Almost half of the cultural events in the Basque Country are Basque or bilingual

Euskera, rather than language, is the backbone of the Basque cultural identity. At a time when the debate on the health of the language is going through institutions and the street, data from the Basque cultural programming of 2024 provide an illustrative X-ray of the place of the Basque Country in public life. From the records of the reference platform promoted by the Basque Government, it has been observed that nearly half of the nearly 20,000 cultural events held in the Basque Country.

Gipuzkoa, the fortress of the Euskera 

Gipuzkoa is the main stronghold of the Basque Country in the cultural sphere. In six of the seven regions, more than 50% of the events were held in this language — in Basque or Basque and in another language. Donostialdea, for example, has a great cultural offer, where more than 4,300 events are held annually. The presence of the Basque Country is considerable.

Bizkaia: diversity and different commitment

In Bizkaia there were more than 8,600 events in 2024, and the situation is more heterogeneous in this territory. Five of the seven regions programmed half of the events in Basque or in bilingual formats. In Encartaciones and Gran Bilbao, however, the Spanish events dominated by a wide margin. 

Álava, unfinished business

Álava has the greatest challenge. No region exceeded this 50% barrier in favour of the Basque Country. Only Ayala (49.8%) approached this figure, taking into account both the programming in Basque and bilingual. In the Llanada Alavesa, including Vitoria, 34% of the events were held in Basque or bilingual: of the 2550 events registered last year, only 490 were held in Basque.

Beyond numbers

The commitment to the Basque language in culture is not uniform, but progress is undeniable. The fact that one in two acts (approximately) are carried out in Basque, either as a single language or alongside Spanish, clearly reflects the existence of a structural commitment to its promotion. However, territorial contrasts show the need to adapt this commitment to local linguistic realities and the possibility of strengthening the presence of the Basque language.