From July 31 to August 9, 2026, El Médano once again became the centre of the international windsurfing scene with the Wind & Waves Festival Tenerife 2026.
For ten days, Playa El Cabezo brought together some of the best windsurfers in the world, young talents, passionate fans and an international community that came to Tenerife to share the same love for wind, waves and the ocean.
It was an edition we will remember above all for the exceptional wind and wave conditions, which gave the riders the perfect stage to showcase wave windsurfing at its very highest level.
But for us, this year’s festival meant even more.
Playa Surf CBbC Hotel was the main sponsor of the Wind & Waves Festival 2026, while Wind Center Playa Surf became one of the meeting points for riders, friends and windsurfing enthusiasts throughout the event.
Between competition, sessions on the water, sunset drinks, dinners, events with the athletes and evenings spent together, these ten days reminded us of something very simple:
Windsurfing is not only about what happens on the water. It is also about everything we share around it.
El Cabezo Delivers Dream Conditions for the World Wave Tour
Anyone who knows El Médano knows just how special El Cabezo can become when the wind and waves come together.
During the Wind & Waves Festival 2026, we saw the spot at its very best.
The action reached another level during the final stages of the World Windsurf Tour, when strong winds and powerful waves transformed the quarter-finals, semi-finals and finals into an incredible show.
Heat after heat, the level kept rising.
Huge jumps, highly technical wave riding and some of the most difficult manoeuvres in modern windsurfing made every heat unpredictable.
In conditions like these, even the best windsurfers in the world had to push their limits.
Marc Paré Does It Again, Sarah-Quita on Top and an Incredible Run from Josep Pons
The final stages of the competition delivered some of the most exciting windsurfing of the entire festival, with huge jumps, technical wave riding and extremely difficult manoeuvres throughout the quarter-finals, semi-finals and finals. In the men’s fleet, Marc Paré claimed an incredible third consecutive victory in Tenerife, once again proving his connection with El Cabezo and delivering an outstanding performance in the demanding conditions. In the women’s fleet, Sarah-Quita Offringa took the win once again, confirming her place at the top after another impressive performance.
One of the standout stories of the event was also Josep Pons, who started all the way from the qualifiers and fought his way through to the semi-finals. His result was even more special after the serious injury he suffered in Pozo Izquierdo last year and the surgery that followed. Along the way, Josep produced one of the biggest upsets of the competition by eliminating Marcilio Browne, five-time World Champion, making his comeback and performance in Tenerife one of the most memorable stories of this year’s event.
More Than the World Tour: The Spanish Windsurfing Championship
The action did not end with the World Tour finals.
The Spanish Windsurfing Championship was also part of this year’s Wind & Waves Festival, extending the action at El Cabezo and bringing many of the riders back onto the water.
And this time, we also got to see something a little different.
Among the competitors in the wave discipline were Matteo Iachino and Nico Prien, two riders much better known for slalom and racing than for competing in the waves.
For Matteo, the timing made it particularly special. He arrived fresh from Fuerteventura, where he had just secured the 2026 Slalom X World Championship title.
Seeing Matteo and Nico swap the racecourse for the waves of El Cabezo perfectly captured the spirit of these days: competing, of course, but also challenging yourself, having fun and sharing a passion for windsurfing in all its different forms.
When the Competition Ends, Another Part of the Festival Begins
And this is where the part of the Wind & Waves Festival that we experienced most closely really begins.
Because over these ten days, we didn’t only share heats, results and hours watching the action from the beach.
We shared moments.
At Wind Center Playa Surf and Playa Surf CBbC Hotel, we had the pleasure of welcoming many of the riders competing throughout the festival and spending time together away from the pressure of competition.
Matteo Iachino, Nico Prien, Víctor Fernández, Marc Paré, Björn Dunkerbeck and many other riders, friends and familiar faces from the windsurfing community came to see us and joined our events.
We sailed together.
We celebrated together.
We shared drinks and dinners, told stories, talked for hours about windsurfing and plenty of other things, laughed and simply enjoyed being together.
Celebrating Marc Paré’s Fresh Victory Together
Among all these moments, one was particularly special.
Just after claiming his third consecutive victory in Tenerife, we had the chance to celebrate together with Marc Paré.
Only a few hours earlier, we had watched him tackle some of the most demanding conditions of the event, produce an incredible final and stand once again on the top step of the podium.
Then the competition ended and everything became much simpler: riders, friends and windsurfing enthusiasts together, celebrating an incredible achievement.
It is difficult to think of a better example of what these days meant to us.
Matteo, Nico, Víctor, Björn and a Community That Goes Beyond Competition
The same atmosphere continued throughout the other events organised between Wind Center Playa Surf and Playa Surf CBbC Hotel.
Having riders such as Matteo Iachino and Nico Prien with us, sharing moments with a champion like Víctor Fernández, or spending time with an absolute windsurfing legend like Björn Dunkerbeck, made this edition even more memorable.
But what made it truly special wasn’t only the big names.
It was the people.
Over just a few days, we saw World Champions, professional riders, friends, guests, windsurfing enthusiasts and people who simply love being on the water all come together in the same place.
Suddenly, the distance that normally separates the people watching a competition from those competing in it almost disappears.
You talk.
You laugh.
You exchange stories.
You sail together.
And that is exactly what we want Wind Center Playa Surf and Playa Surf CBbC Hotel to represent <3
So Many Moments, So Many Memories
At the end of these ten days, we were left with so many moments, so many memories and, above all, so many amazing people to share them with.
Over the past few days, we’ve sailed, celebrated, laughed, shared stories, talked for hours and simply enjoyed being together — on the water and off it.
And perhaps that is the best way to describe what the Wind & Waves Festival Tenerife 2026 has meant to us.
The competition was incredible. The conditions were exceptional. We watched some of the best windsurfers on the planet push themselves to the limit right in front of us.
But when the rankings are archived and the competition flags come down, what remains are the people and the moments we experienced together.
Seeing so many athletes, friends and familiar faces come together at Wind Center Playa Surf and Playa Surf CBbC Hotel made these days truly special.
We are incredibly happy and grateful for every moment we shared.
A huge thank you to all the athletes who came to see us, joined our events and chose to spend some of their time with us.
It means a lot.
El Médano: Much More Than a Windsurfing Destination
Events like the Wind & Waves Festival remind us why El Médano is one of the leading windsurfing destinations in Tenerife and the Canary Islands.
We have the wind, the waves and internationally renowned spots such as El Cabezo.
But above all, we have a community.
And that combination is what makes a windsurfing holiday in El Médano so special.
Here, you can sail at the same spot as some of the best riders in the world and, a few hours later, find yourself sharing a drink, a dinner or simply a story about the day’s session with them.
For ten days, we were lucky enough to experience all of that even more intensely.
The Wind & Waves Festival Tenerife 2026 may be over.
The memories remain.
And here in El Médano, of course, we’re already looking at the wind and the waves, waiting for the next session.
