When is Bolívar’s Birthday?
In 2026, Bolívar’s Birthday falls on Friday, July 24, 2026. It is classified here as a paid public holiday.
History of Bolívar’s Birthday
Simón Bolívar’s Birthday commemorates Simón José Antonio de la Santísima Trinidad Bolívar y Palacios, who was born in Caracas on July 24, 1783. Known as the Libertador, he became the most prominent political and military leader in the independence campaigns that transformed Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia. His career included exile, defeat and renewed campaigns, as well as the creation and leadership of the Republic of Colombia now commonly called Gran Colombia.
Venezuelan commemoration presents Bolívar as Father of the Nation, but serious historical study also examines the complexity of his constitutional ideas, wartime decisions and unsuccessful effort to preserve Gran Colombia. That wider context matters because a birthday tribute should not reduce a continental political figure to an uncomplicated symbol. His writings and campaigns remain subjects of debate across Latin America.
July 24 is named as a Fiesta Nacional in Venezuela’s National Holidays Act. Tributes are often held at the National Pantheon and other civic sites. The date also marks the 1823 Battle of Lake Maracaibo and is associated with the Bolivarian Navy, so ceremonies may combine personal remembrance of Bolívar with naval and independence history. It remains a fixed-date holiday.
How Bolívar’s Birthday is observed
Bolívar’s Birthday is a national statutory holiday marked by Pantheon tributes, civic ceremonies and historical programmes about the Libertador and the independence era.
Traditions of Bolívar’s Birthday
Tributes at the National Pantheon
Officials and civic groups may lay wreaths or hold commemorative acts where Bolívar’s remains are honoured in Caracas.
Reading Bolívar’s legacy
Schools, museums and media revisit the Libertador’s campaigns, political writings and the ambitious but short-lived project of Gran Colombia.
Naval history on July 24
Programmes may also remember the Battle of Lake Maracaibo and the Bolivarian Navy, giving the date more than one historical focus.
Dates and observance rules are checked against the official Venezuela official holiday calendar or legislation. Government, regional, school and employer schedules in Venezuela may differ; check the linked official source and current local notices before making time-sensitive plans.
History sources: Venezuela Organic Labour Law, Article 184 (official gazette text), Venezuela National Holidays Act, Official Gazette No. 29,541, Ministry of Popular Power for Culture, Encyclopaedia Britannica: History of Venezuela, Ministry of Culture: Simón Bolívar’s birth anniversary.
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