Art, science, sport and culture come together once again in a single event: the Princess of Asturias Awards. On October 23, at the Campoamor Theatre in Oviedo, awards will be handed out that were created in 1980 with the aim of recognizing the scientific, technical, cultural, social and humanitarian work carried out by individuals, groups of individuals, or institutions worldwide.
The Spanish royal family will again play a central role in these awards, with the Princess of Asturias Leonor taking for the third consecutive year the absolute lead role of the ceremony. As heir to the throne and president of honor of the Foundation, she will be responsible for delivering the main laudatory speech to the laureates. Among them are singer Patti Smith, footballer Lionel Messi, astronaut Christina Koch, and Studio Ghibli.
But beyond the ceremony for the forty-sixth edition of these awards, the region is already hosting a new edition of the Princess of Asturias Awards Week. Until October 24, a wide program of cultural activities will take place with the aim of bringing the laureates’ careers, works, and contributions of 2026 closer to the public.
Concerts, film screenings, exhibitions, artistic installations, workshops, lectures, and meetings with the laureates form part of a program spanning disciplines such as music, cinema, literature, science, sport and space exploration. All cultural activities are free, although attendance at many of them requires prior registration on the FPA website.
Patti Smith’s Double Concert
The American singer and writer Patti Smith, Princess of the Arts Award 2026, will perform up to two concerts in the principality to mark her presence in the region. The punk icon will perform on the 20th at the Jovellanos Theater in Gijón and on the 21st at the Vega Armory in Oviedo. Both shows commemorate the fifty-year anniversary of her first concert in Spain. Additionally, the Chicago-born artist will participate on the 19th in a meeting with students from compulsory secondary education, high school and vocational training, and will be honored with a choral surprise entitled People Have the Power, one of her most emblematic songs.
Leo Messi, en su último partido con la selección de Argentina.
A Meeting with Lionel Messi
One of the most anticipated presences in Oviedo during the Princess of Asturias Awards Week will undoubtedly be the Argentine footballer Lionel Messi. The forward, who has just retired from the national team, will participate in a single event on October 22 at the Palacio de los Deportes in the Asturian capital, aimed at around 2,000 young people, but with space also for the general public.
Music and Film
From October 16 to 18, the Vega Armory will host several concerts, including The Noise of Time, a musical show inspired by Julian Barnes’s work (Letras); Serenade by Moonlight, a concert dedicated to Christina Koch (Concordia); The Moonlit Concert, a musical proposal inspired by space exploration, or The Choir of a Night, a participatory activity dedicated to Patti Smith.
As usual, King Felipe and Queen Letizia and their family will attend once again at the Prince Felipe Auditorium in Oviedo to preside over the traditional Princess of Asturias Awards Concert. On this occasion, they and the other guests will enjoy the performance of Symphony No. 2, Lobgesang (Song of Praise), by Felix Mendelssohn.
El viaje de Chihiro.
The seventh art will be represented in Oviedo’s Vega by film screenings of a selection of movies produced by the Japanese animation studio Studio Ghibli (Communication and Humanities). Among them are emblematic titles such as Porco Rosso,Princess Mononoke or Spirited Away, Hayao Miyazaki’s masterpiece that won the Oscar for Best Animated Feature in 2003.
Exhibitions and Artistic Installations
From October 16 to 24, at the Vega Armory, visitors will be able to explore different proposals linked to the laureates. Not So Little Anymore will be a journey through Patti Smith’s creative universe through photographs, paintings, texts and other artistic elements; the Ghibli Space proposes an artistic installation dedicated to the Japanese studio, with works by Spanish illustrators inspired by its characters.
In Gaia and Moon Museum we will be able to see two monumental installations by British artist Luke Jerram representing the Earth and the Moon, in tribute to astronaut Christina Koch; Landscape in Waiting is an artistic installation inspired by biodiversity conservation and the work of the Svalbard Global Seed Vault (International Cooperation) and The Parrot’s Club is a literary space inspired by the work of Julian Barnes.
The Exemplary Town 2026
As is traditional, the day after the awards ceremony, the King and Queen of Spain and their daughters will visit the municipality awarded as Exemplary Town. This year the honor has fallen to the Santa Ana Fishermen’s Guild of Llanes. The jury highlighted its work for sustainability, innovation, solidarity, its commitment to traditional inshore and artisanal fishing, as well as the dissemination of maritime culture.
