The festival was set to run from August 10 to 14 in Alcalá de Gurrea, with organizers expecting up to 19,000 attendees. It is organized by the same team behind Own Spirit Festival, an established psytrance event held annually in Baldellou, also in Huesca province. The site, however, is a protected Special Protection Area for Birds (ZEPA) within the EU’s Natura 2000 network, requiring prior INAGA authorization for any large public event.
INAGA first rejected the promoters’ initial application in April as “not appropriate,” demanding a formal environmental study. A revised, simplified assessment then drew a wave of formal objections from environmental groups, political parties and the Alcalá de Gurrea town council before the consultation period closed in early July. Rather than clear that simplified process, INAGA has now escalated the project to an “ordinary” evaluation, reserved for higher-impact projects, citing high noise levels, light pollution, heavy water use and waste generation. That procedure alone requires a 30-day public exhibition period, making it impossible to finish before August. Regional lawmakers Verónica Villagrasa (CHA) and Marta Abengochea (Izquierda Unida) say the ruling leaves organizers with no legal path to hold the festival as planned.
The dates also collide with a solar eclipse crossing Spain on August 12: a January instruction from Aragón’s Interior and Emergencies department bars events inside or near protected natural spaces during that period, citing wildfire risk. Environmental groups argue Sizigia directly breaches that rule.
The festival has drawn further controversy over accusations, from pro-Palestinian and left-wing groups, that it aims to attract Israeli attendees and artists as a form of cultural image-laundering for Israel, prompting a protest march to the site. Despite lacking a permit, organizers continued selling tickets and reportedly began construction work, drawing formal objection from local authorities. The regional government has so far deferred entirely to INAGA’s technical ruling, which effectively rules out the festival proceeding as scheduled.