The Seville Fair is held in the Andalusian capital of Seville, Spain. The fair generally begins two weeks after the Semana Santa, or EasterHoly Week. The fair officially begins at midnight on Saturday, and runs seven days, ending on the following Saturday. Each day the fiesta begins with the parade of carriages and riders, at midday, carrying Seville's leading citizens which make their way to the bullring, La Real Maestranza, where the bullfighters and breeders meet. For the duration of the fair, the fairgrounds and a vast area on the far bank of the Guadalquivir River are totally covered in rows of casetas. These casetas usually belong to prominent families of Seville, groups of friends, clubs, trade associations and political parties. From around nine at night until six or seven the following morning, at first in the streets and later only within each caseta, there are crowds partying and dancing sevillanas, drinking Sherry, manzanilla or rebujito, and eating tapas. This fair also has an amusement park that comes with it and has many games to play along with roller coasters to ride.
History
The Fair dates back to 1846 when it was originally organized as a livestock fair by two councillors born in Northern Spain, Basque :es:José_María_Ybarra_Gutiérrez_de_Caviedes|José María Ybarra and Catalan Narciso Bonaplata. Queen Isabel II agreed to the proposal, and on 18 April 1847 the first fair was held at the Prado de San Sebastian, on the outskirts of the city. It took only one year before an air of festivity began to transform the fair, due mainly to the emergence of the first three casetas, belonging to the Duke and Duchess of Montpensier, the Town Hall, and the Casino of Seville. During the 1920s, the fair reached its peak and became the spectacle that it is today.
Location
Since 1973, the Feria de Abril takes place at the Real de la Feria, an area of 24 blocks which is located between Los Remedios and Tablada. In 2012 there were 1048 casetas. The streets of the Real are named after famous bullfighters such as Juan Belmonte and Pascual Márquez. Next to the Real is the Calle del Infierno, an amusement park which offers many recreational activities; a circus is usually set furthest from the Real on the back of the Parque de los Príncipes. Construction of the portada starts months in advance, and it takes several weeks to clear the place after the end of the fair. Plans to relocate the Fair to the Charco de la Pava have existed for the past 20 years, but the local government is yet to present any plans to transform the Real. For years the Charco de la Pava has been used as the main parking lot for fair attendees.
Pescaíto
Saturday night in the Feria de Abril is referred to as la noche del pescaíto due to the fact that fish is the traditional dish to have for dinner. Celebrations officially start at midnight between Saturday and Sunday when the lights of the portada are turned on. This event is called the alumbrao. People gather in front of the portada to watch the alumbrao and then go to the casetas to have dinner and spend the whole night at the Real.
Future fair dates
The 2020 Feria de Abril was scheduled from April 25th to May 2nd. However, on March 15th 2020 the fair was postponed to September due to the coronavirus pandemic in Spain.
