Every May, nearly 700,000 people descend on Leiria for one of Portugal’s most beloved celebrations. Families, friends, music, food, lights and laughter filling the streets for days. Not this year. And the reason why tells you everything about what this city has been through.
What is the Feira de Maio?
The Feira de Maio, officially known as the Feira de Leiria, is one of the biggest traditional fairs in Portugal. Held every year in May, it transforms Leiria into a hub of energy and culture, drawing hundreds of thousands of visitors from across the country.
Think live concerts, traditional gastronomy, artisan markets, carousels, and an atmosphere that is uniquely, unmistakably Leiria. For locals, it’s not just an event, it’s a ritual. A yearly moment when the whole city comes together and celebrates everything that makes this place special.
In 2025 alone, the fair welcomed close to 700,000 visitors. For a city of Leiria’s size, that number says everything.
The Night Kristin Hit Leiria
On the night of January 27th, 2026, Storm Kristin made landfall in Portugal, and it entered the country directly through the Leiria region.
What followed was devastating. Wind gusts approaching 200km/h tore through the district. Trees fell, roofs collapsed, power lines were destroyed. More than 50,000 people were left without electricity. Three people lost their lives in the Leiria district alone. It was one of the most destructive storms to hit central Portugal in recent memory.
For those who lived through it, the sound of that night isn’t something easily forgotten. Leiria woke up on January 28th to a city that looked, and felt, completely different.
Why the Feira de Maio Was Cancelled
On February 4th, 2026, Leiria’s mayor Gonçalo Lopes made the announcement that no one wanted to hear: the 2026 edition of the Feira de Leiria was cancelled.
The reason was simple and honest, every human and financial resource the municipality had was needed for something far more urgent: rebuilding Leiria. Repairing infrastructure, supporting affected families, restoring what the storm had taken. Parish councils across the district followed suit, cancelling their own local events for the same reasons.
Not everyone agreed with the decision. Some local business owners, who depend heavily on the fair for their annual income, expressed deep concern, calling it a devastating blow on top of an already painful year. Their frustration is completely understandable. The fair represents not just culture, but livelihoods.
What This Moment Means for Leiria
There’s something quietly powerful about a city choosing recovery over celebration. It would have been easier, in some ways, to push ahead, to use the fair as a symbol of getting back to normal. But Leiria chose to be honest about where it stands.
That’s not weakness. That’s character.
Locals already know this city has a habit of being overlooked, hence the hashtag that defines the community spirit here: #leirianaoexiste. Leiria doesn’t exist, they joke. But when a storm tries to knock it down, it turns out Leiria exists very much indeed.
When Will the Feira de Maio Return?
The 2026 edition is cancelled, but the Feira de Leiria is not gone. It will return in 2027, and if history is anything to go by, it will come back louder, fuller and more celebrated than ever.
If you’ve never been, mark your calendar for May 2027. And in the meantime, Leiria still has plenty to offer, a medieval castle on a hilltop, a river lined with café terraces, stunning beaches 20 minutes away, and a community that looks after its own.
The fair will return. Leiria always gets back up.
#leirianaoexiste, but its strength? That’s very real.