Port accessThe Bilbao Port and River Foundation will once again organise free games and activities for all ages in Olatua.
A free shuttle service from the Bizkaia Bridge and Neguri metro station will be laid on for easy access to the festival area.
On Sunday morning, 18 September, Olatua, the name given to the cruise terminal of the Port of Bilbao in Getxo, will once again be the venue for the KAI JAI – Port of Bilbao Day, the family festival designed to bring people closer to the activity of the port of Bilbao in the most entertaining way possible.
From 10:30 through to 14:30, a whole host of free port and sea-inspired games and activities will be on offer for everyone to enjoy. For 4-year-olds and under, a games and soft-play area, a rice pit for sensory play, areas for painting and colouring, plastic duck fishing and bouncy castles; for 5 to 10-year-olds, an inflatable fish and mobile boat, a sandpit and little boats; and for 11 to 15-year-olds, activities such as free fall, a climbing wall and surfboard simulators.
In addition, visitors of all ages will be able to take fun photos in the photo booth and have their faces painted, as well as take part in family activities such as educational workshops on boat building and dancing jellyfish, music and entertainment, a pirate gymkhana, magic shows and the Euskal piratak theatre. Rest areas and an information point will also be available.
On top of this, the Port of Bilbao Day will also include an exhibition featuring vessels from the tugboat, piloting, mooring, customs, maritime rescue, Civil Guard and Ertzaintza (Basque Police Force) services. Some of these vessels will be open for visitors to discover the ins and outs of these boats that are essential in the day-to-day running of our port.
Rescue and emergency teams responsible for safety at sea and in the port will also be present, including an impressive Ertzaintza helicopter for maritime rescue and Red Cross emergency care materials.
To ensure easy access, and in addition to free parking next to the festival area, the port will also lay on a free shuttle bus service every half hour from Neguri metro station and from the Bizkaia Bridge to the cruise ship terminal in Getxo.
This is the seventh occasion on which this festival has been held. By organising fun and leisure activities for all the family, the idea is to bring people closer to the port, a mainstay of the economic, social and cultural development of all the neighbouring riverside towns. Through the different activities organised, those attending will be able to take part in numerous activities and learn at first hand about the day-to-day life of the main port of the Bay of Biscay and its importance in the social life of local people.
Ezagutu Portua
In addition to this open day, the Port Authority of Bilbao has been running the Ezagutu Portua programme since 2014. This is a free programme of guided tours of the port facilities aimed at all those living in Bizkaia, especially the younger population, to see at first hand how the port of Bilbao works and its direct relationship with the economic and social development of Bizkaia and the Basque Country.
During the guided tours, which last approximately 2 hours, visitors discover the history and geography of the port, the different ships and vessels that dock at its quays, the importance of maritime transport and its operations, how the port impacts its surrounding area and how it works to be sustainable and generate its own energy.
Visits for the general public take place on weekends from 10.30. Click here for further information.
The Port of Bilbao and the Bilbao Port and River Foundation
The port of Bilbao is a commercial, logistic and industrial reference in the Atlantic axis, with a significant role in improving the competitiveness of our economy in international trade. Port activity accounts for 1.29% of the GDP of the Basque Country and 2.55% of that of Bizkaia, and helps to maintain around 11,500 jobs.
The Bilbao Port and River Foundation comprises the nine riverside towns of Barakaldo, Bilbao, Erandio, Getxo, Leioa, Portugalete, Santurtzi, Sestao and Zierbena, as well as the Port Authority of Bilbao. It is also supported by a further twenty or so companies and organisations involved in port activity.
The main objective of the Foundation is to promote and develop plans of general interest, within a wide socio-cultural and recreational context, to enable a better understanding and knowledge of the historic and present-day importance of the port of Bilbao, and of the Bilbao river, in the economic and social development and integration of the riverside towns, as well as innovation-linked projects and initiatives in the port sector.
