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Fallas 2026 dates in Valencia: the calendar event by event, and what still can't be compared

The 2026 calendar in a single table, the three different definitions of the "official start" depending on the source, and an event-by-event comparison with the three previous editions, including the gaps nobody has published.

By Neus Ferrer28 September 20264 min read
Fallas 2026 dates in Valencia: the calendar event by event, and what still can't be compared

The 2026 Fallas in Valencia run from 1 to 19 March, with the Crida, the official opening call, on 22 February 2026 and the Cremà, the burning of the monuments, on the night of the 19th. The general calendar with the edition's figures is already in Fallas in Valencia 2026. This page keeps only the dates, so they can be compared event by event with the three previous editions.

Which date is the "official start"?

The question sounds silly, and it isn't. Three institutional or media sources give three different answers, and none reconciles them in a single document.

What is called the "start"Date in 2026Who puts it that way
Crida, the official call to the festival22 February 2026Turisme Dival
Start of the daily mascletàFrom 1 to 19 MarchVisit Valencia, Idealista, donporque.com
"Fallas week", the main daysFrom 15 to 19 MarchOkDiario, El Diario

There is no single document from the Junta Central Fallera, the festival's organising body, that settles which of the three counts as the "first day". Each describes a real part of the festival, so all three stay here rather than us picking one.

Fallas troupes and commissions parading at night through central Valencia during the Cabalgata del Ninot, with satirical floats and people on the pavements

The 2026 calendar, event by event

EventDate and time in 2026
Crida, Serranos Towers22 February 2026
Cabalgata del Ninot, the satirical parade28 February 2026
Despertà and macrodespertà, the wake-up bangersAt 7:00 and 7:30
Daily mascletà, Plaza del AyuntamientoFrom 1 to 19 March at 2pm
Plantà of the children's fallas15 March, around 9:00
Plantà of the big fallas16 March, around 8:00
Inside visits to the Sección Especial fallasFrom 16 to 19 March
Ofrenda, the flower offering to the Virgin17 and 18 March, from 15:30
Nit del Foc, the night of fire18 March at 23:59
Cabalgata del Fuego, the fire parade19 March at 19:30
Cremà of the children's fallas19 March at 8pm
Cremà of the big fallas19 March at 10pm
The Serranos Towers in Valencia lit up at night, with the fallera mayor at the top of the tower and a crowd gathered below during the Crida

The nights of 17 to 19 March are the first to sell out: the Ofrenda, the Nit del Foc and the Cremà all fall then, and they are the same dates every year. Booking a year ahead is the only way to avoid the last-minute premium.

See hotels from 17 to 20 March →Affiliate link: booking through it supports the site at no extra cost to you.

How do 2023, 2024, 2025 and 2026 compare, event by event?

Here is the gap that calendar pages rarely show: for most events, only the latest edition has an exact date published in the sources we consulted. Earlier years leave only the general period and, in one case, an incident.

Event2023202420252026
Daily mascletà1 to 19 March1 to 19 March1 to 19 MarchFrom 1 to 19 March
Cridanot published in the sources consulted3 March 2024, postponednot published in the sources consulted22 February 2026
Fallas week15 to 19 March15 to 19 March15 to 19 MarchFrom 15 to 19 March
Cremà19 March19 March19 March19 March, children's fallas at 8pm and big fallas at 10pm
Security incidents20,23619,37119,031not published in our sources

The only documented exception to the pattern is the 2024 Crida, postponed after the fire in the Campanar district. Apart from that, the festival has fallen in the same stretch of March four years running, which means you can book accommodation before the 2027 programme exists. The location of the monuments and the main events changes less than the calendar.

Falleras in regional dress carrying bouquets of flowers along a narrow street in central Valencia towards Plaza de la Virgen during the Ofrenda

What can you visit without waiting for Fallas week?

From 16 to 19 March you can go inside the fenced area of the Sección Especial fallas, the largest ones. Before that date, the monuments are still being assembled and you only see them half-built, something no tourist guide warns about this clearly.

Outside the street dates, the Fallas Museum keeps the ninots pardoned from the flames each year and doesn't depend on the March calendar. Its opening hours and prices, with their own contradictions between sources, are compared in what to see in Valencia by day of the week.

Seeing inside the Sección Especial fallas means being in Valencia between 16 and 19 March, not before: before that date the fencing isn't even up. Compare activities and guided routes through the Fallas workshops before fixing your trip.

See activities in Valencia →Affiliate link: booking through it supports the site at no extra cost to you.

For what each event is and how to enjoy it without wearing yourself out, the full guide is in the Fallas festival in Valencia. And if the question is how many monuments there really are, the answer and its contradictions are in how many fallas there are in Valencia.

Sources

Junta Central Fallera, Programa Oficial de Festejos Fallas 2026. Visit Valencia, 2026 events calendar and fireworks calendar. Turisme Dival, "Llegan las Fallas 2026". OkDiario, 26 February and 5 March 2026. Hello Valencia, March 2026. Idealista, 5 March 2026. El Diario, travel section, March 2026. ABC, 2024, for the postponed Crida.

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Frequently asked questions

When do the 2026 Fallas officially start?
It depends who you ask. Turisme Dival calls the Crida on 22 February 2026 the "official start". Visit Valencia and several media outlets place the start at the daily mascletà, which begins on 1 March. OkDiario and El Diario speak of "Fallas week" from 15 to 19 March as if it were the heart of the festival. All three dates are correct for what they describe, and no source brings the three together.
What time is the Cremà in 2026?
The children's fallas burn at 8pm on 19 March and the big ones at 10pm, except for the winner of the Sección Especial and the municipal falla, which burn later. OkDiario prefers to give a range of 20:00 to 23:00 rather than fixed times.
Do the Fallas dates change every year?
The broad calendar doesn't: the mascletà from 1 to 19 March and the Cremà on the 19th, Saint Joseph's Day, were repeated in 2023, 2024, 2025 and 2026. The documented exception is the 2024 Crida, postponed to 3 March because of the Campanar fire.
Where can you find the full official programme?
The Junta Central Fallera publishes it as a PDF in December of the previous year. Visit Valencia translates it on a web page kept up to date until the summer. No press summary replaces those two sources for the hour-by-hour detail of the commissions.
The author

Neus Ferrer

Writer · Fallas

Neus has belonged to a falla commission since the age of eight and has seen twenty monuments go up. She knows which streets are closed from the day before and at what time the mascletà can no longer be heard from the centre. She does not recommend a spot where she has not stood for hours.