Bilbao BBK Live, the festival of the north.

Get to know Bilbao BBK Live, the pop and rock music festival in Bilbao.

Every year, Bilbao BBK Live surprises us with a new line-up, a list of international bands, which attracts thousands of people to the capital of Bizkaia. This festival is held annually in July, a month of great tourist influx in Bilbao in which many of the hotels hang the sign “Sold out” assiduously, a fact to keep in mind if you plan to attend any of its editions.

Kobetamendi, one of the mountains surrounding Bilbao, one of the many geographical areas that make the Biscayan capital earn the nickname of “El Botxo”, has been, is and will be the official venue of Bilbao BBK Live, a place with a special charm. From many points of Kobetamendi, and therefore, of the Bilbao BBK Live venue itself, it is possible to get an incredible panoramic view of the city, a beautiful view that, fused with the varied music offered by this festival, makes Bilbao BBK Live becomes a luxury plan.

In addition to delighting all attendees, the members of the bands that visit Bilbao BBK Live are also committed to know and enjoy the pleasures of our land, and it is common to find the groups in some of the most emblematic places of Bilbao as the Guggenheim Museum or some of our best restaurants. The creators of this festival, the Bilbao City Council and the music promoter Last Tour, have been improving year after year since 2006 this incredible festival called Bilbao BBK Live, what will they surprise us with in the next edition?

After more than 10 years of Bilbao BBK Live, after many years of success, after the visit of groups of the highest level such as The Cure, Green Day, Coldplay, Metallica or Red Hot Chili Pepper, this Basque festival has become a musical reference at international level. Thanks to this event, we can count the thousands of people from other cities and countries who visit us, a fact that helps us to publicize part of our cultural, historical and gastronomic offer.

Kobetamendi, a mountain located southwest of the capital of Bizkaia, once a year becomes the residence of fans of good music, creating a great atmosphere in which to enjoy this fantastic festival.

Stages: The Kobetamendi complex houses in its interior 5 differentiated areas, 5 stages where music is the great protagonist.

You must keep in mind that except for Bilbao Stage and Basoa, the name of the rest of the stages changes every edition to the sound of the sponsor that brings more money. Of course, there are things that never change, such as the main dishes of Bilbao BBK Live are always served on the main stage, on the Bilbao Stage or that the title of most shameless and hooligan area always goes to Basoa, (forest in Basque). In addition to these 5 areas, we must take into account that there are also fast food stands, souvenir stores and entertainment stands of large multinationals scattered throughout much of the site. It won’t be for lack of options.

Price: BBK Live rates vary depending on the success of the line-up of each edition. However, to give you an idea, the final price of the 3-day pass (buying it at the last minute) usually ranges between 120 € and 160 €. There are also passes for each day at an approximate price of 55€. For all those people who want to camp at the Bilbao BBK Live site, the cost for camping is up to 10€ for the 3 or 4 days that usually lasts the festival. As you can see, if we compare the prices with other festivals, they are quite close to what we are used to, yes, as for the price of drinks, we could talk about prohibitive drinks, for example, a small glass of kalimotxo 5 € when outside the enclosure costs half or less. And that, we have not added the price of the recyclable glass (2.5 €) although we have to say that, once the day is over, if you return the glass they pay you the amount, so be careful not to lose that little jewel you have in your hands!

How to get there: Forget about private transport to get to the Bilbao BBK Live site, because the Bilbao Municipal Police cut off traffic to Kobetamendi at 8:00 am on the first day of the festival, leaving only authorized vehicles. To get to the festival site the best options are the festival bus, public bus, cab or walking. In our case, we chose to combine the festival bus with line 58 of Bilbobus (Bilbao’s public bus company), but it doesn’t have to be the best option, it all depends on the number of people attending, here is some more information on how to get to the Bilbao BBK Live site:

Bilbao BBK Live buses: The organization’s buses run several routes that connect with the venue uninterruptedly and free of charge. These special services depart from San Mames (in front of Termibus) and from Barakaldo (BEC, Bilbao Exhibition Centre). Buses running the San Mames – Kobetamendi route stop at San Mames, at the back of the Treasury building, in front of Termibus. While the Kobetamendi stop varies depending on the time of day. The San Mames stop is marked by dozens of signs, there is no way to get lost, just follow the arrows. The frequency of this service is between 5 and 10 minutes, a frequency with which we practically do not worry about schedules. As for the bus that makes the route Barakaldo – Kobetamendi, (service designed for those who want to park their vehicles under a special pricing), they have the stop at the BEC bus shelter and operate with a frequency of 15 minutes.

Public buses: Although the most used and famous line is the 58, we must mention that there are other lines such as 28 and 48 that can also bring us to the vicinity. All the mentioned lines operate under the public transport card “Barik”, a txartela (card in Basque) that we recommend to get if we plan to move around Bilbao actively. Approximate price of the trip: 0.64€. For more information about these buses we recommend visiting the Bilbobus website .

Cab: The cab is a good option for all those people who come in groups, making the cost of the service is divided up to 4 people. We leave you the telephone numbers of the different associations of cab drivers that we find in Bilbao (All of them have 24 hours service):

Walking: We must take into account that although the Bilbao BBK Live venue (Kobetamendi), is located in the upper part of Basurto, near the urban center, most of the way to be done has a steep slope, a fact that encourages us to recommend it only for the return trip.

Parking: In Bilbao there are many areas where you can park your vehicle, but unfortunately it is not easy to find a space in the areas without OTA (Traffic Ordinance that regulates paid parking). Therefore, the option provided by the organization (parking at the BEC) is often the best solution. For all those who are interested in parking in this location, here is some clarification:

Venue: The positioning of the large spaces of the Bilbao BBK Live venue does not usually vary from edition to edition. Thus, it is usual to find the first stage as soon as you enter on the right hand side (Matusalem stage or stage 3), following by the great Bilbao Stage that divides in two the space of Bilbao BBK Live, dividing the space for stage 2 (Heineken stage) and the tent and basoa. On the sides of the enclosure we find several fast food stalls, souvenirs or a small stand of the tourist office among others, a small town that lacks nothing. Remember that it is forbidden to bring food and drink into the enclosure, a fact, which increasingly creates more tension in social networks.

History: Bilbao BBK Live began its adventure without any sponsor, which is why the savings bank BBK did not appear in its initial name “Bilbao Live Festival”. However, after the success of the first edition (2006), they did not hesitate to sponsor one of the best known events in the Basque Country, a festival that already in its first edition obtained a considerable attendance with more than 51,000 people who came to “Kobetas”. Today, Last Tour, organizer of the festival, communicates with the same enthusiasm as the first day, the people who visit Bilbao every year (since 2015 exceeding the figure of 110,000 attendees), making it clear that Bilbao BBK Live is one of those macro summer festivals that can not miss in any self-respecting agenda.

Accommodation: Although you can camp on the site itself at an approximate price of 10 €, most people who visit this festival are inclined to stay in the center of Bilbao. The offer of accommodation in the capital of Bizkaia is growing and more varied, yes, such is the demand that is created during this event that many of the establishments come to double their rates. We recommend booking as soon as possible, making sure not to run out of room and also find a decent rate for our pocket. For those who prefer to sleep in the festival itself, the camping site has more than 120,000 meters of surface and has the capacity to accommodate more than 15,000 people. This enclosure is located just 3 kilometers from the stages, in the Kobetamendi itself and perfectly communicated by the organization’s own buses. This area has a very extensive schedule (it opens the day before the festival and closes the day after) and a series of amenities that make the stay more bearable.

Gastronomy: Our recommendation is to visit one of the most historic areas of Bilbao, the Casco Viejo, the “helmet”. An area where there is a varied and quality gastronomic offer, a great choice to choose from. In our case, the restaurant was clear, Pentxo, an establishment where the raw material and the traditional recipes are combined with the modern touches that their cooks insert to each one of their plates. The best option to taste a 100% Bilbao menu to get strength for an intense day of Bilbao BBK Live. We recommend reading our article Pentxo Restaurant, the home of good food. Remember that the food found at the festival site itself is fast food, expensive, of poor quality and has little or nothing to do with the gastronomic culture of the Basque Country.

Cashless wristband: This wristband, incorporated for the first time in the 2017 edition, has been a great advance, a great convenience that allows us to charge the wristband at home or any other place and forget about the cumbersome payment mechanisms of the past. The technology in charge of offering us this advance is the already known RFID/NFC, a feature that most of the cell phones on the market have. In addition to being a wallet card, this card also serves as an electronic ticket, allowing us to enter and leave the venue as many times as we want, a pleasure. At the end of Bilbao BBK Live, the organization offers to all attendees a service to return the balance of the Cashless wristbands through which you can recover the money loaded on them. A very convenient technology that allows us to attend the festival without money and without credit cards.

Bereziak: Before, during and after Bilbao BBK Live the streets of Bilbao are filled with good music and better atmosphere thanks to Bereziak (specials in Basque). A free musical program suitable for all audiences, which brings the good atmosphere of Kobetamendi to the center of the capital of Bizkaia.

For our part, we would like to make a constructive criticism in favor of local bands and Basque music, and is that, although always plays some local group, we are sure that much more can be done in favor of this group. You are invited to come to Bilbao BBK Live, ondo pasa!