Aste Nagusia (“Great Week”), also known by its Spanish name Semana Grande, is Bilbao’s main city festival, held over nine days beginning the first Saturday after 15 August each year. It was created in 1978, when city associations organised a contest to design a single major festival for Bilbao in place of a set of smaller, scattered summer events.
When & where
- Founded
- 1978
- Home
- Bilbao, Spain
- Genre
- Culture
- When
- Late August
Upcoming editions
We don't have a confirmed Aste Nagusia (Semana Grande) edition in our listings right now. New dates are added automatically as they go on sale.
2027 dates not yet announced
Aste Nagusia (Semana Grande) has not published its 2027 dates yet. We only list dates the organiser has confirmed, and we will update this page when they are announced.
Last edition (2026)
Aug 22 – Aug 30 · Bilbao
Past editions
About Aste Nagusia (Semana Grande)
The festival opens with a firework rocket (the txupinazo) and the arrival of its mascot, Marijaia, who presides over nine days of concerts, fireworks competitions, traditional Basque rural sports such as wood-chopping and stone-lifting, parades and children’s activities across squares and quaysides throughout the city, before Marijaia is ceremonially burned to close the festival.