Statue of Our Lady, holding her hands aloft, inside an ornate church.

What’s On in Gozo in August 2026

By Kerry Gaffney | Last Updated 16/06/2026

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Why Visit Gozo in August?

August is Gozo’s peak month — for visitors, for feasts and for the kind of warm evenings that make you want to stay another week. Santa Marija on 15 August is the biggest festa of the summer, Victoria fills with people, and the rest of the month keeps pace with concerts, food events and open-air cinema. It’s busy, it’s loud in the best possible way, and there’s something on almost every night.

Top Tip: August is the busiest month on the island. Book accommodation well in advance and expect the ferry to be busy at weekends.

Our Top Picks

Feast of Santa Victoria, Victoria

The feast of the Assumption of Our Lady is the biggest event of the Gozitan summer. Celebrated across multiple villages on 15 August — a public holiday in Malta — the Victoria celebrations are the most spectacular, with Solemn High Mass, band marches, a grand procession of the Santa Marija statue and fireworks that light up the night sky over the Citadel. If you’re on the island in August, plan your schedule around this.

Date: Saturday 8th – Saturday 15th August 2026
Time: Various
Cost: Free
Location: Victoria

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DCapitals Live@Cittadella | 11th Edition

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The annual open-air big band concert in the Cittadella ditch, now in its eleventh year. Special guest William Mangion joins resident vocalists Gail Attard, Eliża Stellini, Alexia Micallef and Marie Emeh, under the direction of George Apap. One of the most atmospheric free concerts of the summer.

Date: Saturday 1st August 2026
Time: 21:00 – 23:55
Cost: Free
Location: Citadel Ditch, Victoria

Gozo Film Festival

One of the highlights of our summer; three days of local and international shorts, feature films and a children’s programme, with filmmaking talks and behind-the-scenes sessions at the Cittadella. A great option if you want something a little different from the music-heavy summer calendar.

Date: Friday 21st – 23rd August 2026
Time: Various
Cost: Free
Location: Citadel, Victoria

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Village Feasts in August

There’s five weekends this month, which means five feasts on Gozo. Santa Marija on 15th August is the headline event, but four other villages celebrate their patron saints across the month, each with its own character and programme.

Festa San Ġużepp, Qala

Qala’s feast of St Joseph spills over from late July into the first days of August, with band marches, street decorations, processions and fireworks in St Joseph Square. On 28 July, the Qala Band performs its annual concert in celebration of the feast and to mark 30 years since the band’s foundation. The festa closes on 31 July with Shades of Light, a fireworks and light effects spectacular synchronised to music.

Date: Tuesday 28th July – 2nd August 2026
Time: Various
Cost: Free
Location: Qala

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Festa San Lawrenz, San Lawrenz

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San Lawrenz’s feast of St Lawrence brings a full programme of evening concerts across festa week. The Festival San Lawrenz series includes Maltese Folk Chants on 3 August, Il-Kunċert featuring Cash & Band on 5 August, Lejla Lawrenzjana with a lineup of Maltese singers on 6 August, and a Concert & Fireworks by the St Joseph’s Band Club of Għajnsielem on 8 August, closing the week with a dazzling pyrotechnics display.

Date: Monday 3rd – Sunday 9th August 2026
Time: Various
Cost: Free
Location: San Lawrenz

Santa Marija, Victoria

See our Top Picks section above

Festa Santa Marija, Żebbuġ

Żebbuġ celebrates its own Santa Marija feast with the AssumptaFest symphonic concert on 19 August in Żebbuġ Square from 21:00, performed by the Saint Mary Philharmonic Society under Mro Dr Joseph Grech, with singers including Klinsmann and Gabriella Azzopardi.

Date: 23rd August 2026
Time: All day
Cost: Free
Location: Zebbuġ

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Festa tal-Madonna ta’ Loreto, Għajnsielem

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Għajnsielem’s feast of Our Lady of Loreto closes out the August festa calendar. The St Joseph Band of Għajnsielem performs its annual concert on 25 August in Madonna ta’ Loreto Square from 21:30, under the direction of Mro Frankie Debono.

Date: Sunday 30th August 2026
Time: All Day
Cost: Free
Location: Għajnsielem

Music & Concerts

August’s music programme is the busiest of the summer, with the weekly series all in full swing alongside a handful of one-off concerts. Here are three worth putting in the diary.

80s Night

DJ Alex Grech takes over Independence Square for a night of synth-pop, disco and dancefloor classics from the decade that defined modern pop music. A good-natured, crowd-pleasing evening that tends to draw a mixed age group.

Date: Saturday 1st August 2026
Time: 21:00
Cost: Free
Location: Independence Square, Għajnsielem

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Rock Legends

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A night of rock music from The Rock Troupers and Damaged & Co, with guest appearances from Valerie Cassar, Chris Grech, Kenneth Calleja, Leo Stivala and Daryl Ebejer. One for anyone who wants something with a bit more energy than the typical village square concert.

Date: Friday 30th August 2026
Time: 20:30
Cost: Free
Location: Lourdes Street, Mġarr

Echoes from the Sea

DCapitals featuring Ivan Grech and other local bands perform live at the Għajnsielem community centre. A more relaxed evening than Rock Legends the night before, but no less enjoyable for it.

Date: Saturday 8th August 2026
Time: 21:00
Cost: Free
Location: Għajnsielem Centre, Għajnsielem

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Family & Community Events

August has something for all ages across the month. Here are three events spread across early, mid and late August.

Maltese Folk Chants

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An evening of traditional Għana — Malta’s living oral tradition of improvised call-and-response chanting, and subject of the wonderful movie, Żejtune. The best Maltese and Gozitan Għana singers perform under the open sky in one of Gozo’s most intimate village squares. If you’ve never heard Għana performed live, this is a good introduction.

Date:Sunday 3rd August 2026
Time: 21:00
Cost: Free
Location: St Lawrence Square, San Lawrenz

Gozo Traditional Agricultural & Industrial Exhibition (Il-Wirja)

Now in its 171st year, Il-Wirja is one of Gozo’s most enduring summer traditions. Local produce, livestock, artisanal crafts, wines, oils and honey fill Villa Rundle Gardens over two days, with family-friendly activities throughout. Worth a visit for the atmosphere as much as the exhibits.

Date: Saturday 14th – Sunday 15th August 2026
Time: 09:00 onwards
Cost: Free
Location: Villa Rundle, Victoria

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Fiori d’Argenta Folk Festival

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Three days of folk music, traditional Għana and community celebration in Xewkija, commemorating the Beheading of St John. The ceremonial cutting of the Torta tal-Bajtar ta’ San Ġwann and the lighting of the Il-Ħuġġieġa ta’ San Ġwann bonfire are the highlights. A deeply rooted local tradition that rewards turning up without expectations.

Date: Thursday 27th – Saturday 29th August 2026
Time: All Day
Cost: Free
Location: St John Baptist Square, Xewkija

August in Gozo: Final Thoughts

August is Gozo at its most full-on. The island is busy, the feasts are at their most spectacular and the evenings rarely disappoint. Santa Marija on 15 August is the undisputable highlight of the summer calendar — if you’re on the island that week, clear your diary for the evening and go and watch the procession in Victoria. You won’t regret it.

The heat in August is serious. Temperatures regularly reach the mid-30s and the sun is fierce until early evening. Plan anything active for the morning, find shade in the afternoon and save your energy for the night.

For practical advice on getting around while you’re here, our guide on How to Get Around Gozo covers everything from buses to taxis to car hire.

A small limestone gothic chapel on a hill over a harbour, set in a film strip border.

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