ayuntamiento
Alicante’s Verano de Músicas programme brings a succession of free performances to Plaza del Ayuntamiento this week. The setting, between the baroque Town Hall and the entrance to the old town, is rather more handsome than the average municipal concert venue.
On Friday 24 July at 9pm, the José Soriano company presents Tronía, an evening of Spanish dance and flamenco.
On Saturday 25 July at 9pm, the Agrupación Musical SCD Carolinas, directed by Jaume Pascual Sirera, takes over the square.
The programme changes pace on Sunday 26 July at 8pm with Tarde de Zarzuela, performed by the Coral Tabaquera together with Alicante’s Municipal Symphony Band. Zarzuela combines music, singing and spoken theatre, and remains one of the more distinctively Spanish parts of the programme.
On Thursday 30 July at 9pm, María Carbonell brings an evening of blues and R&B to the square, followed on Friday 31 July at 9pm by singer Pilar Arejo and her show Retorno.
All the performances are free. The city’s official programme confirms that this summer series is taking place in Plaza del Ayuntamiento.
Dates: Friday 24, Saturday 25, Sunday 26, Thursday 30 and Friday 31 July
Times: 8pm or 9pm, depending on the performance
Location: Plaza del Ayuntamiento, Alicante
Cost: Free
NAMØ and two exhibitions at the Lonja del Pescado
There is a neat little cultural evening waiting to be assembled at the Lonja del Pescado on Friday 24 July.
At 7pm, NAMØ perform a free concert in the Lonja’s courtyard, with songs associated with The Cranberries, The Bangles, Patti Smith, Amy Winehouse and Lady Gaga.
Before the music begins, take a look inside the galleries. Two substantial exhibitions are currently running:
Miquel Navarro — La ciudad de las torres examines the city as a symbolic, material and changing structure through sculptural installations.
Andrés Rábago “El Roto” — Un museo imaginario reveals the painting of an artist better known to many people for his sharply satirical newspaper illustrations.
Both exhibitions continue until 1 November, so there is no need to inspect every last sculpture before the first chord is struck.
Date: Friday 24 July
Concert: 7pm
Location: Lonja del Pescado, Avenida del Almirante Julio Guillén Tato. This is at the end of the marina near the “Hippy” market stalls.
Cost: Free
Villajoyosa’s Moors and Christians festival
The largest event near Alicante this week is the Moros y Cristianos de Villajoyosa, held from Friday 24 to Friday 31 July.
This is no modest neighbourhood parade. More than 500 musicians take part in the opening Entrada de Bandas, followed by two enormous parades and a theatrical recreation of a coastal invasion. The festival commemorates an attack on the town in 1538, when local tradition says Santa Marta intervened to help repel the invading forces.
The principal events begin on Friday 24 July with the entrance of the bands.
The Moorish Parade takes place at 9pm on Saturday 25 July, followed by the Christian Parade at 9pm on Sunday 26 July. These are elaborate affairs involving costumes, music, pageantry, horses and enough ceremonial swagger to make an ordinary procession feel woefully underdressed.
On Monday 27 July at 8pm, pirates, corsairs and smugglers head towards Playa Centro, followed by the Contrabandista Embassy.
The most famous event is the Desembarc, or landing, early on Tuesday 28 July. Christian companies begin moving towards the beach at around 5am, with boats approaching the shoreline and the landing beginning at approximately 6am. The beach becomes the setting for gunfire, battle and the Moorish assault on the town.
Calling this an early start does not quite capture the situation. Realistically, you either need to stay overnight in Villajoyosa or regard it as the concluding act of a very long Monday night.
Later on Tuesday, the Christian forces retake the town. The programme then continues with Santa Marta celebrations, a religious procession, fireworks, a paella competition and a children’s parade before concluding on Friday 31 July.
You can see the fuller programme on the official Villajoyosa festival page.
Family afternoon at Monte Tossal
On Sunday 26 July, Monte Tossal hosts a free family celebration for Día de los Abuelos, or Grandparents’ Day.
The event includes circus activities, crafts and traditional fairground games, with the programme designed for children of roughly four to ten years old. It is also an opportunity to acknowledge the grandparents who regularly perform the logistical feat of keeping entire families functioning while their adult children are allegedly “just popping out for an hour”.
Date: Sunday 26 July
Time: 7.30pm–9pm
Location: Monte Tossal
Cost: Free
Outdoor cinema with live music at Las Cigarreras
Las Cigarreras is showing two very different Spanish films outdoors this week, each accompanied by live music performed alongside the screening. Both begin at 10pm in the rear outdoor area of the cultural centre.
On Friday 24 July, the film is Álex de la Iglesia’s gloriously unhinged black comedy El día de la bestia, with live musical accompaniment by FOSCø.
Released in 1995, the film follows a priest who believes he has deciphered a secret message in the Book of Revelation. According to his calculations, the Antichrist will be born in Madrid on Christmas Day. To prevent this infernal arrival, he joins forces with José María, a young death-metal enthusiast, and a television occultist called Professor Cavan.
It is funny, violent, irreverent and emphatically not a soothing little film beneath the stars. The running time is 103 minutes, and it is not recommended for anyone under 18.
As this is a Spanish film, expect the dialogue to be in Spanish. There is no indication in the published programme that English subtitles will be provided.
The final screening of the season takes place on Friday 31 July, with Pablo Berger’s animated film Robot Dreams, accompanied by live music from JÚLIA.
Set in 1980s New York, it tells the story of Dog, a lonely canine who builds himself a robot companion. The pair become inseparable until a trip to the beach leaves Robot rusted and stranded on the sand, forcing Dog to return to his old life alone.
Despite the premise, this is not simply a children’s film. It is a tender, bittersweet story about friendship, separation and memory, told with considerable charm and without conventional spoken dialogue. That makes it particularly accessible to visitors who do not speak Spanish. The running time is 102 minutes, and it is not recommended for children under 13.
Dates: Friday 24 and Friday 31 July
Time: 10pm
Location: Rear outdoor area of Centro Cultural Las Cigarreras, Calle San Carlos 78
Cost: Free entry until capacity is reached
Friday 24: El día de la bestia, accompanied by FOSCø
Friday 31: Robot Dreams, accompanied by JÚLIA
The official Las Cigarreras programme confirms that the July cinema series combines films on a large screen with live musical performances. (alicante.es)
Watching films in English in Alicante
Visitors hoping to see a current film in English should check the listings for Kinépolis Alicante at Plaza Mar 2.
Look for screenings marked VOSE, which stands for Versión Original Subtitulada en Español. This means the film is shown in its original language — English in the case of most British and American releases — with Spanish subtitles rather than being dubbed into Spanish.
Not every film or screening is available in VOSE, and the times can vary considerably from one day to another, so check the Kinépolis Alicante Plaza Mar 2 listings before travelling. Kinépolis uses the VOSE label on its original-language screenings at the Alicante cinema.Meet people in Alicante this week
Not every good night out requires a stage, a costume or several hundred people dressed as medieval warriors. Alicante also has an increasing number of informal events aimed at people who would like to meet others, practise languages or simply leave the house.
Coffee, friends and trivia at El Cookie
El Cookie (Mercado, Calle Poeta Quintana 27) is holding two events on Saturday 25 July.
The Coffee & Friends Hangout runs from 4pm to 6pm, offering a relaxed way to meet people over coffee and cookies.
Later, from 8pm to 10pm, the café hosts Trivia Night. Teams can have up to six members, and people arriving alone may be paired with other players. Both events are currently listed as free, although registration is required.
El Cookie also hosts Sip, Snack & Socialise on Wednesday 29 July from 6pm to 8pm, followed by its Coffee Talk Language Exchange on Thursday 30 July from 6pm to 8pm. The language exchange is intended for locals, international residents and visitors who would like to practise Spanish, English or other languages in an informal setting.
https://el-cookie-alicante.apuntate.es
Open stage and jukebox at El Gato Cool
On Sunday 26 July from 5.30pm, El Gato Cool holds its weekly Open Stage Sunday.
This is not limited to music. The stage is open to stand-up comedy, storytelling, spoken word, slam poetry, creative writing and other performances. You can take part or simply sit back and watch someone else discover whether their five-minute monologue has legs.
The venue also runs a Midnight Jukebox Session from midnight on Saturday 25 July, with customers choosing music ranging from rock and indie to funk and grunge. Entry is free.
Location: El Gato Cool (Centro, Calle Santos Médicos 4)
Open mic at El Gato Cool
There is another chance to perform on Thursday 30 July, when El Gato Cool hosts its weekly open-mic evening from 7pm to 10pm.
Singers and musicians can take to the stage, after which the evening continues with a jukebox session. Entry is free.
Karaoke at La Iguana
Anyone nursing the private conviction that they could have been a rock star under slightly different circumstances can test the theory at La Iguana Rock Bar on Thursday 30 July.
The weekly karaoke night begins at 9.30pm and welcomes all genres and levels of ability. There are apparently no judges, which is both reassuring and, depending on the singer, a possible administrative oversight.
Date: Thursday 30 July
Time: From 9.30pm
Location: La Iguana Rock Bar (Mercado, Calle Juan de Herrera 40)
Cost: Free entry; drinks charged separately
La Iguana also holds a free salsa or bachata class on Wednesday 29 July from 8pm to 9.30pm, with the class free when you buy a drink. Beginners are welcome.
Beach activities
There is also free AcroYoga at Playa del Postiguet on Friday 24 July at 6.30pm and again on Friday 31 July at 5.30pm, along with paid morning and evening beach-yoga sessions on selected dates. Because of the recent heat alerts, confirm that outdoor classes are going ahead before setting off and do not underestimate how hot the beach remains in the early evening.
Contemporary art at Las Cigarreras
For something indoors, and therefore pleasingly air-conditioned, head to Las Cigarreras for Rock&Comix: Homenaje a Joaquín Ladrón.
The exhibition traces the career of Alicante comic artist Joaquín Ladrón, one of the names associated with the deliberately unruly world of Subterfuge Comics. His work was irreverent, transgressive and rather unlikely to be confused with a tasteful watercolour of the marina.
The exhibition runs until 5 September, with published opening hours of 10am to 9.30pm, although Las Cigarreras closes on Sundays, Mondays and public holidays and may operate reduced summer hours on certain dates. Check before travelling.
Free salsa class and Latin night at El Gato Cool
On Friday 24 July, El Gato Cool hosts a free salsa class followed by a full evening of Latin music.
The class begins at 10.30pm and is suitable for complete beginners as well as people who already know a few steps and would like to improve. Once the lesson finishes, the music continues with salsa, bachata, mambo, boogaloo and cumbia until around 3am.
It is as much a social night as a dance class, so there is no need to arrive with a partner or with the poise of somebody who has been dancing since childhood. The event is designed to help people learn, meet others and stay on for the party afterwards.
Entry is free, and the venue is also advertising mojitos and spritzes for €5 throughout the night.
Date: Friday 24 July
Time: Salsa class at 10.30pm; Latin night afterwards
Location: El Gato Cool (Centro, Calle Santos Médicos 4)
Cost: Free entry
Suitable for beginners: Yes
Full details are available on the Meetup event page.
Cirque du Soleil at Playa de San Juan
Cirque du Soleil’s KURIOS – Cabinet of Curiosities continues at Playa de San Juan this week.
The production is set in a mechanical world filled with eccentric characters, acrobats and improbable inventions, all assembled beneath the company’s big top. The Alicante run continues until 23 August, giving visitors several more weeks to see it.
This is one of the week’s larger paid attractions, so booking ahead is sensible, particularly for weekend performances.
A Spanish institution for a cheap bite
For something quick and inexpensive before or after an event, 100 Montaditos has become something of a Spanish institution.
A montadito is a small bread roll filled with anything from jamón and tortilla to cheese, chorizo, chicken or calamari. The name comes from the filling being “mounted” on the bread, and the tradition is particularly associated with Andalusia, especially Seville and the tapas culture of southern Spain.
The 100 Montaditos chain takes that simple idea and offers an enormous menu of miniature sandwiches, sharing plates and drinks at prices that make it particularly useful when the holiday budget has already suffered at the hands of taxis, cocktails and strategically positioned ice-cream shops.
Read more in our guide to 100 Montaditos in Alicante.
Explore Alicante at your own pace
When the temperatures permit, our self-guided audio walking tour is another way to explore the city.
Spain’s City of Light: Alicante’s History and Highlights takes you through the old town and introduces the stories behind Alicante’s streets, buildings and landmarks. You can begin whenever you choose, pause for coffee or lunch and continue at your own pace — an especially useful arrangement in July, when the sensible walking hours are early morning and evening.
https://voicemap.me/tour/alicante/spain-s-city-of-light-alicante-s-history-and-highlights
Have an event to share?
Are you organising an event in Alicante or the surrounding area? Send the details to thisisalicante@gmail.com and we may be able to include it in a future What’s On guide.
Please include the date, time, location, ticket price, booking information and a brief description of the event. A good-quality promotional image or poster is also very helpful.
The more complete the information, the easier it is for us to feature your event accurately.
Before you go
Times, venues and programmes can change, especially when extreme heat, storms or strong winds are forecast. Check directly with organisers before travelling and follow any official restrictions affecting beaches, parks and outdoor events.
For more council-run events and last-minute updates, consult the Alicante City Council cultural agenda.
