David Bisbal’s incredible Almería homecoming turns Cooltural Fest into ‘one enormous chorus’

David Bisbal turned his own hometown audience into one enormous chorus as he closed Cooltural Fest on its final night. The singer was one of the main attractions at a festival that one audience member says keeps getting better: bigger, louder and, in their words, more inclusive than anywhere else they’ve been.

Bisbal closes the festival with a tribute-filled homecoming set

David Bisbal closed this year’s four-day Cooltural Fest, one of the headline events of Almería’s summer feria calendar, on Sunday August 23 at the Recinto Ferial in his home city. The festival ran from Thursday August 20, and Bisbal shared Sunday’s bill with Vera GRV and Nixon, though the closing slot was always his. 

The show, which began around 11.15pm, was later described as “apoteósico”, all-out spectacular, built around hits including “Ave María“, “Bulería” and “Lloraré las penas“, alongside tributes to Camilo Sesto and Julio Iglesias. Bisbal returned to the phrase “mi Almería” (my Almería) throughout, and by the closing numbers the fairground had reportedly become an enormous chorus, with thousands singing every line back at him.

It capped a busy few days for the singer in his home province. Two days earlier, on Friday August 21, Bisbal addressed the Virgen del Mar procession at the saint’s sanctuary, an appearance presented by his partner Rosanna Zanetti. The Cooltural Fest set was billed as his only Almería concert this summer, and arrives ahead of his new album, Eternos, due for release on Thursday October 2.

‘Everyone danced and sang every song’ on the closing night 

For Paula Jiménez, 31, who attended all three days of the festival, the Bisbal set lived up to the billing. “On Sunday the most anticipated concert was obviously Bisbal, everyone danced and sang every single song,” she said. 

Bisbal was not the only highlight of the weekend, though. On Friday, Paula said the crowd’s most enthusiastic reaction came for “Malibu” by underground artist Rusowski. “The crowd danced to it with so much energy, it was great fun,” she said. Saturday brought a surprise in Ultraligera, a band she hadn’t come across before. “Their stage show and the quality of the set really surprised me,” she added. 

Bigger crowds, yet no queues this year

Cooltural Fest’s attendance has grown year on year, and Paula said this year’s crowd was noticeably bigger than the last edition. The site layout had changed too, with the entrance and the toilets moved to different spots around the grounds. “The toilets are now closer to the entrance, which was appreciated, and there are more near the Cupra stage,” she said. Despite the extra numbers, she affirmed that the reorganised layout meant no long waits for food or the toilets across the weekend. “The toilets especially weren’t overwhelmed like I’ve seen at other festivals,” she said.

One of Europe’s most inclusive festivals

The festival’s growth has come alongside a long-running employment and accessibility programme run with the Fundación Music For All, which has placed more than 50 people with disabilities in festival roles each year, including bar work, cleaning, access control and backstage support.

“We’re proud that each year there continue to be advances in this area,” said Crash Music director Diego Ferrón, whose company organises Cooltural Fest. Provincial equality representative Lorena Nieto has called it “the most relevant inclusive cultural project in the province.” On-site measures this year included sign language interpreters, subtitled performances and sensory-friendly spaces, part of more than 50 accessibility services built into the festival. Paula Jiménez said the improvements were visible on the ground.

“What makes it so inclusive is how well they manage the spaces so they work for people with different needs, as well as subtitling the songs during concerts and including sign language interpreters,” she said. “I’ve seen more people with functional diversity here than at any other festival.”

Next year’s 2027 edition marks the festival’s 10 year anniversary, and after this year’s line-up being a little askew from their usual style of heavily indie based acts, the anniversary edition could promise a spectacular return to its roots with some huge national and international names on the bill.