The Correllengua festival is underway in Palma, the celebration of the Catalan language will run until Sunday and the symbolic ‘flame of language’ will sweep across Mallorca for the first time in 9 years.
It’s organised by Joves de Mallorca per la Llengua with the help of 300 volunteers and at least 5,000 people are expected to take part.
The route is 198 kilometres long and winds through 25 municipalities of the island.
The race begins with an inaugural ceremony in Plaza de Cort and from there the volunteers will carry the torch through Plaça Major, Plaza d’Espanya and Calle Aragón.
They’ll be escorted by several cars, both in front and behind, to avoid cutting off traffic and will pass through Marratxí, Santa Maria, Consell, Alaró, Binissalem, Lloseta, Inca, Campanet before arriving in Sa Pobla at around 1830, where there will be a concert and a correfoc.
On Saturday, the route will start in Pollensa then on through Alcúdia, Muro, Llubí, Maria de la Salut, Petra, Sant Joan, Montuïri and finish in Algaida, where a huge fiesta is planned.
On Sunday, the volunteers will carry the ‘flame of language' through Llucmajor, Campos, Felanitx, Porreres and Vilafranca to Manacor and there will be a free Treu la Llengua style concert, in the Municipal Park, but if you want to go you'll have to reserve a place via the Joves de Mallorca per la Llengua website.
Arrival Times
On Friday, the torch will arrive in Santa Maria at 1230, Consell at 1300, Alaró at 1400, Binissalem at 1500, Lloseta at 1600, Inca at 1700, Campanet at 1730, Búger/Ullaró at 1800 and finish in sa Pobla at 1830.
On Saturday, it will kick off from Pollensa at 0930 and arrive in Alcudia at 1015, Muro at 1145, Llubí at 1425, Maria de la Salut at 1500, Petra at 1620, Sant Joan at 1745, Montuïri at 1830 and finish in Algaida at 1930.
On Sunday, it will leave Llucmajor at 0930 and arrive in Campos at 1130, Felanitx at 1230, Porreres at 1430, Vilafranca at 1645 and finish in Manacor at 1800.
The Correllengua festival began in 1993 and was inspired by the Korrika in the Basque Country to demonstrate the vitality of the Catalan language and encourage people to use it.
The last time the Correllengua was held in Mallorca was in 2013 and back then more than 10,000 people took part.