SOPHIE Festival 2026: the biggest screen in Andalusia

Until a couple of summers ago, Churriana was mostly the neighbourhood you drove through on the way to the airport, all low-rise houses and small-town air inside the city. Then someone built an open-air venue there with room for 6,000 people, two stages, and the biggest screen anywhere in Andalusia, and ever since, every summer, that corner of Málaga thumps with techno until sunrise. It's called Ogus Park, and since 2023 it's been home to SOPHIE Festival — the date that's quietly turned Málaga into a fixed stop on the international electronic circuit.

Ogus Park: the venue that put Málaga on more than the hotel map

Ogus Park isn't a theme park or a standard fairground: it's a multipurpose space built for large events, with a Main Stage and a Garden Stage that let the festival run two different moods on the same night, plus that oversized screen that's already become its trademark. It sits on Calle Ronda 16, in Churriana, under fifteen minutes from the old town and practically next door to Málaga-Costa del Sol Airport — making it one of the most accessible festival venues anywhere on the Costa del Sol for anyone flying in.

The 2026 dates: one August night, two in September

SOPHIE runs its season from June to September, but for the rest of this summer there are three big dates left: 15 August, whose full line-up was still not entirely locked down on the official site at the time of writing, and 5 and 19 September, already deep into the season's closing stretch. Check sophie.es before buying tickets, since some dates still list "secret guests" yet to be confirmed.

The line-up: techno and house with an international accent

The 2026 edition has been adding names from the more serious end of the international techno and house circuit: Richie Hawtin, Marco Carola, Jamie Jones, Ricardo Villalobos, Apollonia, John Talabot, Damian Lazarus and Lee Burridge, alongside voices from techno's more contemporary wing like Indira Paganotto, Héctor Oaks and Helena Hauff. It's a line-up built for people who travel specifically to see them, not just sun-and-sand tourists tacking on a night out — and that's exactly the kind of visitor who benefits from choosing where they sleep with some care.

How to get to Ogus Park from central Málaga

From the old town it's around 10 kilometres via the MA-21 and A-7, roughly 15 minutes by car or VTC outside the rush that follows the festival's end, when it's worth building in extra time. Being so close to the airport also makes it a convenient option for anyone flying in that same day: land, drop bags at the apartment, and reach the venue without depending on a long transfer into the mountains, unlike some of the region's other festivals.

Apartment 300 m from the old town

The centre, without the downsides

4.82(95)View apartment

City-centre Oasis, 3 bedrooms & patio

Slowchic design and a patio to switch off

4.80(54)View apartment

Ogus Park still has a short history behind it, but every summer it adds another big name to the bill and another handful of visitors discovering that Málaga isn't only beach and old town. Sleep in the centre, head out to Churriana just for the music, and use the rest of the day for everything else this city already had going for it.

• More summer plans: our guide to what to do in Málaga in August and Starlite Marbella from Málaga.