Kimberley Mannion
SEVILLA’S renowned Feria de Abril is set to kick off this Sunday May 1 with celebrations running all through the week until midnight on Saturday, May 7.
This will be the first time the famous feria has taken place since 2019 after the last two years were cancelled due to the pandemic.
It may seem strange for the ‘April Fair to start on the first day of May, but this is due to the late Easter this year.
The Feria always begins two weeks after Easter, which this year fell on April 17.
Sevilla is first on the calendar of Andalucia?s traditional ferias, and the season starts with the biggest and most famous one.
The Feria de Abril began in 1847 as a farmer’s cattle market and has blossomed over the years into the colourful and iconic event of Spanish culture that we know today.
The week-long festival is home to flamenco dancing and stalls selling traditional Sevillian food like calamares con salsa aioli (fried squid with garlic mayonnaise), and the wine of the feria – manzanilla – 1.5 million bottles of which are consumed over the week.
Festivities will kick off with the prueba de alumbrao, when the fairgrounds and main gate are lit up as horses with jockeys and carriages stroll through the streets.
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