Entry to sporting events in Spain is usually cheaper than in other countries, so if your trip happens to coincide with one of these events, be sure to make your way down there. As with any major sporting event, tickets are likely to sell out in advance. Click on the link for information on buying tickets.

The Spanish take their sport very seriously - if you can be in the home city of a sports team when they win a championship (in particular if Fernando Alonso wins the Formula One World Championship, Rafa Nadal wins the Grand Slam or whoever wins the La Liga soccer league) then you can guarantee much partying!

Spain's Other Religion: Soccer!

One of the most important events of the Spanish sporting calendar is the Real Madrid vs CF Barcelona soccer game. The two teams play each other twice a year as part of the La Liga soccer league. It is absolutely impossible to get tickets, but every bar in the land will be full of futbol fans watching the game. Read more about Soccer in Spain.

Calendar of Sporting Events in Spain in 2014

• March 24, 2014 - Real Madrid v Barcelona. The biggest match in Spanish soccer, known as 'El Clasico' among Spaniards. Expect to see every bar in the country full of people supporting one side or the other. 
   
• April 19, 2014 Final of the Copa del Rey, a major Spanish soccer tournament.  
   
• May 2 - 11, 2014 - Madrid Open. Major tennis tournament in Madrid, part of the ATP Masters Series.
   
• May 4 2014 - Spanish MotoGP, in Jerez. The first of four MotoGP races in Spain this year.
   
• May 11, 2014 - Spanish F1 Grand Prix, Barcelona. With a Spanish former Formula One World Champion (Fernando Alonso), this will sell out months in advance. 
   

• May 15-18, 2014 - Open de Espana Golf tournament. Venue TBC.
   
• May 18, 2014 - Spanish La Liga soccer league ends. Click on the link for the fixtures.
   
• June 15, 2014 - Catalan MotoGP, in Barcelona. The second of four MotoGP races in Spain this year.
   
• Last weekend of August, 2014 - Spanish La Liga soccer league begins. Click on the link for exact fixtures.
   
• August 9, 2014 - Descenso del Sella major kayaking event in Asturias.
   
• August 23 - September 14, 2014 - Vuelta de España 2014, one of the most important cycling races in the world, after the Tour de France. In 2014, La Vuelta will start with three stages in and around Cadiz.
   
• August 30 – September 14, 2014 - FIBA Basketball World Cup 2014. The biggest event in the international basketball calendar comes to Spain. The Spanish team won in 2006 but lost out in 2010 to Serbia. Ranked second in the world (after the USA) in 2014, Spain will be looking for revenge. 
   
• September 21, 2014 Aragon MotoGP The third of four MotoGP events in Spain in 2014.
   
• October 23-26, 2014 - Rally Catalunya Also called the Rally de España. Part of the World Rally Championship.
   
• November 9, 2014 - Valencian MotoGP, in Valencia. The last of the four MotoGP races in Spain this year and the final round of the season.
   
• December 31, 2014 - San Silvestre Vallecana 10km run in Madrid.