The Culture Observatory of Fundación Contemporánea has announced the results of its analysis of Spain’s cultural scene in 2022. San Sebastian Festival ranks as the fourth most important cultural event of 2022.

San Sebastian Festival occupies fourth place in the ranking headed by the Prado Museum, the Reina Sofía National Art Centre Museum and the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum. The Guggenheim Bilbao Museum and The Royal Theatre occupy fifth and sixth place, respectively. Likewise, the San Sebastian Festival has been chosen as the “cultural flagship” of the Basque Country, which recognises “the most outstanding proposal” according to the professionals of this community.

Furthermore, the Basque Country is the third most highly valued region for "the quality and innovation of its cultural offer", behind Madrid and Catalonia. San Sebastian is the seventh most valued city for its cultural quality and innovation, also at the top of the list amongst those with fewer than 300,000 inhabitants.

The Culture Observatory is an instrument devised to take the pulse of the sector, analyse trends, promote debate and identify shortcomings and opportunities. Since 2009, it has held an annual consultation to establish the year’s most outstanding cultural institutions and events. The latest questionnaire had 405 participants, of whom 52.8% work for a public cultural organisation, 30.4% for a private cultural organisation, and 16.8% are independent professionals of the sector.