Santander Festival celebrates 75th anniversary with documentary premiere and ticket sales

The Festival Internacional de Santander marks its 75th anniversary with a public opening on 2 August in the Plaza Porticada. The event features the premiere of the documentary “75 agostos”, written and directed by Marta Solano, and a musical parade led by Emilio Otero performing Beethoven’s “Hymn to Joy”. The celebration highlights the Festival’s regional talent, with students from local conservatories taking part.

Separate from the opening ceremony, the Festival has begun selling individual seats for its programme, which runs from 2 to 31 August 2026 across the Palacio de Festivales, the Argenta and Pereda halls, and other venues in Santander and 18 surrounding Cantabrian towns. The lineup includes operatic productions, piano concerts by Grigory Sokolov, Elizabeth Leonskaja and Daniil Trifonov, orchestral performances by the La Scala Philharmonic under Riccardo Chailly, and dance shows by María Pagés, Blanca Li and the National Dance Company. Festival director Cosme Marina described the edition as a “celebration for everyone, especially the public”.