Asturias to Host the International Iberian Mask Festival (FIMI) for the First Time within the Framework of Oviedo’s Bid for European Capital of Culture 2031

Asturias will host the eighteenth edition of the International Iberian Mask Festival (FIMI) this year, marking the first time since its creation in 2006 that the festival leaves Portugal to be held in another territory.

The arrival of FIMI coincides with the process launched by the Regional Ministry of Culture of the Principality of Asturias to grant Bien de Interés Cultural (BIC) status — as Intangible Cultural Heritage — to the full set of Asturian masquerade traditions. This represents a strategic opportunity to strengthen their institutional recognition and to project these living traditions as an essential part of Europe’s shared cultural heritage.

The Asturian edition is funded by the Regional Ministry of Culture and is organised in collaboration with Oviedo City Council and the bid for Oviedo to become European Capital of Culture 2031. The direct involvement of the bid project places the festival within its broader European cooperation strategy, fostering exchange between territories, building international networks, and promoting dialogue around intangible heritage as a shared expression of identity across Europe.

The programme will unfold across different locations in Asturias, with a strong presence in municipalities where masquerade traditions remain alive. It will include exhibitions, a cycle of conferences and round tables with specialists from various European countries, concerts and live performances, craft workshops and demonstrations, as well as screenings of films and documentaries dedicated to European festive and masquerade traditions. The programme will culminate on 13 June with a large parade in Oviedo — the festival’s central event — bringing together around 600 participants from groups in Spain, Portugal and other European countries.

Since its first edition in Porto and its subsequent consolidation in Lisbon, FIMI has become a reference platform for cultural exchange between territories with strong masquerade traditions. Asturian groups such as Mazcaritos d’Uviéu, Os Reises de Tormaleo, Os Reises de Valledor and the Sidros have actively participated in several editions in Portugal, helping to strengthen a cross-border cultural network that is now expanding with the celebration of the festival in Asturias.

With this edition, Oviedo and the Principality of Asturias consolidate their role as an international meeting point for intangible cultural heritage, reinforcing the European dimension of the territory within the framework of the 2031 bid and positioning traditional culture as a driver of connection, dialogue and shared projection.