Ourense's Magostos festival still awaiting a licence four days before it starts in Montealegre: what the council and the organisers say

Four days before it begins, Ourense's Magostos festival still has no known municipal licence. The City Council maintains that the organisers do not have the permits to hold a four-day, 3,000-person event next to the Montealegre botanical garden from 12 to 15 November, and on Wednesday the Local Police ordered the assembly of a marquee to stop. Eventos Galiza, the promoter, responds that it has been processing the paperwork since August and has no intention of cancelling.

What Ourense City Council says

The first warning came on Wednesday 4 November. According to La Voz de Galicia, officers from the National Police and the Local Police went to the festival site, and the Local Police ordered the installation of the marquee planned for the La Cúpula stage to be halted. The organisers then told the officers that they did not yet have the final permit.

On Saturday 7, La Región reported that the councillor for urban planning, Francisco Lorenzo, confirmed that the promoters do not have the relevant permits and doubted they would obtain them before Thursday. The same newspaper notes that the BNG spokesperson, Luis Seara, had raised the viability of the event at the last full council meeting.

Adding to the pressure from the council is the Sindicato Profesional de Policías Municipales de España (SPPME), which has called for an urgent inspection. According to both newspapers, the union warns of difficulties with access and evacuation in an emergency, a risk of forest fire and a lack of guarantees on sanitation.

What Eventos Galiza says

The promoter's spokesperson, Óscar González, told La Voz de Galicia that they have been processing the permit with the council since August and that on Friday 6 they would submit the last documents required. He maintains that the festival has a safety plan and all the necessary public liability insurance, and rejects the risks pointed out by the union. "Everything is booked and there is no reason at all for this to be stopped," he told the same newspaper.

González also complained, according to La Voz, that the council refused to provide them with bins or a purple point to prevent gender-based violence, which he interprets as a lack of municipal interest in the event going ahead.

What Magostos is and where it takes place

Magostos presents itself as an event linked to San Martiño and autumn in Ourense. Large-scale parties around the magostos are common in the Montealegre area, La Voz points out, but this one goes further: four days, two stages and camping. The ticket listing mentions 122 artists and "four years of growth", although neither the organisers nor the press have published the names on the line-up.

• Dates: from Thursday 12 to Sunday 15 November 2026, with doors opening at 18:00.
• Location: the ticket listing places it at the Botánico de Montealegre (Rúa Fonte dos Caños). The press specifies that it is a plot of land near the botanical garden, next to a former livestock shed.
• Stages: La Granja, in the shed, with techno; La Cúpula, the marquee whose assembly was halted, with urban music parties; and a reggae Dub Corner. The festival description also mentions rock bands.
• Capacity and facilities: 3,000 people, according to La Voz and La Región, with food trucks, bars, roast chestnuts and free camping included in the pass.
• Charitable aim: according to La Región, part of the proceeds will go to ASANOG, the Galician association for childhood and adolescent cancer.

Magostos tickets: still on sale

Passes are sold on Woutick, where the organiser is listed as Eventos Galiza. The first four releases, priced from €6 to €12 plus fees, have sold out. As of this Sunday the fifth release is still available at €15.71 (€14 plus €1.71 in booking fees and insurance), with access on all four days, re-entry, a wristband and an official cup. According to González, around 700 passes have already been sold.

The ticket page does not mention the licence or explain what would happen if the festival could not go ahead or changed location. The optional insurance offered by Woutick covers non-attendance for personal reasons such as illness or an official exam. As of this Sunday, neither La Región nor La Voz de Galicia has reported a municipal decision, so pass holders should keep an eye on the festival's and the ticketing platform's channels before Thursday.

If you are looking for other plans for the San Martiño long weekend, see the festivals in Ourense, the guide to festivals in November 2026 and what is on this week, from 9 to 15 November.

Sources: La Voz de Galicia, «La Policía Local de Ourense ordena frenar la instalación de la carpa para un festival en Montealegre» (Miguel Ascón, 6 November 2026); La Región, «El Concello de Ourense frena el macrofestival de Montealegre al carecer de licencia a cinco días de su inicio» (7 November 2026) and «Montealegre reunirá a más de 120 artistas en el macrofestival Magostos 2026» (2 November 2026); Magostos ticket listing on Woutick, accessed on 8 November 2026.