Festival Contempopranea

Contempopranea 2026 celebrates its 30th anniversary on Friday 16 and Saturday 17 October in Don Benito (Badajoz), and reaches festival week with Saturday sold out: the festival announced the sell-out on 18 September. Friday, on the other hand, is free entry, and the organisers have already published the timetables for both days.

When and where Contempopranea 2026 takes place

The festival is split across two venues in Don Benito. On Friday 16 October the welcome party, which is free, takes place in Plaza de España, from 21:30 to 2:30. On Saturday 17 October, the main day moves to the FEVAL exhibition grounds, with doors opening at 13:00 and concerts from 13:30 to 3:30 spread across an outdoor stage and an indoor one.

The festival was born thirty years ago in Alburquerque, where it held an anniversary party with limited capacity at the foot of the Castillo de Luna in August, separate from this edition.

Contempopranea 2026 line-up by day

The free party on Friday 16 brings together Electrozacho (21:30), Nena Daconte (23:20) and Fônal (01:00). It is the option for anyone without a ticket or who wants to start the weekend without going through the box office, with Nena Daconte as the best-known name from 2000s pop.

Saturday 17 holds the bulk of the line-up: La M.O.D.A., Carlos Ares, Ultraligera, Sexy Zebras, Elyella, Barry B, Veintiuno, Depedro, El Gato con Jotas, Niños Bravos, Bolsa de Moscas, La Petite Mort and Los Primos DJs. Niños Bravos, initially announced for Friday, appears in the official Saturday timetable. La M.O.D.A. are the headliners; Sexy Zebras and Ultraligera bring the more rock-oriented side, and Carlos Ares and Barry B represent the latest generation of Spanish-language pop. Ultraligera also play the day before, on 16 October, at the Xauen Bull Festival in Jaén.

Saturday timetable: Depedro 13:30, El Gato con Jotas 14:40, Veintiuno 16:00, Barry B 17:40, Carlos Ares 18:40, Niños Bravos 19:40, La M.O.D.A. 20:10, Bolsa de Moscas 21:20, Ultraligera 22:00, Los Primos DJs 23:10, Sexy Zebras 23:50, La Petite Mort 00:50, Elyella 01:20 and Los Primos DJs again at 02:50, until closing at 3:30. On Saturday there will be free Iberian ham montaditos for the first 1,000 drinks served.

Contempopranea 2026 tickets: Saturday sold out

The festival announced the Saturday sell-out on 18 September, and the official ticket sales page still lists both Saturday tickets as sold out: general admission at €60 and the Bonus Track at €63, both including fees. The two return coach routes (Badajoz-Talavera-Mérida-Santa Amalia-Don Benito and Cáceres-Trujillo-Miajadas-Don Benito), at €16.50, are also shown as sold out. For those with a seat, both depart at 11:45, arrive in Don Benito at 13:00 and return at 3:30.

The terms of purchase point out that resale is not permitted, that you should bring your DNI or another original document, and that tickets are not refundable except in the event of cancellation or an essential change to the festival. Anyone who cannot get a ticket for Saturday can enjoy the anniversary on Friday, at no cost. If new tickets were released, the place to check would be that same official page.

Camping and getting to Don Benito

The official campsite is set up on the grounds of the Don Benito municipal swimming pool, a few minutes' walk from Plaza de España and FEVAL. It opens on Friday 16 at 18:00 and closes on Sunday 18 at 18:00; it only accepts tents, shared by a minimum of two people, and vehicles, glass and animals are prohibited. It is worth checking availability on the festival website.

With the official coaches sold out, the way to get there from Badajoz, Mérida or Cáceres is by car or regular public transport to Don Benito. With a day that starts at midday, it is worth sorting out accommodation or your journey home before Saturday.

More on Contempopranea

The timetables for both days and line-up changes are in the Contempopránea 2026 timetable. We explain the split between the free party and the paid day in our news story on Contempopranea's 30th anniversary in Don Benito. For other plans that weekend, check out the festivals in Extremadura and the October festival calendar.