Seville Fair

Last updated
Seville April Fair
Feria de Abril de Sevilla
19495423168 c324d53029 o feria abril 2013.jpg
19060879124 a5eac59dea o feria abril sevilla 2013.jpg
6023642780 d0cfcae67e o feria abril.jpg
8714202852 f852db384b o feria de abril.jpg
2403590167 feria sevilla.jpg
8713078917 2a3dde204c o feria abril.jpg
DatesA week in the spring (two weeks after Easter)
Location(s) Seville, Spain
Coordinates 37°22′16″N5°59′51″W / 37.37111°N 5.99750°W / 37.37111; -5.99750
Founded25 August 1846
Attendance5,000,000 (week total)
850,000 (Friday night) [1]
Budget€3,000,000 [2]
Fiesta of International Tourist Interest
Designated1980

The Seville Fair (officially and in Spanish : Feria de Abril de Sevilla, 'Seville April Fair') is held in the Andalusian capital of Seville, Spain. The fair generally begins two weeks after the Semana Santa , or Easter Holy Week.

Contents

The fair officially begins at midnight on Saturday, and runs seven days, ending on the following Saturday. Each day the fiesta begins with the parade of carriages and riders, at midday, carrying Seville's leading citizens which make their way to the bullring, La Real Maestranza , where the bullfighters and breeders meet.

For the duration of the fair, the fairgrounds and a vast area on the far bank of the Guadalquivir River are totally covered in rows of casetas (individual decorated marquee tents which are temporarily built on the fairground). These casetas usually belong to prominent families of Seville, groups of friends, clubs, trade associations and political parties. From around nine at night until six or seven the following morning, at first in the streets and later only within each caseta, there are crowds partying and dancing sevillanas , drinking sherry, manzanilla or rebujito , and eating tapas. [3] This fair also has an amusement park that comes with it and has many games to play along with rollercoasters to ride.

History

Seville Fair in the 19th century La feria de Sevilla, de Andres Cortes y Aguilar (Ayuntamiento de Sevilla).jpg
Seville Fair in the 19th century

The Fair dates back to 1846 when it was originally organized as a livestock fair by two councillors born in Northern Spain, Basque José María Ybarra and Catalan Narciso Bonaplata. Queen Isabel II agreed to the proposal, and on 18 April 1847 the first fair was held at the Prado de San Sebastian, on the outskirts of the city.

It took only one year before an air of festivity began to transform the fair, due mainly to the emergence of the first three casetas, belonging to the Duke and Duchess of Montpensier, the Town Hall, and the Casino of Seville. During the 1920s, the fair reached its peak and became the spectacle that it is today.

Location

Since 1973, the Feria de Abril takes place at the Real de la Feria, an area of 24 blocks (450,000 m2) which is located between Los Remedios and Tablada. In 2012 there were 1048 casetas. [2] The streets of the Real are named after famous bullfighters such as Juan Belmonte and Pascual Márquez. Next to the Real is the Calle del Infierno (Hell Road), an amusement park which offers many recreational activities; a circus is usually set furthest from the Real on the back of the Parque de los Príncipes. Construction of the portada (the main gate) starts months in advance, and it takes several weeks to clear the place after the end of the fair.

Street plan of Feria de Abril de Sevilla FeriaDeAbrilSevillaEng.png
Street plan of Feria de Abril de Sevilla

Plans to relocate the Fair to the Charco de la Pava have existed for the past 20 years, but the local government is yet to present any plans to transform the Real. For years the Charco de la Pava has been used as the main parking lot for fair attendees.

Pescaíto

The main entrance to the Seville Fair of 2012, five minutes after the alumbrao. PortaFiraSevilla2012.jpg
The main entrance to the Seville Fair of 2012, five minutes after the alumbrao.
Carriage at the Seville's April Fair SevillaFeAb08CarrEpo001.JPG
Carriage at the Seville's April Fair

Saturday night in the Feria de Abril is referred to as la noche del pescaíto (night of the fish) due to the fact that fish is the traditional dish to have for dinner. Celebrations officially start at midnight between Saturday and Sunday when the lights of the portada are turned on. This event is called the alumbrao. People gather in front of the portada to watch the alumbrao and then go to the casetas to have dinner and spend the whole night at the Real.

Future fair dates

The 2020 Feria de Abril was scheduled from April 25 to May 2. However, on March 15, 2020, the fair was postponed to September due to the coronavirus pandemic in Spain. [4]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Seville</span> Capital and largest city of Andalusia and the province of Seville in Spain

Seville is the capital of the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the River Guadalquivir, in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sevillanas</span> Spanish folk music and dance from Sevilla

Sevillanas are a type of folk music and dance of Sevilla and its region. They were derived from the Seguidilla, an old Castilian folk music and dance genre. In the nineteenth century they were influenced by Flamenco. They have a relatively limited musical pattern but are rich in lyrics based on country life, virgins, country towns, neighborhoods, pilgrimage, and love themes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Curro Romero</span> Spanish bullfighter

Francisco Romero López, better known as Curro Romero, and nicknamed El Faraón de Camas, is a Spanish bullfighter. He began his professional career in his hometown's La Pañoleta neighbourhood on 22 August 1954, together with José Martínez Limeño.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">El Puerto de Santa María</span> Municipality in Andalusia, Spain

El Puerto de Santa María, locally known as El Puerto and historically in English as Port Saint Mary, is a municipality of Spain located on the banks of the Guadalete River in the province of Cádiz, Andalusia. As of 2016, the city has a population of c. 88,184, of which some 50,000 live in the urban center, and the remainder in the surrounding areas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cali Fair</span> Cultural event in Cali, Colombia

Cali Fair is a cultural event held in Cali, Colombia from December 25 to December 30. It is a celebration of the region's cultural identity, famous for the Salsa marathon, horse riding parades and dance parties.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maestranza (Seville)</span>

The plaza de toros de la Real Maestranza de Caballería de Sevilla is a 12,000-capacity bullring in Seville, Spain. During the annual Seville Fair in Seville, it is the site of one of the most well-known bullfighting festivals in the world. It is a part of the Real Maestranza de Caballería de Sevilla, a noble guild established for traditional cavalry training.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ignacio Sánchez Mejías</span> Spanish bullfighter

Ignacio Sánchez Mejías was a Spanish matador.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Los Remedios (district)</span> District of Seville, Andalusia, Spain

Los Remedios is a district of Seville, the regional capital of Andalusia, Spain. It is located on the Isla de La Cartuja, south of the district of Triana, between two forks of the Guadalquivir river. It is linked by bridge to the city centre and the districts of Distrito Sur and Bellavista-La Palmera. From the western side of the island, it is linked by road bridge to the city of San Juan de Aznalfarache and shares a boundary in the Guadalquivir with the city of Gelves. The southern tip of La Cartuja is opposite the municipality of Dos Hermanas.

La Algaba is a Spanish municipality in the province of Seville, Andalusia, with a population of around 16,000. It is part of the region of La Vega and is located 11 km from the province's capital, Seville. The town dates back to the Byzantine Empire and has many historical artifacts and significant churches.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Feria de Jerez</span> A festival of a municipality in Spain

Feria de Jerez, also known as Feria del Caballo, is a celebration in the Spanish municipality Jerez de la Frontera, traditionally held in the first or second week of May. It is the most important fair in the Province of Cádiz and is listed as one of the Fiestas of International Tourist Interest of Spain by the Ministry of Industry (Spain). It was last held 4th-11th of May 2024.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Catalonia April Fair</span> Annual event in Barcelona, Spain

The April Fair of Catalonia is an annual event held in the Catalan capital of Barcelona, Spain. It usually takes place over the last week of April and the first week of May.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fiesta de las Cruces</span> Holiday celebrated on 3 May in many parts of Spain and Hispanic America

The Fiesta de las Cruces or Cruz de Mayo is a holiday celebrated on 3 May in many parts of Spain and Hispanic America.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Feria de Agosto</span> Spanish festival

The Feria de Agosto or Feria de Málaga is a street fair that takes place every August in the city of Málaga, Andalusia, Spain.

The Columbian Festivals are a set of annual celebrations in the city of Huelva, Andalusia to commemorate the first voyage of Christopher Columbus. They occur for a week at the end of July and beginning of August, the main day being 3 August, the date in 1492 on which Columbus departed Palos de la Frontera, on the voyage that brought him to the Americas. The festivities have been declared to be of National Tourist Interest.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Feria (festival)</span> Annual festival in Spain and southern France

A feria is an annual local festival in Spain and southern France, characterized by bullfights, bull running in the streets, bodegas and bandas. The word festayre means ferias' partiers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Royal Fair of Algeciras</span>

The Royal Fair of Algeciras is the most important annual festival in the Spanish city of Algeciras, held in June each year. Since it was established in 1850 as a cattle market, the fair and the fairground in which it is held have become popular attractions for the people of Algeciras and the surrounding towns of the Campo de Gibraltar. It has moved several times since its establishment and is now held in the Las Colinas area, where Algeciras's Las Palomas bullring is also located.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Iván Fandiño</span> Spanish bullfighter (1980–2017)

Iván Fandiño Barros was a Spanish bullfighter. He died when a bull named Provechito gored him during a bullfight at the bullring in Aire-sur-l'Adour in the south of France, only 343 days after fellow Spanish bullfighter Víctor Barrio had met the same fate.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Feria de La Línea</span>

The Feria de La Línea, also known as La Salvaora or La Velada is a Feria (festival) and one of the most important celebrations in the Spanish municipality of La Línea de la Concepción.

The Feria Real de San Roque, known as the Royal Fair of San Roque in English, is San Roque's main street fair, held on the second Tuesday of each August. It is located in the El Ejido fairground.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Melilla Fair</span> Annual fair in Spain

Melilla Fair is held in Melilla, a Spanish enclave in North Africa and celebrated in honor of its Patron Saint, the Virgin of Victory and whose fairgrounds are located in the Multifunctional Esplanade of San Lorenzo, a modern environment for a traditional fair, close to the marina.

References

  1. "La afluencia a la Feria de Abril se estabiliza en cinco millones de visitas", El País , 1999.
  2. 1 2 "En la Feria de Abril no hay recortes y se disfrutará de la fiesta al completo", teinteresa.es, 2012.
  3. Cyberspain
  4. "La Feria de Abril de Sevilla, aplazada a septiembre por el coronavirus". ABC (in Spanish). 15 March 2020. Retrieved 15 March 2020.