Barcelona Bullfighting Schedule 2023 (2024)

FAQs

Are there still bullfights in Spain in 2023? ›

The bullfighting season in Spain begins in Febrery in Valdemorillo, a small city in Madrid Region. The bullfighting season ends in Middle October, normally in October 12th, the Spanish national Day. In Madrid, there is at least one bullfight every week. In all others, the bullrings are included in Fairs.

In Spain, the standard bullfight consists of six bulls (two per matador), with each ritual killing lasting about 20 minutes — totalling two hours of medieval man-versus-beast madness.

If the matador is unsuccessful within the first 10 minutes, he may be given an additional five minutes. In the event that he is still unsuccessful, other members of the team enter the arena and kill the bull, who is often then butchered and sold as meat.

Bullfighting was banned in the Spanish autonomous community of Catalonia by a vote of the Catalan Parliament in July 2010. The ban came into effect on 1 January 2012. The last bullfight in the region took place on 25 September 2011 at La Monumental.

Madrid has the world's most important bullring, Las Ventas, attracting large crowds and the leading matadors of the bullfighting season every year.

Seats in the bullring are priced based on proximity to the arena and whether they're in the sun or the shade. Therefore, prices for corridas can go from less than 20€ to several hundred euros depending on where and when you buy it.

Know the rules of etiquette and protocol: Before attending the bullfight, familiarize yourself with the rules of etiquette and protocol that govern the bullring. Dress appropriately, respecting the bullfighting dress code, which generally includes dark suits for men and elegant clothing for women.

Famous bulls

Murciélago survived 24 jabs with the lance from the picador in a fight on 5 October, 1879, against Rafael "El Lagartijo" Molina Sanchez, at the Coso de los califas bullring in Córdoba, Spain. Islero gored and killed bullfighter Manolete on August 28, 1947.

Many prominent former bullfighters report that the bull is intentionally debilitated with tranquilizers and laxatives, beatings to the kidneys, petroleum jelly rubbed into their eyes to blur vision, heavy weights hung around their neck for weeks before the fight, and confinement in darkness for hours before being ...

Considering that most matadors make anywhere between $1,000 - $10,000 per bullfight, their profit margins are certainly not as high as you'd expect. For the star matadors, however, sometimes one or two bullfight appearances are enough to cover them for a year.

Do they eat bulls after a bullfight? ›

Don't be fooled though, the bulls that are killed during the Bullfights are not the bulls that we eat in restaurants. Bulls used in restaurants have to be tracked and must pass many alimentary controls. Therefore, restaurants cannot access the animals used in the Bullfights.

In total it's believed that some 534 professional bullfighters have died as a result of the sport in the past 300 years.

The Catalan regional Parliament voted in 2010 to ban bullfighting, on the grounds that it represented unjustified cruelty to animals.

Although there is a slight decrease in the number of followers, bullfights and other festivals involving bulls are still a reason for gatherings and enjoyment for a lot of people, above all in Andalucía, in the southern Spain.

In the hours leading up to a typical bullfight, humans confine bulls to tiny, dark isolation cells without any food or water. Right before the confused, anxious animals are forced into a ring, humans often stab them with a sharp harpoon called a divisa, further stacking the odds against them.

Although legal in Spain, some Spanish cities, such as Calonge, Tossa de Mar, Vilamacolum and La Vajol, have outlawed the practice of bullfighting. There are only a few countries throughout the world where this practice still takes place (Spain, France, Portugal, Mexico, Colombia, Venezuela, Peru, and Ecuador).

Bullfights are not held throughout the year, and depending on the location, the season generally runs from April – May through September – October. Bullrings can be found throughout the country, but some of the most popular places to see a bullfight are in Seville, Ronda, Málaga and Madrid.

Although the most famous running of the bulls is that of San Fermín, they are held in towns and villages across Spain, Portugal, and in some cities in southern France during the summer.

The Spanish bullfighting season, la temporada, starts at the end of March and continues until early October.