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2026 PRINCESS OF ASTURIAS AWARDS
Patti Smith is to give a concert in Asturias to commemorate the 50th anniversary of her first performance in Spain.
With an eye to the 2026 Princess of Asturias Awards Ceremony, which will take place on Friday 23rd October at the Campoamor Theatre in Oviedo (Principality of Asturias), with the presence of Their Majesties King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia, along with Their Royal Highnesses The Princess of Asturias and Infanta Sofía of Spain, the Princess of Asturias Foundation has organized a new edition of “Awards Week”, a wide-ranging cultural programme in which the Laureates are invited to take part in different activities on the days leading up to the ceremony.
Within this context, American singer and writer Patti Smith, granted the 2026 Princess of Asturias Award for the Arts, will give a free concert on 20th October at the Jovellanos Theatre in Gijón, coinciding with the fiftieth anniversary of her first performance in Spain. On 20th October 1976, Patti Smith presented her second LP, Radio Ethiopia, in Barcelona, and performed songs from Horses, her previous and celebrated debut album, as well as songs by The Velvet Underground and The Rolling Stones.
Five decades later, after a long and prolific career, Patti Smith will perform some of her songs in the Asturian city, as well as recite poems, share reflections and pay tribute to the artistic figures who have nurtured her creativity. Patti Smith will be accompanied on stage by Tony Shanahan, Jesse Smith, Jackson Smith and Seb Rochford, who make up the Patti Smith Quartet. In addition, during “Awards Week”, Patti Smith will have a space inside the former Vega Arms Factory in Oviedo where the public can delve into the Laureate’s life and career and the sum of her artistic output. Since 1996, the Foundation has been organizing a programme of activities with the aim of making the work of its Laureates and their contributions to culture, science or any other field in which they work better known to society at large. During last year’s “Awards Week”, more than 40 000 people attended around 80 activities that included, among other events, talks, art installations, exhibitions, concerts and film screenings.
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