Bogotá: Festivals Worth Timing For
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Bogotá’s calendar runs on a mix of a genuinely unique weekly institution and a handful of major annual events, none of which need importing from Medellín or Barranquilla to be worth planning around.
Ciclovía: the weekly one
Every Sunday and public holiday, about 120km of Bogotá’s streets close to cars from 7am to 2pm, filling with over a million cyclists, runners, and walkers. It’s been running since 1974, the oldest and largest open-streets program anywhere, and it’s worth building at least one Sunday of any trip around it.
Festival Iberoamericano de Teatro (FITB)
Confirmed for 20 March-5 April 2026, FITB is one of the largest performing-arts festivals in the world, filling venues across the city with international and Colombian theatre. Book accommodation well ahead if your trip overlaps with it.
Rock al Parque
Latin America’s largest free rock festival, confirmed for 10-12 October 2026, marking its 30th anniversary at Parque Simón Bolívar. Free entry, and a genuinely major event on Bogotá’s cultural calendar rather than a niche one.
Día de las Velitas
On 7 December, candles and lanterns line streets and windows across the city to kick off the Christmas season, Colombia’s own tradition and distinct from Medellín’s separately branded holiday lights program.
Semana Santa
Holy Week brings processions and services to Bogotá’s historic-center churches, though Popayán further south is Colombia’s premier Semana Santa destination, so temper expectations if that’s specifically what you’re chasing.
Festival de Verano
An August event centered on outdoor and sporting activities across the city, a good marker if your trip lands in that month.
Planning around the calendar
None of this replaces the basics: book taxis through an app, not off the street, and keep the same street smarts on a festival night that you’d use any other evening. For the day-by-day version of a trip built around any of these dates, see our Bogotá itineraries , and for the rest of what’s worth doing between events, our things to do in Bogotá guide.