Canary Islands Day in 2024

When is Canary Islands Day?

Canary Islands Day is a Spanish regional public holiday in the Canary Islands Autonomous Community, observed on May 30th.

This day commemorates the first session of the autonomous Canary Islands Parliament that took place on May 30th 1983.

History of Canary Islands Day

The Canary Islands consist of seven main islands in the Atlantic Ocean, off the coast of Africa.  The community has two capitals: Santa Cruz de Tenerife and Las Palmas de Gran Canaria.

The original inhabitants of the Canaries were the Guanches, a Berber people.  The islands got their name during the time of the Romans.  Pliny the Elder wrote about them, "Canaria, so called from the multitude of dogs [Latin: canes] of great size."

The islands finally came under Spanish sovereignty in the late 15th century, with the Canaries becoming an important stopover point for the Spanish as they made their way to the new world.

Did you know?

Teide peak on Tenerife is the third highest volcano in the world and the highest point on Spanish soil.

After the establishment of a democratic constitutional monarchy in Spain, autonomy was granted to the Canaries by the statute of autonomy of August 10th 1982.  In 1983, the first autonomous elections were held and the first session of the Canary Islands Parliament took place on May 30th 1983.