What’s on in Alicante this week includes open-water swimming at Postiguet, free concerts in Plaza del Ayuntamiento, traditional celebrations for Alicante’s patron saint, jazz in Sant Joan and several perfectly respectable excuses to retreat indoors during the hottest part of the day.
We have reached August, when Alicante’s timetable shifts sensibly towards the evening. Museums, beaches and long lunches occupy the daylight hours, while concerts, markets and festivals come to life once the pavements have stopped behaving like storage heaters.
Here is our guide to Alicante from Friday 31 July to Friday 7 August 2026.
Friday 31 July: Pilar Arejo in Plaza del Ayuntamiento
The week begins with a free concert from Pilar Arejo, who brings her show Retorno to Plaza del Ayuntamiento at 21:00.
The concert forms part of Alicante’s Verano de Músicas, a summer programme of free performances in front of the Town Hall. There is no need to book, although arriving a little early is sensible if you would rather sit down than admire the concert from behind several rows of other people’s heads.
When: Friday 31 July at 21:00
Where: Plaza del Ayuntamiento, Alicante
Cost: Free
The final summer cinema evening at Las Cigarreras
Friday is also the final night of this year’s Cine de Verano at Las Cigarreras, with the screening beginning at 22:00.
The outdoor programme combines cinema with live musical accompaniment and is held at the Las Cigarreras cultural centre. It is a good option for anyone who prefers their Friday entertainment seated and accompanied by something more inventive than the relentless thud escaping from a beach club.
When: Friday 31 July at 22:00
Where: Las Cigarreras Centro Cultural, Calle San Carlos, 78
Cost: Check the official Las Cigarreras programme
Salsa, bachata and a full weekend of dancing
Anyone looking for salsa and bachata among what’s on in Alicante this week has rather more than an ordinary dance class to consider.
The Lions Freestyle Festival runs until Sunday 2 August at the University of Alicante in Sant Vicent del Raspeig. The four-day programme includes salsa, bachata and other Latin dance styles, with workshops, masterclasses, shows, pool parties and social dancing.
It is a substantial dance congress rather than a casual drop-in class, with different passes available for individual days and the full weekend. You do not need to attend with a partner, and the programme includes activities for different levels.
When: Until Sunday 2 August
Where: University of Alicante, Sant Vicent del Raspeig
Cost: Ticketed; day and weekend passes are available
More Details: https://www.lasalsadelbaile.com/lions2025
Saturday 1 August: music from Spain to the Caribbean
On Saturday evening, L’Harmonia Societat Musical d’Alacant performs Un viaje de España al Caribe in Plaza del Ayuntamiento.
Beginning at 21:00, the concert promises a musical journey from Spain across the Atlantic under the direction of José Tomás Moñinos Baeza. It is another free event in the Verano de Músicas series and a civilised way to spend a summer evening. Our tip is to get there a bit early and grab a table at a cafe on the side of the square so that you can enjoy a drink at the same time.
When: Saturday 1 August at 21:00
Where: Plaza del Ayuntamiento, Alicante
Cost: Free
Browse the Zoco Árabe (Arab Souk) beside the sea
A Zoco Árabe runs from Saturday 1 to Wednesday 5 August, bringing food stalls, handicrafts, entertainment and demonstrations of traditional trades to the seafront.
The market forms part of Alicante’s celebrations for the Virgen del Remedio, the city’s patron saint. Expect leather goods, ceramics, textiles, sweets, spices and plenty of things you had not planned to buy until you found yourself standing in front of them.
It is an easy event to combine with Postiguet Beach, the marina, the Explanada or dinner in the Old Town. The market is likely to be most pleasant during the evening, when the temperature has retreated from outrageous to merely excessive.
When: Saturday 1 to Wednesday 5 August
Where: Central Alicante seafront (in the car park behind Postiguet)
Cost: Free to enter
Sant Joan Jazz Fest
The Sant Joan Jazz Fest gives us three concerts during this week, all in Sant Joan d’Alacant, rather than Alicante city itself.
On Saturday 1 August at 22:00, K’Tam performs at Torre Ansaldo.
On Tuesday 4 August at 22:00, New Orleans trombonist Craig Klein joins the Carlos Childe Band for a free concert in Plaza Josep Carreras.
The week finishes with the Fabio Miano Quintet at Torre Ansaldo on Friday 7 August at 22:00.
These concerts are particularly convenient for anyone staying in Playa de San Juan, Muchavista or Sant Joan. Tickets are required for the Torre Ansaldo performances, while Tuesday’s concert in Plaza Josep Carreras is free.
A Roman spectacle in Villajoyosa
For something completely different, Gran Circus Maximus takes place in Villajoyosa on Saturday evening.
The open-air Roman-themed production includes gladiatorial scenes, chariot racing, horses, dancers and audience participation. There is also an optional dinner before the main performance, although the menu owes rather more to a modern barbecue than to the dining habits of ancient Rome.
Doors open at 20:00, the optional dinner begins at 21:00, and the main show starts at 22:15. Villajoyosa is around 35 to 45 minutes from Alicante by car, so this is best treated as a proper evening excursion rather than something to squeeze in after a late dinner.
When: Saturday 1 August; show at 22:15
Where: Gran Circus Maximus, Partida Piletes, Villajoyosa
Cost: Ticketed; show-only and dinner packages are available
Sunday 2 August: the Vuelta a la Escollera
One of the highlights of what’s on in Alicante this week takes place on Sunday morning, when the 96th Vuelta a la Escollera returns to the city’s waterfront.
First held in 1917, it is the oldest event on Spain’s national open-water swimming calendar. Around 350 swimmers are expected to compete in the main race and the children’s event.
The 4,000-metre race begins at 09:00, with competitors starting in the water beside the Ocean Race marina. The finishing line is at Postiguet Beach, where spectators can watch the swimmers arrive.
A 400-metre children’s race begins from Postiguet at 11:05, followed by the prize ceremony from approximately 11:30.
It should make an excellent spectacle from the beach and harbour, although once the swimmers are out in open water they may resemble several hundred determined punctuation marks.
When: Sunday 2 August from 09:00
Where: Ocean Race marina and Postiguet Beach
Cost: Free to watch
Free family circus at El Palmeral
Later on Sunday, El día de Ramiro is performed in Parque El Palmeral at 20:00.
The 50-minute production by Ameba Teatre combines clowning and circus and is aimed mainly at children between four and ten, although it is intended as a show for the whole family.
El Palmeral is a good setting for an August evening, with paths, palms, bridges and waterfalls providing at least the illusion that it is several degrees cooler than the streets outside.
When: Sunday 2 August at 20:00
Where: Parque El Palmeral, Avenida de Elche
Cost: Free
Monday 3 August: Alicante’s 104th Alborada
The 104th Alborada in honour of the Virgen del Remedio takes place in Plaza del Ayuntamiento at 22:00 on Monday.
Alicante’s Municipal Symphonic Band will be joined by local choirs and the Compañía Lírica Alicantina for a programme commemorating three important Spanish composers: Alicante-born Óscar Esplá, Villena-born Ruperto Chapí and Manuel de Falla.
The concert concludes with the traditional Salve and the anthems of Alicante, the Valencian Community and Spain. It is one of those occasions when the Town Hall square feels less like a place tourists pass through and more like the civic heart of the city.
Earlier in the evening, the book Alacant Mora i Cristiana: A orillas de la historia will be presented at the Casa de la Festa Manuel Ricarte at 19:30.
When: Monday 3 August at 22:00
Where: Plaza del Ayuntamiento, Alicante
Cost: Free
Tuesday 4 August: free New Orleans jazz in Sant Joan
Tuesday may be the quietest day in Alicante itself, but the Craig Klein and Carlos Childe Band concert in Sant Joan fills the gap rather well.
Craig Klein is a trombonist from New Orleans with a long career in traditional jazz and brass-band music. He performs with the Carlos Childe Band in Plaza Josep Carreras at 22:00, with free entry.
This is one of the week’s better options for jazz fans and a welcome reminder that not everything worthwhile in August requires buying a festival pass.
When: Tuesday 4 August at 22:00
Where: Plaza Josep Carreras, Sant Joan d’Alacant
Cost: Free
Wednesday 5 August: Virgen del Remedio procession
The feast-day procession for the Virgen del Remedio leaves the Concatedral de San Nicolás at 20:00 on Wednesday evening.
The procession passes through central Alicante and forms one of the principal religious events in the city’s calendar. Even without a particular interest in religious ceremonies, it offers the chance to see a more traditional and ceremonial side of Alicante than the one generally encountered along the beachfront.
Wednesday is also the final day of the Zoco Árabe, making it easy to combine the procession with an evening walk through the market.
When: Wednesday 5 August at 20:00
Where: From the Concatedral de San Nicolás, Alicante
Cost: Free
Thursday 6 August: the final night of Noches Mágicas
The Noches Mágicas festival at Jardines de Abril concludes on Thursday with La Banda Sabinera.
The group is formed by musicians closely associated with Joaquín Sabina and performs songs from across his extensive career. The wider Noches Mágicas experience includes food, art, craft stalls and entertainment around the gardens before the main concert.
Jardines de Abril is in Sant Joan d’Alacant, a short drive from Alicante and close to the Playa de San Juan area.
When: Thursday 6 August
Where: Jardines de Abril, Sant Joan d’Alacant
Cost: Ticketed
Friday 7 August: choose your blues
There are two free blues concerts at 21:00 on Friday 7 August, creating the agreeable problem of having to choose between them.
Slideboy Vegas & His Blues Buddies perform in Plaza del Ayuntamiento as part of Verano de Músicas.
At the same time, Danny Boy Blues Band and Pablo Sanpa open the summer Blues and Jazz series at Las Cigarreras.
The Town Hall concert is the more central option, while Las Cigarreras offers the atmosphere of its outdoor cultural space. Attempting to attend both would require either leaving one halfway through or possessing considerably more efficient transport than the rest of us.
When: Friday 7 August at 21:00
Where: Plaza del Ayuntamiento and Las Cigarreras
Cost: Both free
Reggaeton Millennial Fest begins in Sant Joan
Friday 7 August also marks the opening of the two-day Reggaeton Millennial Fest in Sant Joan d’Alacant.
The festival concentrates on reggaeton and electrolatino from the 2000s and 2010s, with performers including Gente de Zona, Alexis y Fido, Tito El Bambino, Danny Romero, Dasoul, K-Narias, Xriz, Buxxi, Crossfire and Jay Santos, alongside a sizeable collection of DJs.
It is aimed squarely at the generation that remembers these songs from the first time around, rather than teenagers being described as millennials by an excitable marketing department.
The festival continues on Saturday 8 August, but the opening night falls within this week’s guide.
When: Friday 7 and Saturday 8 August
Where: Sant Joan d’Alacant
Cost: Ticketed; check the festival website for current availability
What’s on in Alicante this week when it is simply too hot?
Not every activity needs a starting time, a stage and a crowd. August afternoons are often better suited to beaches, museums and the occasional strategic cold drink.
Visit the MUBAG Fine Arts Museum
The MUBAG Fine Arts Museum is housed inside the Palacio Gravina, a handsome eighteenth-century building near the Basilica of Santa María.
Its collection concentrates on Alicante and Spanish art, including nineteenth-century painting and works by local artists. It is free to visit and easy to combine with the Old Town, Santa María and the Explanada.
More importantly in August, the paintings are indoors and the sun cannot get at you. Read our full guide to visiting MUBAG in Alicante before you go.
Choose the right Alicante beach
We have reached the dog days of summer, when crossing an exposed plaza can feel like an unnecessarily ambitious undertaking. Fortunately, Alicante offers considerably more choice than simply placing your towel on the nearest available patch of Postiguet.
San Juan has space and a long promenade, La Albufereta is smaller and easier to manage, Almadraba has calmer water, and the rocky coves around Cabo de las Huertas are better for snorkelling.
Our complete guide to Alicante’s beaches explains what each beach offers and how to get there.
Discover Alicante on foot
For a more structured introduction to the city, our self-guided Alicante history and highlights walking tour takes you through the Old Town, past important monuments and into some of the less obvious stories behind the streets.
The tour runs on your phone, so you can begin whenever you choose, stop for coffee or lunch and resume when ready. In August, an early morning or early evening start is considerably wiser than attempting it beneath the midday sun.
A final note about summer events
Dates and programmes can occasionally change, particularly with outdoor performances. It is worth checking the organiser’s website or social pages before making a special journey, especially for ticketed events outside Alicante city.
That said, what’s on in Alicante this week offers a good mixture: major local traditions, free music, open-water sport, family theatre, jazz, dancing and several opportunities to spend the afternoon somewhere air-conditioned. August may move at its own pace, but it is certainly not asleep.
