Nit de Sant Joan: midsummer on Mallorca’s beaches

The shortest night

Sant Joan is the Catalan name for Saint John the Baptist, whose feast falls on 24 June. The night before, the Nit de Sant Joan or Revetla de Sant Joan, comes just after the summer solstice and is celebrated across the Catalan-speaking world and much of Spain with fire, music and the sea. In Mallorca it feels like the moment summer properly begins: the evenings are warm and long, and the beaches stay busy well after dark.

For most people the night is informal. Groups of friends and families take food and drinks to the beach and stay late into the night. The organised side centres on fire: bonfires, fireworks and the correfoc, a run of costumed devils (dimonis) carrying fireworks through the crowd.

Palma: the Parc de la Mar

In Palma the main event is in the Parc de la Mar, below the cathedral. It is organised by the federation of neighbourhood associations with the city council, and it follows a familiar pattern each year:

1. 1

   Early evening

   A bonfire is lit, and there are activities for children, including a smaller children’s correfoc.

2. 2

   Late evening

   Speeches and traditional dancing, then the main correfoc, usually from about 10.30pm, with several groups of devils and fire beasts such as dragons.

3. 3

   Late night

   Live music in the park, while the crowds drift down to the sea.

Palma’s beaches on the night

Palma’s beaches stay open on Sant Joan, and they fill up from the evening onwards: from Cala Major in the west, through Can Pere Antoni and Portixol and El Molinar near the centre, to Can Pastilla and Playa de Palma in the east.

• Bonfires: beach fires are generally banned under municipal rules in Mallorca, and each council decides whether to make an exception on Sant Joan. In 2024 Palma’s council said bonfires were not allowed on its beaches, though small candles were fine.
• Police and fire crews: the local police, often with other forces and the fire brigade, step up patrols on the beaches through the night.
• Cleaning: the city’s cleaning company, Emaya, sends extra crews to the beaches and the Parc de la Mar in the early hours, so most of the mess is gone by morning.
• Your rubbish: take it with you. Leaving the beach clean is part of the deal.

Elsewhere on the island

Sant Joan is the patron saint of several Mallorcan towns, so for them the night opens their main fiestas. In Calvià, 24 June is a local holiday. Son Servera and Muro hold their patronal fiestas around the same date. In the south, Colònia de Sant Jordi holds a correfoc at Cala Galiota on the evening of 23 June.

Rules differ from one council to the next. Some towns allow bonfires in marked areas with a set time to put them out, others ban them outright, and a few have banned fireworks on the night. If you want to celebrate on the beach outside Palma, check your town hall’s announcement in the days before.

If you live near a beach

For residents of seaside barris and resorts, Sant Joan is one of the loudest nights of the year. Expect crowds, music and fireworks until the early hours, parking to fill up from the late afternoon, and some litter in the streets near the beach the next morning. It is one night, and for many people it is one of the best of the summer. If you are viewing property in late June, it is also a good way to see how a neighbourhood feels at its busiest.

Areas in this post

Palma · Colònia de Sant Jordi · Calvià Vila · Son Servera town · Muro town