Salou conquers the sky and already thinks of the aerial acrobatics festival of 2026

Salou. Costa Dorada. 21 September 2025. Neither the weather forecasts of rain and bad weather for Sunday September 21 have been able to spoil the Festa al Cel 2025 in Salou, which has exceeded all expectations with more than 300,000 spectators coming from all over the world to follow, in front of the sea, the acrobatics of the pilots with planes of all size and the show of drones, music and pyrotechnics on Saturday September 20. Salou has conquered the sky, and that is why it already thinks of the aerial acrobatics festival of 2026.

This has been said by the mayor, Pere Granados, during the closing ceremony of the Festa al Cel 2025 that has taken place at the Yacht Club of Salou. Granados has announced the firm commitment to work so that the Festa al Cel becomes a reality again in 2026, with the aim of consolidating Salou as one of the great epicenters of aeronautics in Spain and Europe. “What we have experienced today is only the beginning of something that will become even bigger,” he concluded, recalling the motto that defined this edition: "From Salou to heaven".

For Granados, “with the Feast in Heaven we expand the tourist offer of our municipality, opening us to all people with a fondness for aeronautics, but also to all those families who enjoy a unique show, capable of making us feel happy while the planes fly the sky”.

The mayor also thanked the support and collaboration of all the administrations involved, and especially the Armed Forces, the Security Forces (Mossos d’Esquadra, Civil Guard and Local Police), the Fire Brigades of the Generalitat, the SEM, ENAIRE, the Reus Airport, the Aeroclub Sabadell-Barcelona and the production company TARGA Iberia. He also thanked the essential collaboration of PortAventura World, the Port of Tarragona and the Maritime Command, the Yacht Club of Salou and the companies GBI-PAPREC and Sorigué.

During the closing ceremony, the president of the Aeroclub Barcelona-Sabadell, Pere Joan Nogueroles, has delivered to Pere Granados a replica of the plane that in 1913 piloted Lucien Demazel over the sky of Salou. The replica is the work of the artists Humberto and Ricardo Quiroz, who have accompanied Nogueroles at the time of giving the mayor of Salou this piece that recalls the historical link of the municipality with the world of aviation.

The highlight of the event was the award ceremony of the festival. The Cristòfol Juandó Prize has been awarded to Adriano Camps, professor at the Polytechnic University of Catalonia, for his career in Earth observation and the development of nanosatellites, which have made him an international reference figure. On the other hand, the Josep Canudas Prize has recognized the work of the guiguila Patrol of the Air and Space Army, which this year celebrates 40 years.

The director of the Festival in Heaven, Daniel Ventura González Alonso, wanted to highlight that “Salou has been up to the task of this festival, which has a very complex organization”, and added that “the City Council has contributed professionalism and dedication so that everything goes well”.

For his part, the Chief of the State Mayor of Air and Space (JEMAE), Francisco Braco Carbó, thanked the reception that Salou has given to the festival and the participants of the Spanish army, and said that "tomorrow is the first day to prepare the festival next year. We have left the bar very high, but we will overcome it”.

Other authorities attending the closing ceremony of the Festival in the Cel 2025 have been the lieutenant general of the General Inspection of the Army of the Earth; representatives of the Delegation of Defense in Catalonia; the military air commander of the airport of Barcelona; the naval commander of Tarragona; representatives of the Generalitat and consuls of several countries, including those of the USA, Czech Republic and Dakar, in addition to mayors and councilors of municipalities where air festivals are also held, as is the case of Gijón.

Salou conquers the sky and already thinks of the aerial acrobatics festival of 2026