Entry to sporting events in Spain is usually cheaper than in other countries, so if your trip happens to coincide with one of these events, be sure to make your way down there. As with any major sporting event, tickets are likely to sell out in advance. Click on the link for information on buying tickets.
The Spanish take their sport very seriously - if you can be in the home city of a sports team when they win a championship (in particular if Fernando Alonso wins the Formula One World Championship again or whoever wins the La Liga soccer league) then you can guarantee much parting!
Spain's Other Religion: Soccer!
One of the most important events of the Spanish sporting calendar is the Real Madrid vs CF Barcelona soccer game. The two teams play each other twice a year as part of the La Liga soccer league. It is absolutely impossible to get tickets, but every bar in the land will be full of futbol fans watching the game. Read more about Soccer in Spain.
A notable absence from the 2009 Calendar of sport in Spain is the Volvo Masters, a major golf tournament which usually takes place in Sotogrande. The event has been canceled this year to make way for Race to Dubai.
Calendar of Sporting Events in Spain in 2008
- May 3 - Spanish MotoGP, in Jerez. The first of three MotoGP races in Spain this year.
- April 30 - May 3 - Open de Espana Golf tournament at the PGA Golf de Catalunya in Girona.
- May 10 - Spanish F1 Grand Prix, Barcelona. With a Spanish former Formula One World Champion (Fernando Alonso), this will sell out months in advance.
- June 14 - Catalan MotoGP, in Barcelona. The second of three MotoGP races in Spain this year.
- Mid June - Spanish La Liga soccer league ends. Click on the link for the fixtures.
- 8 August - Descenso del Sella major canoeing (or more correctly, kayaking) event in Asturias.
- 23 August European Grand Prix The second Formula One Grand Prix to take place in Spain this year. This race takes place in Valencia, just a few days before the Tomatina Tomato Fight.
- Last weekend of August - Spanish La Liga soccer league begins. Click on the link for exact fixtures.
- End of August - First Half of September - Vuelta de España 2009, one of the most important cycling races in the world, after the Tour de France and on a par with the Giro d'Italia. The event starts in the Netherlands and ends in Madrid.
- September 24-7 - Finca Cortesin GC. Golf tournament in Malaga.
- October 1-4 - Madrid Masters. Major tennis tournament in Madrid, part of the ATP Masters Series.
- October 2–4 - Rally Catalunya Also called the Rally de España. A part of the World Rally Championship.
- October 22-25 - CastelloMasters. At Club de Campo del Mediterráneo, Castellón.
- November 8 - Valencian MotoGP, in Valencia. The last of the three MotoGP races in Spain this year.
- December 31 - San Silvestre Vallecana 10km run in Madrid.
