Comissió de Festes Majors Patronals has chosen an illustration by young Benidorm artist Laura Pascual Llambrich as the official poster for the city's most important annual celebrations
Unión Musical will become the first organization to serve as the Standard-Bearer of the festivities, in tribute to its centenary
Benidorm celebrated the feast day of its patron saint, St. James the Apostle (Sant Jaume Apòstol), yesterday, as it does every 25 July, with a full programme of events marking the start of the countdown to the city's upcoming Festes Majors Patronals, which will take place from 7 to 11 November. The day's celebrations began at noon with a traditional aerial fireworks display, followed in the afternoon by a packed schedule of events, including a parade through the streets with the image of the patron saint, a Mass, official appointments and the traditional Ball del Peuet, all enjoyed with great enthusiasm by members of the festival committee.
The headquarters of the Asociación Cultural y Recreativa La Barqueta hosted the first event of the afternoon programme. Benidorm Mayor Toni Pérez and Councillor for Fiestas Mariló Cebreros led the procession alongside the President of the 2026 Comissió de Festes, Ramón Cano, and the Queens of the 2026 Festes Majors Patronals, Laura Ivars Marín and Carmen Guillem Campos, accompanied by their Ladies-in-Waiting. They were joined by the mayorales and mayoralas (festival stewards), members of the Associació de Penyes Verge del Sofratge, councillors from the City Council, Senator Agustín Almodóbar, the Valencian Regional Government's Director General for Housing, Sebastián Fernández, and regional MPs José Ramón González de Zárate, Manuel Pérez Fenoll and Mario Villar.
From there, with the image of St. James carried on the shoulders of the mayoralas, the procession made its way to Plaza de El Torrejó, where the official poster for November's festivities was unveiled.
The poster, created by young Benidorm artist Paula Pascual Llambrich, a member of the 2026 Festival Committee and someone with strong ties to the city's Festes Majors Patronals as well as other local celebrations such as the Fallas and the festivities in honour of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, features an illustration of the Festival Queens dressed in traditional regional costume as they gaze out to sea towards the silhouette of Benidorm Island. Also depicted are the Virgin of the Sufragio, the Cross of St. James and numerous musical notes, paying tribute to the centenary of the Unión Musical. According to the artist, the aim was to "bring together in a single image everything that Benidorm's festivals represent and the pride of being from Benidorm."
Mayor Toni Pérez congratulated Laura Pascual and the Festival Committee both on the selection of the artwork for the official poster and on the many events organised throughout the year, especially those held over the weekend in honour of the city's patron saint. The Mayor also drew attention to the treble clef featured in the poster—the musical symbol placed at the beginning of the stave—and remarked that "just as the treble clef marks the beginning of a musical score, this event marks the beginning of the countdown to the celebration of our Festes Majors Patronals."
The celebrations then continued at the Church of Sant Jaume i Santa Anna, where the 2025 Standard-Bearer, Jaime Llorca Orozco, formally handed over the role to the Unión Musical de Benidorm, represented by its President, Mari Carmen García, its Musical Director, Rafa Gómez Parra, and members of its executive committee. The organisation received the City's official insignia from the Mayor of Benidorm, becoming the first organisation to collectively hold the honorary title of Standard-Bearer, in recognition of its centenary and its longstanding contribution to the city's traditional festivities.
To complete the presentation of the festival's honorary appointments, Ramón Cano also presented the official badges and neckerchiefs to those named as the 2026 Mayorales de Honor (Honorary Festival Stewards): Domingo Llorca and Pepa Beltrán; Andrés Sánchez and Juana Osuna; Virginio Martínez; Amelia Fernández; and Philippe Albert Erick d'Hebboudt.
The programme continued with a solemn Mass celebrated by Fathers Jaume Benaloy and Juan Antonio González. Following the Eucharistic celebration, the traditional Estampeta was lit in Plaza de Sant Jaume in honour of the patron saint, after which the Ladies-in-Waiting and Festival Queens performed the traditional Ball del Peuet.
The day's celebrations concluded with a fireworks display and an open-air dance in Plaza de Castelar, in El Castell, organised by the mayorales of the Comissió de Festes. They also ran a food and drink stall offering refreshments at affordable prices to raise funds for the forthcoming festivities.
