On the eve of the fallas’ Cremà, falleros and falleras of Valencia pay a colourful tribute to the city’s patron saint with an Ofrenda de Flores (Ofrena de Flors in Valencian, Flower Offering in English). For two days, the committee members parade all over the city’s streets in their traditional dresses, each of them carrying flowers intended for the Virgin.

Their final destination is Plaza de la Virgen, also known as Plaça de la Mare de Déu. Here, they leave their flower offerings - hence the name of the event - to a massive wooden reproduction of the Virgin. Volunteers then climb on the structure to arrange the flowers into a design –kept secret every year– on the Lady’s mantle.

This feat, which takes 17 tonnes of flowers and two days to finish (the 17th and 18th of March), is dismantled three or four days after the end of the Fallas festival. In the meantime, locals can go and enjoy this grand and striking sight.

This event is one of the most emotional in the festival. In fact, it is not uncommon to see the various falleras and falleros moved to tears as they approach the square to pay their homage. On these two days, all the Fallas committees come together and participate in this pilgrimage of sorts, which anticipates the Cremà of the fallas, and therefore the end of another cycle.

For visitors, the event also becomes a chance to see all the amazing traditional fallera and fallero costumes, enjoy the music played by the marching bands, and try to guess what the design on the Virgin’s gown will be.