Benicasim | Sunday, August 23, 2026.- “You don’t expect what’s in here,” Elena admits. Her first time at Rototom Sunsplash was last Wednesday, right at the midpoint of the gathering. She arrived in Benicasim from Teruel with her daughter Cris, 9, and her niece Celia, 10. “Mum, today is the best day of my life,” Cris told her mother with a smile, holding a diabolo in the Magicomundo family area. This testimony captures the essence—and the imprint—of an experience: the one that, for seven days, has brought together, under the motto “The Place to Be”, the Rototom Sunsplash international festival. Because “what really makes the festival a success is the atmosphere; the kind where anyone can feel good, and that’s above everything else,” says its director, Filippo Giunta, shortly after the 31st edition has brought the curtain down this Saturday. A journey that began on the 16th with an unprecedented Welcome Party, before giving way to six intense festival days in this small, fleeting city where everything—and everyone—converges.
The human map of a loyal community
In a complex time for the live music sector in Europe, marked by economic uncertainty that has affected attendance figures, the festival has reaffirmed the unconditional loyalty of its audience. “We feared the trend we’ve seen at other festivals, but our audience is loyal,” Filippo Giunta reflects. “Even though travelling is expensive and it’s harder to get around—especially for multi-day events like ours—people keep choosing Rototom. For many, it’s their holiday of the year. They come to build community from anywhere in the world, from any city, to share values and feel part of an identity that goes beyond the limits of reggae”.
That heterogeneous, diverse crowd has reached a total participation figure this year of almost 169,000 people. The flags of almost 100 nations have flown side by side in Benicasim. Spain, France, Italy, Germany and the United Kingdom top the list of places of origin, rounded out by territories from all five continents and even farther afield, such as Kenya, Rwanda, South Korea, Martinique, Trinidad and Tobago, Venezuela, Cambodia or Thailand. The generational mix once again stands out, drawing a human map where people live together, no matter the age. 13,000 children under 13 and 7,105 people over 65 have joined Rototom this summer. An impact that has crossed physical borders through the streaming channel and digital platforms.
The Place to Be Conscious: social activism and music that crosses walls
Critical thinking and activism—social and environmental—have once again acted as the backbone of the gathering. Rototom’s Social Forum, organised by the Exodus Foundation, recorded resounding audience success, with more than 1,100 attendees across its four festival days of debate, tackling everything from the climate emergency with Indian activist Vandana Shiva to the housing crisis. “We’re very happy with how the local audience has integrated with our audience at the Social Forum. They were highly participatory talks,” Giunta notes. Reflection also landed at Ataya Social Café, led by Afro-descendant collectives such as Top Manta or Afrodiccionario, which extended its tips for combating racist language all the way to the festival’s youth area, Teen Yard, “which has grown exponentially in attendance this year,” Giunta reports.
That desire to connect the festival with the society around it has led Rototom, through the Exodus Foundation, to bring the atmosphere of the cultural gathering and part of its 2026 line-up to the province’s prison population, with concerts by Ilan Amores, Alana Sinkëy, Doctor Nadie and Lasai, and a yoga session led by César Caldera.
The solidarity strand has been completed with the campaign supporting social projects through contributions from the audience benefiting from inclusive passes, which will enable Fundación Ateneu Castelló, Payasospital, UNRWA Spain and Stand Up For Jamaica to develop new initiatives.
The Place to Care for the Earth: green vanguard, climate shelters and a healthy timetable
Rototom Sunsplash has taken a qualitative leap in its crusade for environmental sustainability. In partnership with Tuawa, the strategic installation of 54 drinking-water points between the camping area and the venue has continued to transform the event’s consumption habits. The forecast is to close 2026 with close to 3.2 million plastic bottles saved thanks to these sustainable fountains, making Rototom even more so, plastic free if possible. This collaboration has made it possible to avoid the emission of around 300 tonnes of CO₂—an impact equivalent to the annual absorption of more than 13,500 trees or a forest area close to 27 hectares of Mediterranean woodland.
Added to this green footprint is the installation of a new solar-battery system to reduce diesel consumption and the effort required to adapt the venue, alongside the strengthening of extra-musical areas as climate shelters, equipped with ventilated textile structures that provide continuous shade and absorb UV rays, combined with environmental awareness initiatives on the beaches.
In this respect, the timetable restructuring introduced this year to dodge the hottest hours has been well received by the audience. “The schedule has worked: opening a little later and postponing activities until sunset or the first moments of the evening—as was the case with Rototom Circus, with seven proposals on stage—has meant that many people who used to come only for the first concerts have been able to fully enjoy the cultural areas. They’ve discovered that other side of Rototom. It’s been a very good measure both for the audience and for our workers,” Giunta highlights.
That wellbeing has been complemented by the international food offering, captured in a journey through Senegal, Argentina, Japan, India or Jamaica via 25 dishes from around the world, and also an ethical benchmark thanks to its vegetarian, vegan and zero-mile alternatives. The Pachamama space, focused on agroecology and healthy living with daily yoga or biodanza sessions, and the flea market and craft market, with independent design, sustainable fashion and artisan products.
A homegrown pulse amid a full-on dancehall revolution
The artistic programme for this 31st anniversary has shown the festival’s ability to transform and keep exploring new sound horizons without losing its essence. The commitment to homegrown, high-voltage projects like G-5—carved out through street music, rumba and flamenco with Kiko Veneno, Muchachito, Tomasito, El Canijo de Jerez and Diego El Ratón—is one example of that view towards the closest audience, as was the overwhelming live set by Lia Kali as one of the closing festival day’s headliners, Las Ninyas del Corro, Eskorzo, or the special show by Catalan artist Pure Negga joined on stage by 15 guests. Alongside them, creativity shone in boundary-breaking projects like Greentea Peng, Los Guardianes de Gregory’s tango-reggae show, Natalia Doco or Bleu Soleil.
The musical direction swung hard this year towards dancehall, with the powerful trident of Major Lazer, Shenseea and Kybba—who closed the Sun Stage last night—yet in dialogue with the purest roots cadence of legends like Alpha Blondy, Luciano, Bushman, Twinkle Brothers, or, in that connection to pioneering sound, with ska’s founding band, Skatalites. “The line-up has been fresh; the goal was to reach a broader audience. The festival transforms, but it doesn’t forget its roots or the reggae crowd,” Giunta sums up.
In the cultural programme, the balance is in his own words “outstanding”. “The new Reggae Jamroom space has worked really well, where many artists came together to create a great vibe. Maybe this will grow next year and we’ll push it more strongly,” the director previews, also pleased by the notable growth experienced by the youth and family areas.
All in all, is Rototom definitely “The Place to Be”? “Definitely it is. Above all, in a world surrounded by conflict, intolerance and fear of losing identity. We propose a multicultural world and here it becomes tangible. The world of the future will be like this: contact, mixing and mutual respect. A space where all diversities are integrated. Where all diversities find their place.”
The Place to Return to: a date with Benicasim in 2027
The organisation has made official the dates for what will be its 32nd edition: the festival will return in August 2027 to keep building its international, eclectic community of peace, and to recreate that unique atmosphere that makes it something you can’t quite imagine “what happens once you cross into the venue” —just as Elena said a few days ago at her first Rototom.
