The Ibiza Medieval Festival opens the drawbridge this evening.
It's 16 years since Ibiza was declared a World Heritage Site and 16 years since we started to celebrate this with the annual Medieval market/fare/festival, call it what you will. Fittingly it's focussed within and around the walls of Dalt Vila (the upper town) which has examples of all the historic, architectural, socio-cultural aspects for which it was awarded WHS status by UNESCO – built and modified in the Phoenician, Arabic, Catalan and Renaissance periods.
OK, that's the technical aspects taken care of, so what can we expect at the Medfest this year? Well pretty much the same themes as always with an enormous market place snaking through the streets of the old town, abundant supplies of food, and entertainment throughout the days and nights. All thrown together in a cacophony of noise, aromas and thousands of people so you really do get the sights, sounds and atmosphere of a busy, busy, medieval souk!
Ibiza council have produced an online programme for the event in Spanish and Catalan, and for the many tourists here who speak neither language, there's a printed brochure in English which gives all the details and can be picked up around the festival.
To make life easy for us the winding maze of streets, squares and battlements has been divided into ten zones and each has its own programme of entertainment. With so much going on it's impossible to list everything but you'll be able to see musicians, dancers, plays, spectaculars, mock battles, displays of falconry, jugglers, acrobats, fire eaters, stilt walkers, in fact anything that was fun in the middle ages with performers from all over Spain, Europe and North Africa. Added to this there are strolling groups giving ad hoc performances all around the site – puppet shows, clowns and acrobats, to list just a few.
The market and food section will have around 200 stalls selling and making arts, crafts, leather ware, soap, baskets and cheese (just follow your nose) and the food is a cornucopia of roast meat, sweets, and lots of tea tents for a refreshing pit stop in the heat of the day.
The biggest event in the Ibiza fiesta calendar, it attracts tens and tens of thousands of people each day, so be prepared to jostle a bit in the narrow streets, it's well worth the effort.
It all starts today 7th May with the opening ceremony in the Plaza del Parque at 18:00 and is followed by a big spectacular called 'Elements; Earth, Air, Fire and Water at 21:30 which promises to be a fantastic experience. From then on, Friday, Saturday and Sunday the 8th, 9th and 10th it'll be open from 10:00 to midnight with so much going on you won't be able to cram it all in.
Enjoy.
