The Concurs de Castells de Tarragona: the most spectacular competition

Every two years, Tarragona and Torredembarra host the major competitive event of the casteller world. Thousands of spectators, 42 colles and the season's biggest and most ambitious castells come together over one extraordinary weekend. The Concurs de Castells is where history gets made.

Since its first edition in 1932, the Concurs has driven casteller innovation: every edition pushes the limits of what human beings can do together. The strongest colles in the country bring their boldest structures, and the audience experiences moments of emotion that cannot be repeated anywhere else.

History of the Concurs

The first Concurs de Castells de Tarragona took place in 1932 in the city's bullring, during the Santa Tecla festivities, with Pau Casals serving as jury president. A second edition followed in 1933 and, after the Spanish Civil War, the event reappeared intermittently before being firmly re-established in Tarragona from 1970 onwards.

During the post-war years, the casteller world went through a difficult period. Several attempts were made to revive the Concurs, but the political and social conditions made that difficult. The tradition survived thanks to the effort of the historic colles, even though technical standards and participation both declined.

The real turning point came in 1970 with the legendary edition known as "the concours of the century". The quality and intensity of that day inspired a whole new generation of castellers and showed that the tradition still had a brilliant future ahead of it.

From the 1980s onward, the Concurs entered a period of continuous growth and increasing professionalism. New colles appeared across Catalonia, technical standards rose year after year, and the event established itself as the casteller world's flagship competition. Full history of castells →

Records and milestones

The Concurs has been the setting for some of the biggest milestones in casteller history. In 1982, the first 9-storey castell ever loaded in competition was achieved there, opening a new era of structures that had previously seemed impossible. In 1996, the strongest colles began to attempt gamma extra structures, the highest difficulty category, pushing the bar to an unprecedented level.

In the 21st century, the Concurs has also become a stage for 10-storey castells. The 2016 edition saw 10-storey castells fully completed in the arena for the first time, confirming that Tarragona remained the best measure of the highest casteller level.

Between 2006 and 2010, Tarragona's old bullring was transformed into the Tarraco Arena Placa, a modern space designed for major cultural events. Each new edition of the Concurs keeps stretching the limits: new structures, new records and moments that remain forever in collective memory.

How the Concurs works

In recent editions, the Concurs has been organised over three sessions: one in Torredembarra and two more in Tarragona's Tarraco Arena Placa, on Saturday and Sunday. Forty-two colles take part, distributed across the three sessions according to their position in the Ranquing Estrella.

The scoring system combines the difficulty of each castell with the final outcome of the attempt. Each colla has a limited number of rounds to bring its best structures to the square, and the final ranking is based on the highest-value castells successfully completed or loaded during its session.

The atmosphere is electric: thousands of spectators fill the stands, gralles and timbals echo around the arena, and every attempt is lived with a level of tension and emotion that only makes full sense when you are there in person. The Concurs is, without question, the most intense casteller experience that exists.

Want to experience castells without waiting for the Concurs?

The Concurs only takes place every two years. But the emotion, music and spectacle of castells can reach your event at any time. Corporate events, weddings, conferences or trade fairs: the same castellers who compete in Tarragona can perform at your event.

Bring the casteller tradition to your audience, from pillars and full castells to live explanations that connect guests with a culture recognised by UNESCO. Book a casteller performance →