World Paella Day

World Paella Day is every 20 September, and behind it there is no international body but the city of Valencia. Here is who organises it, what it is not (although you often read otherwise) and how to celebrate it as a group, from a kitchen in Aspe whose calling card is its rice dishes.

What World Paella Day is

World Paella Day is an initiative of the city of Valencia. Turespaña’s press release of August 2018 describes it as an initiative led by Valencia City Council, with the Fundación Visit València, the Federación Empresarial de Hostelería de Valencia, Wikipaella, the DO Arroz de València, the Sueca International Paella Contest and the Paella Today organisation. That first edition, in 2018, encouraged cooks around the world to prepare Valencian paella on 20 September, with activities throughout the month. The official website keeps an archive going back to 2018 and in 2026 announced the ninth edition.

What it is not

A couple of misunderstandings are worth clearing up. It is not a UN day: it is called by Valencia City Council, not by an international body. And paella is not UNESCO heritage, however often that is repeated. What it does have is Valencian protection: the resolution of 23 April 2021, published in the BOE (the Official State Gazette), opened the file, and its text mentions the International Paella Day of 20 September as a sign that the dish has become an emblem. That file ended with the Consell’s Decree 176/2021, which declared Valencian paella an Intangible Cultural Asset, or BIC (BOE of 15 March 2022). It is a regional declaration, not a worldwide one.

What a Valencian paella is

We are not going to explain it here, because it has its own home: in the glossary you will find paella valenciana, the paella pan, the socarrat (the crispy layer of rice at the bottom) and bomba rice. Why celebrate paella at all? Read the history of paella, with a timeline. It is better to read it there at your leisure and come back wanting to cook.

How to celebrate it as a group

The date does not move, but the day of the week does: in 2026 it fell on a Sunday and in 2027 it falls on a Monday. Cooking a paella for four is easy; for twenty or for two hundred, not so much. For that, we have two practical guides: how much rice per person in a paella for groups and how to organise a paella for 100 people.

If you would rather have the paella made for you, see our paella and show cooking, where we cook in front of your guests; the giant paella for large groups, or paella delivery. For your date, get a quote. We cook from Aspe, in the catering in Aspe and the Vinalopó area.

More dates in the calendar

If you like dates with rice, the fiesta calendar has more: 9 d’Octubre, Easter Monday and St Vincent Ferrer. And two days that run through the kitchen: the International Day of the Mediterranean Diet on 16 November and World Pulses Day on 10 February.