World's largest snail-eating festival draws record participants in Spain's Lleida

Two hundred thousand people gathered in Spain’s Lleida to eat 14,000 kilograms of snails over a three day festival ending on Sunday (May 24), in a celebration that began decades ago among local families and is now known as the world’s largest snail-eating festival.

Held each year, the festival combines traditional cooking, live music and parades celebrating Catalan culture. Groups called 'colles' prepare snails in a range of recipes, making it both a culinary showcase and a major social gathering.

From informal riverbank meetings to its official launch in the 1980s with 300 attendants, this year’s event has attracted a record 124 colles and 16,850 participants.

For 34-year-old Joan Vicente, snails are home. Vicente has lived in London for the last 11 years but says he comes back to Lleida twice a year, once at Christmas and once in May for the snail festival. He has been attending the event since he was born, following in the footsteps of his father and grandfather.

Wearing his late father’s apron to barbecue the snails, Vicente said the festival goes beyond the joy of eating snails, and extends to the ritual surrounding family and tradition. 

The sentiment is shared by thousands of participants, with families across Lleida and the rest of Spain gathering to celebrate a local tradition that is attracting growing crowds - and an increasing numbers of snails - each year. 

Production: Amy McConaghy, Natasa Bansagi/Reuters