Gijón Raises the Bar with a Truly Spectacular Begoña Fair 2025

Gijón has now revealed the full line-up for its highly anticipated 2025 Begoña Bullfighting Fair. The official announcement took place inside the El Bibio arena – now known as Gijón Arena – in a special event attended by local authorities, media, and professionals from the bullfighting world.

The fair will run from Wednesday 13th to Sunday 17th August and will consist of three traditional bullfights, one novillada (a fight with younger bulls and up-and-coming talent), and one rejoneo (bullfight on horseback).

On the livestock front, the fair continues its commitment to excellence with the return of several respected breeders who stood out in the previous edition: La Quinta, Núñez del Cuvillo, and Puerto de San Lorenzo / La Ventana del Puerto. New this year are the debut of La Cercada in the novillada and the appearance of the prestigious Portuguese ranch Ribeiro Telles for the rejoneo spectacle.

Some of the biggest names in modern bullfighting will take part in this year’s edition. Among them are Morante de la Puebla, Roca Rey, Manzanares, Talavante, Juan Ortega, Pablo Aguado, and Tomás Rufo. Notably, this will be the first appearance at El Bibio for Emilio de Justo – an established figure who finally makes his Gijón debut – and the rising French star Clemente.

The novillada will feature three young talents who have caused a stir in major arenas early this season. For the rejoneo, the legendary Diego Ventura returns to Gijón, joined by two of Portugal’s leading horseback bullfighters: Rui Fernandes and João Ribeiro Telles.

The launch event was hosted by journalist Germán Estela and featured the presence of matador Juan José Padilla, who also received the “Golden Tram” award from the Peña Cocheras fan club for his outstanding performance in the 2018 fair. The Mayor of Gijón, Carmen Moriyón, attended the event along with Councillor for Institutional Relations Jorge González-Palacios and bullfighting impresario Carlos Zúñiga, who is responsible for organising the fair.

These are the confirmed line-ups: