What’s On in Alicante this week proves that even as we enter the dog days of summer, the city has absolutely no intention of putting its feet up. From neighbourhood fiestas and free outdoor concerts to burgers in the bullring, a major Fontaines D.C. gig and a near-total solar eclipse, there is rather a lot competing for your attention between Friday 7 and Friday 14 August.
And this is one of those weeks when some of the best things are happening away from the usual Explanada–Old Town axis. Altozano in particular is worth making an effort for, while Playa de San Juan has Cirque du Soleil under canvas and Las Cigarreras (behind the Plaza de Toros) continues to quietly put on some excellent free music.
What’s On in Alicante from 7 to 14 August
Friday 7 August
Hércules CF v CD Castellón
19:30 – Estadio José Rico Pérez, Calle Foguerer José Romeu Zarandieta
A good way to start the weekend if you fancy seeing Alicante’s football team on home turf. Hércules take on Castellón in the Trofeo Ciudad de Alicante, with the club also expected to give its new home strip its first outing.
The Rico Pérez stadium is north-west of the centre (San Blas), but still perfectly manageable by bus or taxi… or even on foot if you don’t mind a walk. If you have never been to a Hércules match, pre-season is also a fairly painless introduction before everybody starts taking the points rather more seriously.
Blues & Jazz at Las Cigarreras
21:00 – Las Cigarreras, Calle San Carlos 78 – FREE
Danny Boy Blues Band & Pablo Sanpa open this year’s August Blues & Jazz programme at Las Cigarreras.
Danny Boy is on harmonica and vocals, alongside Madrid guitarist Pablo Sanpa, for an evening wandering through blues, rhythm & blues and some of the less polished corners of American roots music.
The concert is part of a series running every Friday throughout August.
Slideboy Vegas & His Blues Buddies
21:00 – Plaza del Ayuntamiento – FREE
If one free blues concert wasn’t sufficiently inconvenient, there’s another at precisely the same time.
Slideboy Vegas & His Blues Buddies perform in the Plaza del Ayuntamiento as part of the city’s Verano de Músicas programme.
Our preference would probably be Las Cigarreras, simply because its Jardín Vertical and nice landscaping makes it a nice change, but either will do nicely.
Burger Mania Fest
Every evening during the week except Tuesday 11 August
20:00–00:00 – Plaza de Toros de Alicante, Plaza de España – FREE entry
You don’t often associate Alicante’s bullring with burgers, but for ten days in August the Plaza de Toros is surrendering to beef, buns and craft beer.
Burger Mania Fest brings together burger stalls from around Spain alongside live music and DJs. It runs from 6–16 August, although the whole operation takes Tuesday 11 off.
It is free to enter, so you don’t have to commit yourself to consuming something simply to have a look around.
For anyone staying around Mercado or Centro, it’s also an easy walk.
Saturday 8 August
A theatrical visit to MUBAG
11:00 – MUBAG, Calle Gravina 13–15 – FREE, advance reservation required
MUBAG is offering something slightly different from the standard shuffle-around-a-gallery experience with a theatrical visit to its Antonio Gisbert exhibition.
Actors take on the roles of Gisbert and Matilde Periche as visitors are led through the exhibition and the painter’s story. This is likely o be a Spanish speaking event.
Places are limited, so this is one of the few items in What’s On in Alicante this week where we would definitely book ahead.
Sociedad Musical La Amistad de Villafranqueza
21:00 – Plaza del Ayuntamiento – FREE
Another of the free Verano de Músicas concerts, this time featuring Sociedad Musical La Amistad de Villafranqueza, conducted by Eduardo Peris Signes.
If classical Spanish town bands are your thing, pull up a chair. If not, there are worse places to sit on a warm August evening while deciding where to have the next drink. if you haven’t been to one of these concerts, you’d be amazed at the quality of the musicianship. It seems that the Alicantinos are born to be musical.
Sunday 9 August
Banda Sinfónica Municipal de Alicante
19:30 – Plaza del Ayuntamiento – FREE
Alicante’s own Municipal Symphonic Band performs an early evening concert in the Town Hall square, conducted by Pedro Lara Navarrete.
Las Historias de Marie
20:00 – Parque Municipal La Marjal, Playa de San Juan – FREE
A family theatre show from Dos Patas Pa’ Un Banco, aimed particularly at children aged 4–8 and combining storytelling, humour and imagination.
It’s part of Alicante’s Verano en Parques programme and is confirmed by the Ayuntamiento for Sunday 9 August at 20:00 in La Marjal.
Monday 10 August
Alicante Language Exchange at El Gato Cool
19:30 – El Gato Cool, Calle Santos Médicos 4
Monday evening means language exchange at El Gato Cool (Centro).
The idea is refreshingly uncomplicated: turn up, have a drink, speak some Spanish, English or whichever language somebody at the next table happens to be learning, and meet people.
It’s particularly useful for solo travellers and anyone staying in Alicante for a little longer than the standard beach-and-airport visit.
And, yes, speaking Spanish after one cerveza is often mysteriously easier.
Tuesday 11 August
Fontaines D.C. at El Muelle Live
11 August – El Muelle Live, Port of Alicante
This is one of the biggest gigs in What’s On in Alicante this week.
Dublin’s Fontaines D.C. arrive at El Muelle Live, bringing their mixture of post-punk, indie rock and gloriously gloomy poetry to Alicante’s waterfront.
They’ve gone from critically adored guitar band to a genuinely major international act, particularly following Romance, so this is a significant booking for the city rather than another summer tribute band knocking out Sweet Caroline.
The venue confirms the Alicante show for 11 August. Website
Note: Burger Mania is closed on Tuesday.
Wednesday 12 August
The solar eclipse over Alicante
If you only remember one thing from this week’s What’s On in Alicante, remember Wednesday evening.
Spain experiences a major solar eclipse on 12 August 2026, and Alicante will get an extraordinarily deep partial eclipse, with almost the entire Sun obscured.
The important thing is that the Sun will already be quite low towards the west, so choose somewhere with a reasonably open western horizon rather than squeezing yourself behind a six-storey apartment block and hoping for the best.
Alicante’s obvious elevated viewpoints include Monte Benacantil/Santa Bárbara Castle, Monte Tossal and Serra Grossa, although large crowds are expected.
Most importantly, do not look directly at the Sun using ordinary sunglasses. Proper eclipse glasses conforming to ISO 12312-2 are required.
This is one of those occasions when fashionable eyewear is considerably less important than retaining functioning retinas.
University of Alicante eclipse observation
The University of Alicante is also organising an official public observation of the eclipse at its San Vicente del Raspeig campus.
If you want somebody who actually understands celestial mechanics standing nearby rather than relying on Dave from Facebook, this is probably the sensible option.
Moros y Cristianos de Altozano begins
12–16 August – Altozano
Wednesday also sees the start of one of our favourite neighbourhood fiestas.
Altozano is not in Alicante city centre. It is a traditional residential barrio beyond the Plaza de Toros, the sort of neighbourhood most short-stay visitors would otherwise have little reason to explore.
Which is precisely why its Moros y Cristianos celebrations are worth knowing about.
The official 2026 programme begins with the Retreta at 21:00 on Wednesday 12 August.
Thursday 13 August
Moros y Cristianos de Altozano – Embajada Mora
20:00 – Altozano, around Avenida Conde de Lumiares – FREE
The Altozano celebrations step up considerably on Thursday with the Embajada Mora, beginning at 20:00.
The mock embassies are part theatre, part historical pageantry and part excuse for impressive quantities of gunpowder.
The official programme confirms the Moorish Embassy from 20:00 until midnight on 13 August.
Fiestas de San Roque
13–16 August – Barrio de San Roque
Much closer to Alicante’s historic centre are the traditional San Roque fiestas, held in the little barrio climbing the slopes beneath Santa Bárbara Castle.
These celebrations have several centuries of history behind them and feel very different from Alicante’s bigger organised events: street meals, neighbourhood parties, processions and the sort of communal chaos Spain does rather well.
The city’s 2026 traditional fiesta calendar confirms San Roque from 13–16 August.
If you’re staying in the Old Town, San Roque is easily reached on foot — although the gradient might encourage you to arrive thirsty.
Banda Sinfónica Municipal de Alicante
19:30 – Plaza del Ayuntamiento – FREE
Another free Municipal Band performance in the Plaza del Ayuntamiento.
Friday 14 August
This is probably the strongest evening of What’s On in Alicante this week.
Our pick: Entrada Mora in Altozano
From 20:00 – Avenida Conde de Lumiares, Altozano – FREE
If you’re only going to make one trip up to Altozano, make it Friday night.
The official programme has the Entrada de Bandas, Entrada Mora and Alborada beginning at 20:00 on Friday 14 August.
The Entrada Mora is our favourite night of Altozano’s fiestas.
Expect marching bands, richly decorated costumes, Moorish comparsas and plenty of theatrical swagger as the procession moves through the barrio. It is a proper neighbourhood event rather than a tourist spectacle, yet the scale of it can be remarkable.
This is exactly the sort of evening we love recommending because plenty of visitors to Alicante simply never know it is happening.
Leave the beach, jump in a taxi or walk up past the Plaza de Toros and see another side of the city.
Eva Romero & Gypsy Swing Quintet
21:00 – Las Cigarreras, Calle San Carlos 78 – FREE
If Altozano doesn’t appeal, Friday’s second instalment of Blues & Jazz at Las Cigarreras brings vocalist Eva Romero and the Gypsy Swing Quintet to the Jardín Vertical.
Expect swing, gypsy jazz and blues rather than enormous feathered Moorish costumes.
Both have their merits.
On throughout the week
Cirque du Soleil – KURIOS
Gran Carpa, Playa de San Juan – until 23 August
Cirque du Soleil remains in Alicante with KURIOS – Cabinet of Curiosities, performed beneath its big top in Playa de San Juan.
The production imagines the laboratory of an eccentric inventor where mechanical creations and curious characters begin coming to life. Around 50 performers are involved in the show, which has already been seen by millions of people internationally.
Performance times vary, so check availability directly before travelling.
FREE KURIOS exhibition at Alicante-Terminal
If Cirque du Soleil tickets stretch the holiday budget somewhat, there’s also a free KURIOS exhibition inside Alicante’s railway station until 16 August.
It explores the costumes, characters, design and creative process behind the show and is particularly handy if you’re arriving or departing by train.
A few exhibitions for a hot afternoon
When the thermometer starts behaving indecently, Alicante’s galleries acquire another advantage: air conditioning.
Las Cigarreras, Calle San Carlos 78, currently has several exhibitions including Rock&Comix: Homenaje a Joaquín Ladrón, which continues until 5 September.
MUBAG, Calle Gravina 13–15, is showing its major Antonio Gisbert exhibition.
And MARQ, Plaza Dr Gómez Ulla, has El oro y el universo: Saberes indígenas de Colombia among its current temporary exhibitions.
We’d happily use any of the three as an excuse to disappear indoors for an hour around 16:00.
Something to do any day: discover Alicante on foot
Not everything in What’s On in Alicante needs a start time.
If you’d like to understand a little more about the city while exploring it at your own pace, our self-guided Alicante audio walking tour takes you through the historic centre while telling the stories behind the streets, buildings and people you pass.
You download it to your phone, start whenever you want and pause whenever something more important crops up — coffee, tapas and cold beer being perfectly legitimate examples.
