Five Big Barcelona Events- August

Being the second largest city in Spain, it’s no surprise that it's one of the most popular places people come to choose to spend their holiday time in. The city is bustling with both Spanish and English culture, all enjoying its wild nightlife, beer and architecture. With over a million people living there, Barcelona is the city for those who enjoy a holiday full of excitement and vibrancy. It falls sixth in the most populous urban area in Europe, along with cities like Paris and London. The excellence of Barcelona is that visitors are able to see a real Spanish city which also caters for holiday makers at the same time, making sure it gives you a Spanish break to remember...

...And there's more to Barcelona than you may think. Check out these upcoming events in Barcelona that are surely unmissable. And even if you can't make it this year, there's always the next.

La Festa Major de Gracia 2012 15th-21st August

Held in Gracia, Barcelona (Known for being a historic and relatively quiet town most for the year) hosts a fun loving event on its neighboring streets one week in August in which the atmosphere. The Gracia festival attracts around one and a half million people when the event is hosted and is a scheduled festival of a variety of programmes. The events hosted are all based around the aim of winning the best decorated street. This means the streets really do come alive. Decorated streets become draped in plastic model shapes, cardboard decorations, fairy lights, hanging paper-mache, glitter and tissue paper shapes. The competition turns the streets into art exhibitions with paper dragons parading the streets and Chinese lanterns looking as if they are dangling from the sky. The first day of the festival is when people tend to admire the art work and efforts put into creating these fabulous decorations, as after that the real festival feel gets going with dancing, and music, parades and food. The amazing thing about this wild and magical event is that not only is it suitable for most ages, but is free, too.The event kicks of with a carnival of giant figures, some cartoon looking and others very scarily realistic. With benches and seats accommodating over a million visitors, live bands, dancers and cultural activities hosting throughout the week, everybody is gaurunteed to find something that will put a smile on their face...And don't forget the last day of the festival when winnders are announces, activities are bigger than ever and a goodbye from huge fireworks.

Circuit Festival-2nd -12th August

Circuit festival is a 10 day event dedicated to the gay and lesbian community. The event is open to all and sexes and hosts events scattered all around Barcleona. The event is fun, exciting and loud, perfect for the holiday makers who love to party and most of all dance. It is Europe's biggest gay and lesbian event hosting pre-parties, activities, food stalls, arts and crafts and street parties. Please note: This event may not be suitable for children.

La Vuelta a España- 26th August

Hosted on the streets on Barcleona city, this cycling event is the 67th edition of the Vuelta of Spain, and the event is now coming to Barcelona. The event is a bike race hosted from the 18th August to 9th September, coming through Barcelona on Sunday 16th. The race has 21 stages and its competitors include some of the worlds top rider. The event is perfect for sporty families, couples and solo travelers. The race covers a distance of 3,300 kilometers and is made up of 6 flat stages, 13 mountain stages, 1 trial stage for teams and one more for individuals. The event is a lovely way for those Olympic lovers to end the Olympic season with one last sport send off.

La Tomantina -29th August

Okay, I know that I have thought about a huge food fight- but what if we could turn that into a reality? I think it already has been... This event may not be directly in Barcelona. Infact, around a three hours drive away in Velincia. Tomantina is the messiest abut funnest event to be hosted in the whole of Spain. The event is literally a huge human throwing tomato fight in which hundreads of people get involved to resemble an old brawl that started amongst men in the cities main square, in which the closest thing tot heir hands were tomatoes sitting in a nearby vegetable stall. The event now takes place every last week in August and becomes the slimmest, messiest and brightest event in the world.

The Castell de Peralada Festival-17th July-22nd August

The Castell de Paralada Festival is a music festival that is help every year in Castell de Peralada. (Around 1/5 hours from Barcelona city) The festival is very soft, featuring world class opera performances, world famous ballet, symphonic and musical performances. the concert will take place in the Auditorio Parque del Castillo.