Leisure activities in Bilbao and Biscay in December 2020

Agenda of traditions, arts, music, sports, events and exhibitions, in Bilbao and Biscay in the month of December 2020.

We have selected those leisure activities that take place in Bilbao and the province of Biscay in December 2020, which a traveler, tourist, commercial visitor or foreigner can fully enjoy. No plays are suggested, nor are cultural, sporting or social events aimed at the local public, or that generate any difficulty of understanding and the complete enjoyment of foreigners.

Please note that some of the events below may change due to regulations to control Covid-19.

Arts, congresses and exhibitions in Bilbao and Biscay:

• From October 6th, 2018 until December 30th, 2020. Exhibition: ABC. The alphabet of the Bilbao Museum. With this expo the 110th birthday of the museum is celebrated. Bilbao Fine Arts Museum.
• From February 14th until April 4th, 2021. Olafur Eliasson: In real life. Danish-Icelandic artist Olafur Eliasson places the viewer’s experience at the core of his art. Guggenheim Museum.
• From June 26th until January 10th, 2021. Exhibition: “J. S. Elkano. After the Footprint”. It delves into the biography of Juan Sebastian Elkano (1487/88 -1526), and allows the visitor to follow his life imprint, before, during and after the first circumnavigation of the Earth. Basque Maritime Museum.
• From September 18th until January 10th, 2021. Exposure “Lee Krasner: Living color”. Retrospective of the pioneer of North American abstract expressionism Lee Krasner (1908-1984). Bilbao Guggenheim Museum.
• From September 24th until December 18th. In Bilbao Dantzaldia festival. 21st edition of the Dance Festival. La Fundición Room, Azkuna Zentroa, Rekalde Room…
• From October 7th until February 1st, 2021. Masterpieces from the Valdés collection. It shows 79 works, mainly paintings, but also sculptures, two baroque carvings and two classicist marble panels. Many of them are unpublished works, little known or that, until now, had never been exhibited to the public. Bilbao Fine Arts Museum.
• From October 17th until April 1st, 2021. Celebrates! Online 2020. Photography and video brands, restaurants, hotels, travel agencies, DJs, jewelry stores, florists, wedding planners, rental properties and unique places, tents and catering, beauty and hairdressing centers, gifts and details, rental rentals vehicular. Bilbao Exhibition Center.
• From October 21st until December 17th. Second part of the cycle “50 jewels in the history of cinema”. Dedicated to women who have stood out in the world of film editing. Azkuna Zentroa.
• From November 19th to December 4th. TX Festival 2020. 39th International Puppet Festival. Champs Elysees Theater.
• From next November 20th until May 23th, 2021. Kandinsky at the Bilbao Guggenheim Museum. Paintings and works on paper and trace the aesthetic evolution of Kadinsky throughout his career.
• December 1st and 20th. Concerts by the Bilbao Municipal Band, as part of the commemoration of its 125 years of life. Arriaga Theater. At 7:30 p.m.
• December 2nd. Concerts: Juan Sebastián Elkano. The Basque navigator as captain of a musical journey through the world and his time. Euskal Barrokensemble Group. Arriaga Theater. At 7:00 p.m.
• December 3rd. Show “Hnuy illa”. Based on the book of poems by Joseba Sarrionandia ‘Hnuy illa nyha majah yahoo’. Kukai Dantza, in collaboration with the Tanttaka company. Arriaga Theater. At 7:00 p.m.

“Pretérito imperfecto”. Campos Eliseos Theatre

• December 4th and 5th. Imperfect past. A comedy about relationships and the effect that time has on them. Campos Elíseos Theater. At 7:30 p.m.
• From December 4th to 6th. David Guapo: # Quenonosfrunjanlafiesta1. Campos Elíseos Theater. At 6:00 p.m.
• From December 4th until 13th. BBK Mendi Film Festival Bilbao Bizkaia. Cinema and activities related to mountain, adventure and risk sports, including: talks, exhibitions and conferences in the streets of the capital of Biscay.
• December 5th and 6th. Theater: The papers of Sisyphus. This work, freely inspired by the “Egunkaria case”, is a tribute to journalism, as well as to all those media that have been unjustly closed. Spanish version. Arriaga Theater. At 7:00 p.m.
• From December 5th until 8th. Durangoko Azoka. Durango Fair. Meeting place for the different agents of Basque culture: writers, musicians, lovers of culture, the Basque Country, the media….. In Durango.
• December 9th. Theater: The Heimlich Maneuver. Four actor friends get together after many years for dinner. Arriaga Theater. At 7:00 p.m.
• From December 10th until 12th. Fun and Serious Game Festival. Bilbao Exhibition Center. The Fun & Serious Game Festival is Europe’s biggest videogame event and has become a reference point for the industry. Bilbao Exhibition Centre.
• From December 10th to 12th. Theater: The disgusting. Manuel almost touched happiness but… Teatro Arriaga. At 7:00 p.m.
• December 12th. Pablo Ibarburu’s time. The Basque comedian alone. Campos Elíseos Theater. At 7:30 p.m.
• December 12th. Fair Saturday 2020. Artists and cultural entities from all over the world come together in a global festival, with only one requirement: to support a social project of their choice through their event.
• December 12th. No fucking grace. Galder Varas and Inés Hernand, a union that will be the closest thing to marriage that they will experience in their lives. Campos Elíseos Theater. At 7:00 p.m.
• December 15th. Perico Sambeat Flamenco Quintet. Jazz concert in collaboration with Teatro Arriaga – Bilbaína Jazz Club. Arriaga Theater. At 7:00 p.m.
• December 16th. Concert: Zorionak (congratulations) Ludwig. 250 years since Beethoven was born in Bonn. 9 Biscayan singers, together with the Barakaldés pianist Rubén Fernández. Arriaga Theater. At 7:00 p.m.
• December 18th. Riot Comedy. Female comedy show. Four comedians conquer the theater with their humor based on stereotypes, sarcasm and micro. Campos Elíseos Theater. At 8:00 p.m.
• December 18th and 19th. Fordlandia. Dance, music and visual art connect without pause, in a show that will make you feel and escape. Arriaga Theater. At 7:00 p.m.

The Hawks Zarzuela. Campos Eliseos Theatre. Bilbao

• December 19th and 20th. Zarzuela: The hawks. Coral Mass of the Ensanche. Campos Elíseos Theater. At 6:00 p.m.
• From December 19th until 31st. Zinetxiki Festival. IV International Children and Youth Film Festival. Association for the promotion of independent cinema and auteur cinema. Any audiovisual work (fiction, animation, documentary or experimental), produced for the cinema, television and any other screening platform. New date.
• December 26th. Mikel Urdangarin concert: The place of the dolphins. Music as therapy. Euskalduna Auditorium. At 7:30 p.m.
• December 26th. Discovering Bon Jovi, Guns & Roses and Ramones. Rock as a family. Campos Elíseos Theater. At 5:30 p.m.
• From December 26th to 28th. Theater: Host, by Molière. A mixture of the divine and the human, passions and hatreds, laughter and other feelings for the healthy purpose of entertaining. Arriaga Theater. At 7:00 p.m.
• December 27th. Jamming on Tour: the show. Six years with her improvisation show on tour throughout Spain, Latin America and Europe. Campos Elíseos Theater. At 7:00 p.m.
• December 28th. Alicia, the musical that will make you return to Wonderland. From 3 years. Campos Elíseos Theater. At 20:00
• From next January 29th, 2021 until August 29th, 2021. Exhibition: Bilbao and painting. Selection of paintings made by artists who worked in Bilbao in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
• From next April 30th, 2021 until September 19th, 2021. The exhibition “The Roaring Twenties” focuses on Berlin and Paris, but also includes looks at other avant-garde hotbeds, such as Vienna and Zurich. It is a cooperation between Guggenheim Museum Bilbao and Kunsthaus Zürich.

Best traditions and festivals in Bilbao and Biscay in December 2020:

• Every Friday. Peasant Market. Exhibition and sale of farm products. In Mungia.
• Every Saturday. Gure Lurreko Merkatuak. Market of products of the hamlets of Bizkaia, made in a traditional way by their farmers, with Basque varieties and native breeds. Slow food, natural and local foods. Tinglados del Arenal.
• From December 1st until January 7th.Traditional nativity scenes. 13 nativity scenes of different formats and styles. Museum of Steps.
• From December 1st until January 7th. Traditional nativity scenes. The Church of San Nicolás, the Cathedral of Santiago, the Diocesan Museum of Sacred Art, the Mercado de la Ribera, the Basque Museum and the Bilbao Maritime Museum show the public more than 50 nativity scenes composed of almost 800 handmade figures.

Bilbao – Traditionals Nativity Scenes

• From December 4th until 8th. Euskal denda. XXV Professional fair of the Basque artisan sector. Exhibition and sale of crafts and agro-food. In Durango.
• From December 13th until January 6th, 2021. GABONART. XXXVII Christmas Craft Fair. Exhibition and sale of craft products.
• December 16th to 24th. The Christmas rounds of Marijeses. Since the sixteenth century. A pre-Christmas traditions. They begin on December 16, nine in the morning before usual. The songs begin at four in the morning and for about two hours the night is filled with gentle melodies. Church of Santa Maria. In Guernica.
• December 20th. Contest of the Basque Country of snails. XLIV Edition. Tasting, demonstration and gastronomic competition. Snails, choriceros peppers … In Guernica – Lumo.
• December 21st. Agricultural fair. LXXIII Edition of the Saint Thomas Fair. Exhibition and contest of products of the hamlet. Arenal.
• December 24th. Ogi Eguna. XXXIII Craft bread fair. Exhibition and sale of bakery products: flour, Basque cake, muffins … etc. Craft bread contest. Exhibition and sale of craft products. In Galdames.

There are other leisure options that we can suggest during our tours, more tailored to your interests and type of trip, whether as a family, partner, group of friends, or for business. Do not doubt to ask me!

If you want a totally personalized and exclusive excursion through Bilbao or the province of Biscay in December 2020, contact me at this link.