5th Bloomsday Madrid-Dublin 2026

The association Soy de la Cuesta and Tourism Ireland in Spain are teaming up once again to mark over 100 years since the publication of James Joyces’ Ulysses on 16 June (the date on which the novel is set and the date on which the author had his first date with his wife Nora Barnacle). This event mirrors the one held in Dublin, which has flooded the streets of the Irish capital every 16 June since 1954.

Dublin in 1904 will come to Madrid as participants dress up in traditional Edwardian fashion, doning the straw boater hats commonly worn at the time—including by Joyce himself. Named after Leopold Bloom, the book's main character, the Madrid festivities will see Joyce enthusiasts recreating the hours that Bloom spends wandering through Dublin with literary tours, readings and the famous snack of Burgundy wine and gorgonzola cheese sandwiches. 

The initiative, organised in conjunction with the Embassy of Ireland in Spain to celebrate one of the most revolutionary books of the 20th century, has taken place in Madrid since 2022. The Bloomsday Madrid-Dublin celebrations are made possible through the collaboration of Madrid City Council's Department of Culture, Tourism and Sports, the association Soy de la Cuesta, Tourism Ireland in Spain, and the Madrid bookshop Desperate Literature.