Highlights include a reimagining of the ancient Greek muses from acclaimed flamenco dancer and choreographer Rafaela Carrasco, a tribute to the late, great pioneering guitarist Sabicas in Night of the Guitar, an epic performance from the birthplace of flamenco featuring 15 dancers in Ballet Flamenco de Andalucía, and it wouldn’t be the Flamenco Festival without the centrepiece performance - Gala Flamenca – which will this year feature a performance from Eva Yerbabuena who won the 2025 Olivier Award for Outstanding Achievement in Dance.

This year the Flamenco Festival will also host a special performance by viola player Fahmi Alqhai and Ballet Flamenco de Andalucía artistic director Patricia Guerrero at the National Gallery on Monday 15 June, to coincide with their upcoming Zurbarán exhibition.

The Flamenco Festival, now in its 21^st year, is dedicated to showcasing and promoting Spanish culture worldwide. Under the direction of Miguel Marín, the festival's annual international events serve as a platform for presenting today's foremost flamenco luminaries — from internationally acclaimed artists and venerable icons of traditional flamenco to the most cutting-edge and promising young talents in dance, music, and song. Established in 2001, Flamenco Festival has evolved into the premier global platform for flamenco, captivating over 1.6 million people annually. Across 116 cities, it has featured more than 200 companies in 1,400 performances, elevating flamenco to a vital part of prestigious theatres worldwide, including NY City Center, Carnegie Hall, London Sadler's Wells, Arsht Center in Miami, Walt Disney Concert Hall, Sydney Opera House, and more.

On his excitement to be sharing this year’s programme, Festival Director Miguel Marín said: 

“Flamenco is a living language - one that carries memory, identity, and transformation within it. This year’s programme invites audiences to experience that living pulse: a journey where tradition and creation meet, where the past resonates in the present, and where new voices continue to shape its future. In London, flamenco finds a stage where it can continue to grow, to take risks, and to connect deeply with the world of today”.

At Sadler’s Wells Theatre  
 
This year’s festival kicks off on Tuesday 16 June with UnYdos from Compañía de Danza Jesús Carmona, showcasing flamenco in its purest and broadest form over two nights – including the styles of the energetic alegrías, the reverent taranto, and the emotional soleá. Renowned artist Jesús Carmona will share the stage with a guitarist, a singer and some special guests for an intimate performance replete with powerful moments of connection between the performers and the audience.  
 
This will be followed on Thursday 18 June by the UK premiere of Creaviva from Compañía Rafaela Carrasco in which six artists will bring to life the nine ancient Greek muses through a lively evening of flamenco dance, live music and poetry. The performance promises to be an ode to inspiring femininity and a reflection on what it means to be an artist today. Carrasco, who is known for a contemporary approach that still honours tradition, blends past and present in Creaviva, which includes texts by Spanish poet Álvaro Tato.  
 
On Friday 19 and Saturday 20 June, Sadler’s Wells Theatre in Islington will host the famed centrepiece of the festival – the Gala Flamenca – which this year unites four internationally recognized flamenco dancers.

The lineup includes Eva Yerbabuena, winner of last year’s Outstanding Achievement in Dance Olivier Award, who is renowned for her innovative interpretations of the soleá - a traditional solo performance that conveys deep emotion. She is joined by festival favourite Manuel Liñán, known for his subversive takes on flamenco, and whose previous works include the Olivier Award-nominated ¡VIVA! (2022) and Muerta de Amor (2025).

El Farru, a dancer from one of the most prestigious families in the flamenco tradition - the Farruco family - also joins the Gala lineup. He made his professional debut at age six and has since performed across the USA and Europe, collaborating with artists including Beyoncé, Björk, Marc Anthony and Paulina Rubio. The Gala’s cast is completed by rising star Juan Tomás de la Molía, following his unforgettable solo in last year’s Muerta de Amor. 

On Wednesday 24 June, acclaimed flamenco innovator Rocío Molina (who was awarded the 2022 Venice Biennale Silver Lion) returns to the Flamenco Festival for the UK premiere of her latest work, Calentamiento - a raw, intimate exploration of the body as it prepares. Molina and a group of female singers use a drum kit and a collection of metal chairs to explore the many meanings of “warming up”: from physical activation to emotional ignition, from sensuality to resistance. Calentamiento, which premiered to sold-out audiences at the Centro Danza Matadero in Madrid in 2025, is co-directed with playwright Pablo Messiez and features musical direction by Niño de Elche.  
The UK premiere of Night of the Guitar: A concert with Gerardo Núñez, Antonio Rey, Álvaro Martinete and Olga Pericet then comes to Islington on Thursday 25 June, paying tribute to the late Agustín Castellón Campos (also known as Sabicas) who revolutionised flamenco guitar and brought it to the world stage. Born in Pamplona in 1912, Sabicas captivated audiences globally and became a symbol of flamenco’s ability to evolve while honouring its roots. 

In this performance, three acclaimed guitarists will honour his legacy. Gerardo Núñez, a longtime admirer of Sabicas, is one of flamenco’s most innovative guitarists who blends tradition with jazz. Antonio Rey, a two-time Latin Grammy winner, fuses flamenco with classical and jazz influences and Álvaro Martinete, recognised as one of the most exciting guitarists of his generation, fuses traditional flamenco with personal innovation, echoing Sabicas’ influence. Dancer Olga Pericet, winner of Spain’s National Dance Prize and a standout of last year’s Flamenco Festival, will in this performance pay tribute to the legendary flamenco dancer Carmen Amaya, who was Sabicas’ iconic collaborator. 

The festival programming in Islington culminates this year with a performance from the historical home of flamenco - Tierra Bendita (Blessed Land) from Ballet Flamenco de Andalucía. This work explores the most picturesque corners of Andalucía, each with its unique forms and styles of flamenco that were directly influenced by the local landscape, people and history. Directed and choreographed by Patricia Guerrero, the production celebrates the emerging generation of flamenco artists. In an epic performance, 15 dancers will take to the stage, supported by vocalists, guitarists and a percussionist.

At the Lilian Baylis Studio 

The power and majesty of flamenco music will be showcased in the Lilian Baylis Studio for this year’s festival across two distinct performances on Saturday 20 June. 

The first, at 6pm, will be En Tierra de Hombres (which translates to ‘In a man’s world’), from accomplished vocalist Esther Merino. Performed alongside four male counterparts and in a stark black-and-white aesthetic, the evening will focus on her powerful vocals - opening a space for reflection on women’s presence, resilience and creative authority in today’s fast-moving world. A refined and celebrated cantaora, Merino commands an extensive repertoire - from the tangos and jaleos of her homeland in western Spain to soleá, siguiriya, bulerías and mining songs.

The second performance at 8:30pm will star acclaimed vocalist Francisco Escudero, more commonly known as El Perrete, who will perform songs from his latest album Luz de Guía. El Perrete has captivated audiences across Europe with his powerful, distinctive voice and in this performance, he pays homage to flamenco while touching on his own personal journey with music. A previous winner of the National Flamenco Art Prize in Córdoba and multiple awards at the Festival de Cante Flamenco de las Minas, El Perrete will be accompanied live during the performance by guitar, percussion and keyboard.

At Sadler’s Wells East

Religious connections to flamenco will aptly be explored on Sunday 28 June, with choreographer and dancer María Moreno combining dance, music and voice to interpret a biblical story in the UK premiere of MAGNIFICAT.  
 
In the biblical story of ‘The Visitation’, the Virgin Mary meets her cousin Elizabeth while they’re both pregnant, and Elizabeth feels the Holy Spirit within Mary and shares a blessing, while Mary responds with the hymn known as the Magnificat.

In MAGNIFICAT, Moreno leads an ensemble of dancers and musicians to interpret this moment through flamenco. The work explores questions such as how joy is expressed through the body and how celebration can be conveyed in movement and presence.

The 2026 Flamenco Festival will finish on Monday 29 June with an exciting 25^th anniversary celebration from acclaimed flamenco dancer, choreographer and director Marco Flores. Inspired by the traditional children’s game and Julio Cortázar’s novel of the same name, the UK premiere of Rayuela offers a powerful reflection on artistic freedom, identity, and the search for meaning and marks 25 years of Flores’ contributions to the industry. 

The piece is performed by three exceptional artists - dancer Marco Flores with brothers David and Alfredo Lagos on vocals and guitar. Incorporating a mixture of contemporary dance, tap dance and flamenco, Rayuela invites audiences into a dynamic, multilayered exploration of flamenco today.

At the National Gallery 

This year the Flamenco Festival will also host a special performance at the National Gallery on Monday 15 June, 7pm, to commemorate simultaneous celebrations of Spanish culture happening across London this June – the Flamenco Festival and the National Gallery's new exhibition of works by Zurbarán, who was one of the leading painters of 17th-century Spain. Renowned viola player Fahmi Alqhai and acclaimed flamenco dancer Patricia Guerrero (Artistic Director of Ballet Flamenco de Andalucía) have created a special performance based on Baroque music, designed to directly converse with the Zurbarán paintings. There will be a 20-minute introductory talk from Alicia Navarro (who works at the Institute of History of the Spanish National Research Council) before the show. Tickets go on sale to members of the National Gallery in May and will be on general sale a week later. Please visit: https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/events

Compañía de Danza Jesús Carmona - UnYdos 
Sadler’s Wells Theatre  
Tuesday 16 June – Wednesday 17 June, 7:30pm 
Press night Tuesday 16 June

Compañía Rafaela Carrasco - Creaviva UK PREMIERE 
Sadler’s Wells Theatre  
Thursday 18 June, 7:30pm (also press performance) 
 
Gala Flamenca 2026 
Sadler’s Wells Theatre  
Friday 19 June, 7:30pm and Saturday 20 June, 3pm and 7:30pm 
Press night Friday 19 June

Esther Merino – En Tierra de Hombres 
Lilian Baylis Studio  
Saturday 20 June, 6pm (also press performance)

El Perrete – Luz de Guia  
Lilian Baylis Studio  
Saturday 20 June 2026, 8:30pm (also press performance)

Rocío Molina - Calentamiento UK PREMIERE 
Sadler’s Wells Theatre  
Wednesday 24 June, 7:30pm (also press performance)

Night of the Guitar: A concert with Gerardo Núñez, Antonio Rey, Álvaro Martinete and Olga Pericet UK PREMIERE 
Sadler’s Wells Theatre 
Thursday 25 June, 7:30pm (also press performance) 

Ballet Flamenco de Andalucía - Tierra Bendita 
Sadler’s Wells Theatre  
Friday 26 June, 7:30pm, Saturday 27 June 3pm and 7:30pm  
Press night Friday 26 June  
 
Compañía María Moreno – MAGNIFICAT UK PREMIERE 
Sadler’s Wells East 
Sunday 28 June, 7:30pm (also press performance) 

Compañía Marco Flores – Rayuela UK PREMIERE 
Sadler’s Wells East 
Monday 29 June, 7:30pm (also press performance)