La Caixa boosts Festival of Granada support

The Granada festival just locked in a bigger dose of private backing for its 75th edition — and that matters because these big summer arts festivals run on a mix of public money, sponsors, and long planning cycles. Fundación “la Caixa” has renewed its agreement with the Festival Internacional de Música y Danza de Granada and raised its contribution for 2026, the year the festival marks both its 75th anniversary and 25 years of working with the foundation. The deal was signed by festival director Paolo Pinamonti and Rafael Chueca Blasco, the foundation’s deputy director general for Culture and Territory. (granadadigital.es) ### What actually changed here? The simple version is this: the relationship stayed in place, but the money and the scope got bigger. Fundación “la Caixa” was already a “protecting entity” for the festival. Now it has renewed that role and increased its financial support for this anniversary edition. The partnership goes back to 2001, so 2026 marks a full quarter-century of collaboration. (granadadigital.es) ### Why is the 75th edition such a big deal? Anniversary editions are usually where festivals try to look both backward and forward at once. They want prestige programming, some symbolic firsts, and broader public reach — but all of that costs money before a single ticket gets sold. Granada’s 75th edition runs from June 12 to July 12, 2026, so this renewed support lands at the point where programming and audience-building become very concrete, not theoretical. (granadafestival.org) ### Where is the extra support going? It is being channeled into three pretty visible things. First, eight additional concerts tied to artists and ensembles that appeared at the festival between 2018 and 2024 will be added to CaixaForum+, the foundation’s streaming platform. That means the support is not just underwriting live events in Granada — it is also extending the festival’s life online. (granadadigital.es) ### Why does CaixaForum+ matter? Because it turns a local event into something with a much longer shelf life. Festivals are intense and fleeting — a performance happens, the audience goes home, and that’s it. Putting eight more concerts on a digital platform gives Granada a second audience, including people who cannot travel or afford tickets. In practice, that makes the sponsorship about access as much as prestige. (granadadigital.es) ### What is the FEX piece? FEX is the festival’s extension program — basically the outward-facing arm that pushes performances and activities beyond the core headline events. Fundación “la Caixa” will again serve, for the third straight year, as protecting entity of the 23rd FEX. That matters because outreach programs are often the first things squeezed when budgets get tight, even though they are usually the part that brings in new audiences. (granadadigital.es) ### Why is Riccardo Muti in the story? Because this is the prestige marker. The collaboration will also back the first visit of Riccardo Muti to the Granada festival, where he is set to conduct the Orchestra Giovanile Luigi Cherubini on June 28 at the Palacio de Carlos V. The program includes the second suite from *El sombrero de tres picos* by Manuel de Falla — a neat fit in a year that also marks the 150th anniversary of Falla’s birth. (granadadigital.es) ### So what does this say about the festival? Basically, Granada is using an anniversary year to reinforce both ends of the cultural equation. One end is elite programming — Muti, major artists, symbolic events. The other is reach — digital distribution and the FEX extension. The increased support from Fundación “la Caixa” helps hold those two goals together instead of forcing the festival to choose one. (granadadigital.es) ### Bottom line? This is not just a routine sponsorship renewal. It is a bigger anniversary-year bet on Granada’s festival as both a prestige institution and a wider-access cultural platform — and the 25-year history between the two sides makes that bet look durable, not one-off. (granadadigital.es)