From August 20 to 30, 2026, Gijón will host the 35th Fiesta de la Sidra Natural de Gijón — one of the main city festivals dedicated to natural Asturian cider.
This year’s program includes a mass simultaneous pouring of cider on Poniente Beach in an attempt to set a new record, a public tasting of products from 15 llagares, the selection of the best natural cider of the festival, a homemade cider contest, Mercadín de la Manzana y de la Sidra, music, and traditional Cancios de Chigre.
🍏 Fiesta de la Sidra Natural de Gijón 2026
📅 August 20–30, 2026
📍 Gijón / Xixón, Asturias
One of the central events will be a new attempt to break the record for simultaneous escanciado. In 2025, 9,833 people participated, and now Gijón aims to raise the bar even higher.
🍾 New escanciado record on Poniente Beach
The main mass event will take place on Friday, August 21, at 18:00 on Playa de Poniente.
Thousands of people will simultaneously pour cider in the traditional Asturian way: a bottle held high above the head, a glass in an outstretched hand below, and a thin stream of cider between them.
The goal for 2026 is to exceed the result of 9,833 participants set the previous year.
To participate, you need to have a cider glass.
This time, the record will use Sidra Contrueces, the winner of the institutional competition by Consejo Regulador for the title of best cider of Asturias 2026.
The hosts of the event will be Alberto Rodríguez and actress and singer Nerea Vázquez, with musical accompaniment provided by Banda de Gaites Noega.
📅 Thursday, August 20
This is the day when the main program of the Fiesta de la Sidra begins.
The traditional Mercadín de la Manzana y de la Sidra will open — a market dedicated to apples, cider, and related products.
The organizers will once again choose:
🍎 the most “prestosu” stand;
🍏 the best presented products;
💡 the most original new product.
At 12:00, Nerea Vázquez will conduct the first stage of the selection for the Mejor Sidra Natural de la Fiesta award, that is, the best natural cider of the festival.
At 17:30, the Gijón stage of the XXXIII Campeonato Oficial de Escanciadores de Asturias — the official championship of Asturias among escanciado masters — will take place.
This is a separate art: a good escanciador must not only pour a stream from a raised bottle into a glass but do so consistently, beautifully, and with minimal losses.
🍾 Friday, August 21: record escanciado
📍 Playa de Poniente
🕕 18:00
On Friday, one of the most spectacular events of the entire Fiesta de la Sidra will take place — a mass simultaneous escanciado.
In 2025, cider was poured simultaneously by 9,833 people.
In 2026, the organizers want to set a new record.
🍾 Cider: Sidra Contrueces
🎤 Hosts: Alberto Rodríguez and Nerea Vázquez
🎶 Music: Banda de Gaites Noega
To access, you need to have a glass for cider.
In the evening, the celebration will move to the historic center:
🕙 22:00
📍 Plaza Mayor
Here, Cancios de Chigre «Un de Grao» will take place.
Cancios de Chigre is one of the characteristic Asturian traditions: collective singing in the atmosphere of a cider house or chigre.
🏆 Saturday, August 22: homemade cider contest
On Saturday, the winners of the Concurso de Sidra Casero will be determined, organized jointly with the Asociación de Sidra Casero de Xixón El Culete Moyáu and Caja Rural.
There will be 60 producers of homemade cider participating in the selection, from which 12 finalists will be chosen.
Final
📍 Plaza Mayor
🕛 12:00–14:30
Visitors will be able to not only watch the contest but also taste the cider.
There will be:
🍏 a popular tasting;
🗳 public voting;
🏆 evaluation by a professional jury.
Tasting glasses will start being sold from 11:30.
At 18:00, three awards will be presented to the participants of the Mercadín de la Manzana y de la Sidra.
And at 21:00, Cancios de Chigre will sound again at Plaza Mayor. This time, Sociedad Torner will perform under the direction of Carlos José Martínez.
🍎 Sunday, August 23: large public tasting
Sunday will be one of the main days of the festival.
📍 Gijón / Xixón
🕛 12:00–14:00
The large public tasting will feature 15 llagares, that is, cider producers.
The cost of the tasting:
🍾 12 culetes of cider — 5 €
🥛 official festival glass — 5 €
🥛 glasses from previous editions of the festival — 3 €
Thus, you will be able to taste cider from many producers and compare different options of the natural Asturian drink.
At 12:00, the first culín will be poured by Diego Agüera, a representative of the cider that received Elogio de Oro at the previous festival.
At 12:30, Nerea Vázquez will conduct the second stage of the selection of Mejor Sidra Natural.
At 12:45, the award for the most beautiful label — etiqueta «más guapina», established by Sidras Tour, will be presented.
Throughout the day, the winner of the Mejor Sidra Natural de la Fiesta 2026 award will also be announced.
At 14:00, the event will conclude with Banda de Gaitas Villa de Xixón.
🏅 Sidra Canal will receive Tonel de Oro 2026
One of the main awards of the festival this year will be awarded to Sidra Canal.
On Sunday, August 23 at noon, the producer will be presented with the Tonel de Oro 2026 for many years of contribution to the culture of Asturian cider.
The history of the llagar began in 1955, when it was founded by Avelino Canal, known as «el Santu».
After his death, the family business was continued by his son Andrés and widow Cristina Palacios.
The award celebrates over 70 years of work, preserving traditions and the family’s involvement in the cider culture of Asturias.
🍏 Why Fiesta de la Sidra Natural is a must-see
Cider in Asturias is significantly more than just a drink. It is associated with its own rules, vocabulary, gastronomic traditions, and the famous technique of escanciado.
And Fiesta de la Sidra Natural allows you to see almost all of this in one place.
Two events are particularly interesting:
👉 August 21 at 18:00 — mass escanciado at Playa de Poniente and an attempt to set a new record;
👉 August 23 from 12:00 to 14:00 — a large cider tasting from 15 llagares.
📌 Brief Program of Fiesta de la Sidra 2026
August 20, Thursday
🍎 Opening of Mercadín de la Manzana y de la Sidra
🕛 12:00 — first stage of Mejor Sidra Natural
🕠 17:30 — Official Championship of Escanciadores of Asturias
August 21, Friday
🍾 18:00 — mass escanciado at Playa de Poniente
🏆 Attempt to exceed the record of 9,833 participants
🎶 Banda de Gaites Noega
🎵 22:00 — Cancios de Chigre “Un de Grao”, Plaza Mayor
August 22, Saturday
🍏 12:00–14:30 — final of Concurso de Sidra Casero, Plaza Mayor
🥛 Tasting and public voting
🏆 18:00 — awards for Mercadín
🎵 21:00 — Cancios de Chigre with Sociedad Torner
August 23, Sunday
🍾 12:00–14:00 — large public tasting
🍎 15 llagares
💶 12 culetes — 5 €
🥛 official glass — 5 €
🏅 12:00 — presentation of the Tonel de Oro by Sidra Canal
🏆 Selection of Mejor Sidra Natural 2026
🎶 14:00 — Banda de Gaitas Villa de Xixón
Fiesta de la Sidra Natural de Gijón 2026 takes place from August 20 to 30, with the main mass events concentrated from August 20 to 23.
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