Festa al Cel 2026, Salou
Festa al Cel returned in 2025 at a new venue, Salou, just a few kilometres south-west of Tarragona in Spain. The event is part of Salou’s efforts to promote itself as a destination for major events as well as being a popular seaside resort. The second edition in 2026 featured an international cast of civilian and military displays with an evening display on the Saturday and a traditional daytime display on the Sunday.
Paul Johnson/Flightline UK reports. All photography by the author.
Festa al Cel is one of Spain’s largest airshows. It can trace its origins back to 1991 when a small radio-controlled model airshow was held on Barcelona seafront. It was received so well that it became a full airshow featuring Spanish military participation as well as international displays. It became one of Barcelona’s major annual events jointly organised by Barcelona City Council and the Barcelona-Sabadell Aeroclub. In 2009, the event hosted that’s years Barcelona round of the Red Bull Air Race within its flying display. In 2011, Festa at Cel celebrated its own 20th Anniversary.
Sadly however, the event’s proximity to Barcelona El-Prat International Airport and its tightly controlled airspace led to the airshow’s cancellation in 2013. It was briefly revived in 2014 at the resort of Mataró but disappeared from calendars again until 2017 when it was re-established at Lleida-Alguaire Airport. That was a very different style of event but lasted until the COVID pandemic in 2020 when the show was put on an indefinite hold.
Festa Al Cel appeared once more on the European airshow calendar in 2025 at the popular seaside resort of Salou, in the heart of the Costa Dorada. Salou is 112km southwest of Barcelona and was founded by the Greeks in the 6th Century B.C. becoming a significant commercial port. Today, Salou is become a popular tourist destination with two large sandy beaches divided by a central marina. Just inland of the town is PortAventura World, a massive theme park development that features some very large roller coasters which stand over the local landscape. Perhaps the most impressive is the Ferrari World ride, which features highest and fastest vertical accelerator in Europe.
Surrounding a small slice of the old town of Salou is a vast expanse of hotels and holiday apartments. The resort is certainly popular with British and Irish tourists which is reflected in the selection of restaurants and bars around the hotels. The resort is served by Reus Airport just to the north of the town which has services provided by many of the popular UK and Ireland based budget and charter airlines. However, it is relatively easy to find your way to Salou by Train or regular Coach services from the much larger hub at Barcelona El-Prat Airport.
Salou Council does not want to stick to just beach tourism and in recent years has developed the town as a destination for major events. Its best-known Sports event is as the base and service park for the Rally Catalunya round of the FIA World Rally Championship. Several other sports have also held national and international competitions at the resort.
The adoption of Festa al Cel by Salou is a key part of promoting the city as an event destination. With plenty of hotel accommodation, the nearby Reus Airport and falling outside of the busy El Prat Airspace, Salou is the perfect town to host a major air display. A unique aspect of Festa al Cel over the years has been that is often featured as a live event on Spanish television and that coverage returned for 2026 with a segment of Sunday’s display shown on live TV with both ground and helicopter-based filming of the action. The combination of a large on-site crowd and live television audience showcased Salou’s ability to host large scale events and large numbers of people. Salou branding was seen right across Festa al Cel promotional materials, and the Port Adventura theme park were the title sponsors of Saturday’s evening air display.
The festival took in the whole seafront at Salou with the leafy Passeig Jaume I de Salou promenade providing the main showground area. The entertainment was not just limited to air displays with the Friday and Saturday evenings seeing musical performances by the military band, Unidad de Música de la Inspección General del Ejército which is based in Barcelona. One thing certainly a UK visitor would have noticed about the display location during the Festival was the lack of general traders. There were several traders and ground exhibitions along the promenade, but all were related to the Spanish military or aviation in some way. There was also an EF-18 cockpit section display by members of Ala 15 and a A400M simulator from Ala 31.
While for most of the crowd the best views came from Salou beaches, more dedicated enthusiasts could apply for the Spotters Area on the marina’s breakwater. Such a facility is a tradition of Festa al Cel and is very popular with local photographers. This gave some exceptional uninterrupted views of the flying displays for the most part though it was worth moving back on the Saturday evening to get the full effect of the drone show.
The flying displays themselves were drawn from several very different Spanish organisations and some civilian acts from Latvia, Poland and Sweden. Sadly, as with many other European shows in 2026, there were some cancellations in the lead up to the event including the British Aerosparx team which seem to find all manner of ways of missing our airshow coverage in their complete form!
Something that is unique to Spanish airshows is the concept of ‘Carousels.’ These are ‘streams’ of aircraft representing various aero-clubs and organisations that fly non-aerobatic displays. It was one of the Carousels that opened the flying on Saturday with aircraft from Aeroclub Alt Camp de Vallmoll. This a club local to the region that flies a variety of Ultralight aircraft including the ELA Aviación ELA-10 Eclipse, Aeroprakt A22L2 Foxbat, Tecnam P92 Echo Super, Tecnam P96 Golf and DTA Combo 912-Magic. Like similar organisations across Europe, the club aims to bring the joys of general aviation to wider audience flying these relatively accessible and affordable types.
A second Carousel went back to Festa al Cel’s roots with a collection of aircraft from Fundación Parc Aeronáutic de Cataluña. Based at Sabadell, this organisation maintains and restores an eclectic range of historic aircraft with strong links with Spain. Their carousel for Festa al Cel 2026 included the Dornier Do-27A-5, CASA 1.131E-2000 Jungmann, Zlín Z-526A Akrobat and Piper PA-12 Super Cruiser. However, the Foundation made one further contribution to Saturday’s flying display with a very brief, but relatively rare appearance by their Hispano Aviación HA-220D Super Saeta. Operated by the Spanish Air Force as the C.10, the aircraft was a ground attack and lead-in jet fighter trainer version of the earlier HA-200 jet trainer. It had a brief service life during the 1970s before the type was retired in 1981. The Saeta was the first Spanish built jet aircraft and saw significant input by Willy Messerschmitt.
Adding to the Iberian flavour were the Yakstars, a team that draws pilots and aircraft from both Spain and Portugal. They fly five colourful Yakovlev Yak-52s through a routine that features some very precise and exceptionally close formation flying. Particularly impressive was the pairs formation routine towards the end of their display which sees two of the Yak’s fly a series of aerobatics in an exceptionally close stacked formation.
Adding to the civilian displays were three aircraft from the Scandinavian Airshow team. Their Grumman Ag-Cat performed several times across the two days. During the daylight hours, it became the platform for the team’s well known crowd-pleasing ‘Catwalk’ Wingwalking display with two ‘Skycats’ climbing around the imposing bi-plane while Jacob Holländer flew flypasts, loops and rolls along the seafront.
The Ag-Cat also made a second appearance on each flying flying with the Pitts Model XII ‘Viking’ and Pitts S-2C Special ‘Fenrir’ to present their Ragnarök display. This featured pyros during Saturday’s evening display and a lot of white and coloured smoke on Sunday filling the sky with a mix of formation and solo aerobatics by the three very different biplanes. The Pitts XII has a particularly eye-catching role in the display flying a set of flick-rolls one after the other as it descended towards the crowds.
Jacob also closed the Saturday flying at 10.45pm with the Grumman Ag-Cat, this time in its Laser, Lights and Pyrotechnics (LLP) guise. Originally it has been planned as the penultimate display of the evening, and its arrival came as something as a surprise to many people who were already headed to the bars and restaurants! It was certainly a spectacular way to set off the local night life with animated LED lighting on the aircrafts lower wings and green lasers projecting various shapes in the night sky while the wingtips erupted with a smorgasbord of colourful pyrotechnics into the inky black sky.
The Polish Flying Dragons paramotor team also put in a notable effort in both the night time flying as well as opening Sunday’s display. During Saturday’s finale they adapted their displays so they could fly two different routines. First, they flew a slightly shortened version of their usual display set to their own distinctive music. They then held off for a drone show which illuminated the sky with images representing Port Adventura theme park. As the drone show drew to a close the Festa al Cel logo was revealed with the paramotors flying overhead with streams of sparks encircling the logo. For Sunday’s daytime show, they themed their smoke and daytime pyrotechnics to the Spanish national flag which brought a huge reaction from the audience.
The Latvian based Baltic Bees gave Festa al Cel its ‘big’ jet team display. The wide expanse of the Salou seafront and the Ports de Tortosa-Beseit mountains to the southwest gave the team the perfect backdrop for smooth formation routine flying four Aero Vodochody L-39 Albatros aircraft.
Sunday’s display saw an appearance by an Airbus A320-232 operated by Vueling. The aircraft carries a special scheme celebrating Barcelona’s role as the ‘Grand Départ’ for the 2026 Tour de France. Vueling have supported many Festa al Cel flying displays over the years as a Barcelona based low-cost carrier. Their 2026 display used 2.5 Tonnes of Sustainable Aviation Fuel to mitigate the environmental impact and their crew gave some pleasing flypasts showcasing the special scheme and the lines of the popular Airbus airliner.
One of the standout features of the Festa al Cel 2026 was the support by various Spanish and local government organisations given to the flying display. Both days saw an outstanding combined display of a CASA T.19B-21 (CN-235) Maritime Patrol Aircraft and Eurocopter HU.30 Dauphin from the Guardia Civil. These aircraft are used for maritime policing missions including fisheries patrols, customs and border controls. The two aircraft shared the spotlight during their display with the Dauphin flying and hovering close in to the beach while the CASA performed a series of low fly-bys.
A pair of Airbus H135 helicopters came from Policia de la Generalitat– Mossos d’Esquadra. This is autonomous police force of Catalonia. The first part of the display saw the two helicopters parade with some of the Mossos d’Esquadra’s water-based assets which included various small vessels and jet skis. They then performed their own mini-display highlight the different equipment fitted to each helicopter – one equipped for surveillance with various cameras and sensors while the other H145 was fitted out for search and rescue.
More rotary action came from Sociedad de Salvamento y Seguridad Marítima, also known as Salvamento Marítimo or SASEMAR. This is Spain’s official agency for covering maritime search and rescue, pollution control and vessel monitoring. For Festa al Cel, one of SASEMAR’s Leonardo AW139s gave a demonstration on winching for the full length of Salou’s seafront in close company with a lifeguard on a jet ski.
One of the most keenly felt cancellations leading up to Festa al Cel was that of a Spanish Air Force CL-415. However, the firefighting role was still demonstrated at Salou by a pair of AirTractor AT802F Fireboss aircraft from Bomberos Generalitat de Cataluña. These aircraft flew several passes in loose formation before performing a spectacular water drop in both halves of Salou’s seafront.
The Spanish Army – Ejército de Tierra – provided one of the big highlights of the flying display with a combined display by a Boeing HT.17 Chinook (CH-47F) from Fuerzas Aeromóviles del Ejército de Tierra (FAMET) and Eurocopter HU.27 Cougar (AS532AL) from Unidad Militar de Emergencias (UME). The routine started with the Chinook hovering very close to the water kicking up an enormous amount of spray as it deployed a small rib and several special forces personnel into the water – not something you usually see at an airshow! Once the unit were safely deployed the Chinook and Cougar performed short handling displays at each end of the display line before the Cougar took centre stage winching a member of the special forces from the water. It was an eye-catching routine by two helicopters rarely seen at airshows, not least as both helicopters were flown very close to the water creating clouds of spray,
It was however the Spanish Air Force – Ejército del Aire y del Espacio – that were the corner stone of Festa al Cel. The Spanish Air Force’s Parachute Display Team, Patrulla Acrobática de Paracaidismo del Ejército del Aire y del Espacio (PAPEA), appeared on both days. Saturday saw the parachute team perform one of their first full night shows with illuminated canopies and some fireworks. However, it was in the full daylight of Sunday the team could really show off some of their dramatic parachuting skills with a unique downplane with a flag and some dramatic approaches to the beach front arena. For the aircraft enthusiasts, it as also nice to see their CASA T.12B (C-212A) Aviocar up close with a couple of low flypasts once the PAPEA were safely on the ground.
A really imposing presence in the sky was the Airbus TK.23 (A400M) from Ala 31 based at Zaragoza. The crew flew quite the punchy routine with the aircraft performing high speed flypasts, some slow flying with the rear-ramp lowers and some very steep wingovers.
But it was the Eurofighter C.16 Typhoon from Ala 14 that was the star of the show for many in the audience. Display pilot Commander Juan “Bengo” Bengoechea became something a star during one of his final weekends as display pilot attracting long queues for autographs on both main show days ahead of his display. The setting sun on Saturday provided a simply stunning backdrop for his incredibly feisty display which started with a slow crowd rear arrival straight into a full afterburner vertical climb once his reach display datum. The pink, orange and bluey-grey skies picked out the Typhoon’s reheat flame in spectacular fashion too before his departed from his display back over the town in full reheat – inverted!!! More audible sensations came during his display on Sunday when he just went a little bit too fast off his high speed pass causing a sonic boom!!
It is wonderful to see Festa al Cel back on the display calendar and proving so popular. The flying displays this year were hugely enjoyable with several unique displays you just will not see elsewhere. I also have to highlight the excellent welcome and service from the Escuderia Traga Iberia crew which looked after the spotter accreditation so efficiently and in a friendly manner. The Salou town council stated after the event that some 400,000 spectators had gathered in the town for Festa al Cel. Certainly, from my vantage point both beaches looked absolutely packed. Hopefully that success will see Festa al Cel on the European display calendar for many years to come.
Thank you to the Escuderia Targa Iberia team, particularly Daniel Ventura González Alonso. Also to Chris Janssens for travel critique!
