- One of Latin America’s most important cultural events, the Flowers Festival, will take place completely in person again and will take over the 16 comunas and the 5 small towns of Medellín from August 5 to 15.
- This is the most important and thrilling tourist season of the year in Medellín. The arrival of 28,000 tourists to the city and an 80% hotel occupancy are expected.
- This year, the festival celebrates its 65th edition with different events that will be held during ten days. The traditional Silleteros’ Parade will return to its original format in the streets of the city.
16 stages, plazas, and parks of Medellín will dress up in flowers, vibrate with music, and honor the values that make it a unique city for tourist experiences full of culture and fun thanks to the Flowers Festival’s multiple events that will be held simultaneously. The following are some of them:
- Ball of the Flowers: This event celebrates love and freedom on a stage that offers different drag shows, DJ performances, and live music to enjoy Medellín’s diversity.
- International Trova Festival: The final of this trova festival is one of the most significant moments of the Flowers Festival; the humor and improvisation of this rhythm—cultural heritage of the region—can be enjoyed by the whole family.
- Festival in the small towns: The five small towns of Medellín—Santa Elena, San Sebastián de Palmitas, San Cristóbal, San Antonio de Prado, and Altavista—will also take part in the Flowers Festival with different activities that travelers shouldn’t dare to miss.
- Route of the Flowers: The streets of Medellín are filled with the flowers carried by caravans of cars and silleteros that will tour the city as a teaser of the top moment of the festival: the Silleteros’ Parade.
The Flowers Festival is a tourist season that attracts travelers from different countries. According to Colombia Migration and the Tourism Observatory of Medellín, during the festival days, between 2019 and 2021, the city received 64,567 tourists from the United States, Panama, Mexico, Spain, and Peru, the countries that are most interested in this event of great recognition around the continent. 28,000 tourists are expected to arrive this year, for an 80% hotel occupancy in the city, record figures that prove the international relevance of this celebration.
The Silleteros’ Parade returns to the streets
The closing event—and the most emblematic of the festival and the city—returns to the streets. 420 silleteros will parade for more than 50,000 people along Avenida del Río, commemorating 65 years of the city’s most famous tradition. Millions of flowers will paint the streets in color and, along with concerts and cultural performances, they will show this exciting and unique culture to Medellín and the world.
Since 2015, the Colombian Ministry of Culture declared this parade as intangible cultural heritage of Colombia to highlight the symbolic value of rural families, who preserve this tradition that reminisces on the region’s prehispanic history. The silleteros’ culture is a collective, living, experiential, and dynamic expression that gathers thousands of tourists from all around the world who want to learn about flower farming.
What to do in Medellín during the Flowers Festival?
Music, art, culture, gastronomy, and flowers of course will take center stage for a week full of colors and fun. In Medellín, during the Flowers Festival, you’ll be able to live transformation experiences and enjoy nature, art and culture, and fashion and shopping. This unique tourist season is an opportunity to attend multiple events that will take place simultaneously in different venues of the city, including concerts, cultural shows, trade fairs, gastronomic activities, markets, and parades.
Everything blooms in Medellín and the Flowers Festival is the occasion to discover a city wearing flowers and colors. Come to Medellín during this festival and fall in love with the culture of this exciting city!
Soon, we’ll share more information and the official program of the 65th edition of the Flowers Festival. To learn more about the destination and this tourist season, please go to www.medellin.travel or write to turismovacacional@bureaumedellin.com.
