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Festes del Rei en Jaume 2026: Santa Ponsa's Landing Festival
Every year in late August and early September, Santa Ponsa turns its beach and streets over to a week and a half of processions, fire, medieval market stalls and, at the centre of it all, a full re-enactment of a landing that happened almost eight centuries ago. The Festes del Rei en Jaume are Calvià's biggest traditional festival, and 2026 marks the 797th anniversary of King Jaume I's arrival on this stretch of coast.
The festival runs from Wednesday 26 August to Sunday 6 September 2026, organised by Calvià Town Hall around the anniversary of the 1229 landing that began the Christian conquest of Mallorca.
What Is Being Celebrated
On the night of 10 September 1229, King Jaume I of Aragon landed a fleet of more than 150 vessels on the coast that is now Santa Ponsa, at the head of a Catalan army sent to take the island from its Moorish rulers. The Festes del Rei en Jaume have marked the anniversary since 1929, when the 700th anniversary of the landing was first commemorated, and the modern festival programme has grown from there into one of the most recognisable traditional events on the island.
The 2026 Programme
The central events officially open on Thursday 27 August with a commemorative ceremony at the Creu de Santa Ponça, the cross that marks the landing site. This year's pregón, the opening address that traditionally kicks off the festivities, is being given by Carlos Fuentes, a Franciscan friar and rector of several parishes across the Calvià municipality.
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From there, the programme builds steadily toward its first-weekend-of-September climax:
- Saturday 29 August — the XXV Trobada de Gegants, the 25th gathering of giants, brings costumed giant figures through Santa Ponsa's streets.
- Tuesday 1 September — Nit de Foc, the Night of Fire, when the Dimonis de Calvià fill the streets with fire and light in a traditional correfoc.
- 3–6 September — a medieval market sets up in the streets of Santa Ponsa, running through to the festival's final day.
- Friday 4 September — the desfile moro, the Moorish parade, one of the two set-piece processions of the closing weekend.
- Saturday 5 September — the desembarcament: the Christian troops' landing and the final battle between the Moorish and Christian companies, staged on Platja de Santa Ponça.
- Sunday 6 September — the festival closes with a fireworks display over the bay.
The Landing Re-enactment
The desembarcament is the centrepiece of the whole festival. Around 1,400 costumed participants, drawn from eleven Moorish and eleven Christian colles (companies), take part in the historical recreation, which is advised on points of historical accuracy by a local expert in medieval history who works from the Llibre dels Feits and other medieval sources to keep the costumes, weapons and staging as close to the period as possible. This year the roles of the two kings have already been decided: Mateu García Bennàssar, of the colla Berenguer de Palou, plays the Christian king, and Óscar Blanco Domingo, of the colla Ali oli, plays the Moorish king, Abu-Yahya. Both were selected at a ceremony at the Molino de Santa Ponça fairground, where Calvià's mayor crowned the Christian king and the deputy mayor crowned the Moorish king.
The action begins at the Creu de Santa Ponça, where the troops assemble before the parade moves down to Platja de Santa Ponça for the landing and final battle. The beach fills up quickly, so arriving well ahead of the scheduled start is worth it for anyone planning to watch from the sand or the promenade rather than further back in the crowd.
Music and the Rest of the Programme
Alongside the historical set pieces, the festival includes a nightly music programme in the Plaza de la Pinada, running throughout the ten days, plus the traditional additions that round out any Calvià fiesta: a giants' encounter, the handing over of standards between the colles, and a solemn mass. An exhibition of paintings and photography shortlisted for the Premis Rei En Jaume opens at Calvià Town Hall's exhibition hall partway through the festival, although the prizes themselves are awarded separately, later in the autumn.
Visiting Santa Ponsa During the Festes
Santa Ponsa is used to hosting large numbers of visitors for the festival, but parking and road access around the beach and the Creu de Santa Ponça get considerably busier on the days with parades or the desembarcament itself. Anyone living locally, or renting nearby for the season, should expect road closures around the beachfront on the Friday and Saturday of the closing weekend in particular. For residents of Santa Ponsa and the surrounding area, the festival is also one of the clearest annual reminders of what living in the town actually involves day to day: a community that empties its streets for a shared celebration of the place's own history, year after year.
