What's Happening in Medellín, Week of July 27, 2026

Feria de las Flores finally opens, Medellín and Rionegro's city councils sit down over the airport and a second tunnel, a new pico y placa rotation is coming, and Atlético Nacional plays its first league match of the season three weeks late. Here is what mattered the week of July 27, 2026 in Medellín.

Feria de las Flores 2026 opens today, July 31, and runs through Sunday, August 9. Ten days, more than 120 free activities, and the full program the city released this week confirms the shape of it: the Desfile de Chivas y Flores and a cycling-themed feria day open the run, the Tapete de Flores at Santafé mall returns with more than 220,000 plants, and the Feria Equina brings the 67th ExpoInternacional Equina to Rionegro. It closes with the Super Concert on Friday, August 8 at the Atanasio Girardot stadium, then the Desfile de Silleteros on Sunday the 9th, the 69th edition, more than 530 silleteros from Santa Elena carrying silletas down a 2.5-kilometer route on Avenida El Poblado, judged across five categories: traditional, monumental, commercial, emblematic, and artistic. If you are anywhere near El Poblado or Laureles this week, plan around the road closures. (El Colombiano)

Medellín and Rionegro's city councils held a joint summit this week to push forward on the airport, a second Túnel de Oriente, and a shared security corridor. Council presidents Alejandro De Bedout (Medellín) and Ramón Humberto Cendoya (Rionegro) met at Hotel Movich Las Lomas on July 28 with Police and military representatives. The headline item: COP 164 billion (about USD 41 million at COP 4,000 = USD 1) in airport investment that De Bedout says he spent months pushing to unstick, finally released in May when the ANI signed the amendment covering 26 priority works at José María Córdova. Also on the table: building a second tube for the Túnel de Oriente to cut travel times between the Aburrá and San Nicolás valleys, a possible mass transit line connecting the two, a coordinated security corridor between the valleys, and updates to both municipalities' land-use plans. Nothing here changes anything for you this week, but if you fly through Rionegro or drive Las Palmas regularly, this is the process that eventually will. (ABC Economía)

A new pico y placa rotation takes effect Monday, August 3, for Medellín and the rest of the Valle de Aburrá. The current scheme runs through July 31, then a four-day pedagogical phase (no tickets, just warnings) covers August 3 to 6, and real fines start Monday, August 10. The new digit rotation: Monday 5 and 8, Tuesday 1 and 4, Wednesday 0 and 2, Thursday 3 and 6, Friday 7 and 9, still 5 a.m. to 8 p.m. on weekdays, still exempt on the Sistema Vial del Río, Las Palmas, and the La Iguaná corridor. A fine for breaking it once enforcement starts: COP 633,111 (about USD 158). Electric, hybrid, and registered natural-gas vehicles stay exempt. Worth updating your plate reminder now instead of finding out the hard way on the 10th. (El Colombiano)

Atlético Nacional finally plays its first Liga BetPlay match of the season this weekend, three weeks after everyone else. Nacional's fecha 1 match against Boyacá Chicó was postponed when the Vuelta Ciclística de la Juventud rolled through Tunja, so the club sits at zero points and zero games played heading into fecha 2, away to Jaguares de Córdoba on Sunday, August 2 at 3:45 p.m. in Montería. Independiente Medellín, who opened with a win, hosts Deportivo Cali on Saturday, August 1 at 6:10 p.m. at the Atanasio Girardot, still playing behind closed doors under the Dimayor sanction from last season's Copa BetPlay final. Once Caldas leads the early table after a 5-1 opening win over Cúcuta. (Infobae)

Mercado Libre turned on same-day delivery across Antioquia this week to catch the Feria de las Flores shopping rush. The platform's "order today, get it today" push covers thousands of products and leans on a logistics network that delivered 3.6 million packages in the department over the past year, backed by 14,000 active Antioquia sellers and more than 1.2 million buyers in the last 12 months. The company logged over 40,800 searches for feria-related products in the weeks leading up to this weekend: the sombrero tradicional led with 3,721 searches, artificial flowers and orchids drew 2,953, and the carriel jericoano pulled 2,168, with Medellín showing the sharpest spike in interest. A small but real sign of how much small-business activity rides on this one festival. (ABC Economía)

That was the week. Ten days of Feria de las Flores ahead, a new pico y placa rotation to write down, and Nacional finally back on the pitch.

Medellín. Understood.

Previously: What's happening in Medellín, Week of July 20, 2026.