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Spain has cemented its position as the world leader in Blue Flag beaches with a record-breaking 677 awards for 2026. That’s 35 more than last year and the best result since the programme began back in 1987.

 

To put that in perspective, 15% of all Blue Flag beaches in the entire world are right here in Spain.

The data was published on Tuesday May 5 by the Association for Environmental and Consumer Education (Adeac), which runs the programme in Spain. Of the 713 beaches put forward for consideration this year, 677 came away with the award, a success rate of 95%, which gives you a pretty clear idea of the quality of what's on offer.

 

A further 111 Blue Flags were awarded to marinas, nine more than in 2025, and six went to tourist boats.

 

José Palacios Aguilar, president of Adeac, was understandably pleased with the results.

 

"Spain has never achieved such excellent results in the Blue Flag programme," he said, adding that the success is, as ever, down to collaboration between municipal, regional and state bodies, marinas, companies, universities, foundations, associations and ordinary citizens.

 

"The foundation for achieving a sustainable future is education," he added, stressing that our health and the health of the natural environment around us are directly linked.

 

Once again, the Valencian Community leads the way among Spain's autonomous communities with 151 flags, nine more than last year, across 48 municipalities. Andalucia follows with 143, then Galicia with 118 and Catalonia with 101. The Canary Islands have 52, the Balearic Islands and the Region of Murcia both have 33, Asturias has 16, Cantabria 11 and Extremadura 8.

 

For marina awards, Catalonia leads with 24, followed by Andalucia with 22 and the Valencian Community with 20. The Region of Murcia picked up 8 marina flags, one more than last year.

 

Among individual municipalities, Sanxenxo in Pontevedra stands out with 21 distinctions in total, 18 for beaches and 3 for marinas.

 

There's also a remarkable footnote to this year's results. Only nine beaches and marinas worldwide have held the Blue Flag continuously since 1987 and all nine of them are in Spain.

 

They are El Carregador beach in Alcalá de Xivert, Sant Joan beach in Alicante, La Fossa beach in Calpe, Sant Antoni beach in Cullera, Carrer la Mar beach in El Campello, Nord beach in Gandía, Bastiagueiro beach in Oleiros, Altea Nautical Club and Real Club Náutico Calpe. Quite a record.

 

Image: Adeac