Festivals & Events in San Sebastián

La Tamborrada is Donostia's patron festival: every January 20th — a fixed date, never moved — the entire city beats drums and barrels for exactly 24 hours, midnight to midnight. More than 176 adult comparsas (+20,000 people) march through every neighbourhood. UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage (2018). Free and open to all.

Zinemaldia is Spain's most prestigious film festival and the only one with FIAPF Category A status, alongside Cannes, Venice and Berlin. Every third or fourth week of September, San Sebastián awards its Golden Shell. Watching the red carpet is free; screenings are ticketed, with seats from around €8.75 per session.

Aste Nagusia is the main festival of Donostia-San Sebastián, held around 15 August (Assumption Day). In 2026 it runs from 8 to 15 August — nine free days that kick off with the cannon shot in Alderdi Eder. Its global trademark: the International Fireworks Competition, drawing ~90,000 people each night over La Concha bay.

Donostia-San Sebastián's Holy Week returned in 2026 with processions for the first time in nearly six decades (the last was around 1966), driven by the Cofradía de Jesús Nazareno with more than 450 members. It's free, intimate, and far from overcrowded: the main event is the Good Friday procession, at 20:30 from the Catedral del Buen Pastor.