CalpeNoticias EN

On Monday, Calpe hosted the first ‘Calpe Drumt’ with great success, an innovative musical event that brought the spirit of Belgium's famous ‘Kortrijk Drumt’ to the Costa Blanca. The initiative, which coincided with Belgium Day celebrations, brought together dozens of drummers in a unique show that fused Belgian and Valencian culture.

‘Calpe Drumt’ originated in Kortrijk, Belgium, where drummer Gino Kesteloot has been organising ‘Kortrijk Drumt’ for more than 10 years, a mass gathering of rock drummers who play in unison. This Belgian musical tradition found the perfect stage for its international expansion in Calpe.

The celebration enjoyed the special collaboration of the local Belgian community, the third largest among Calpe's foreign residents, who actively participated in organising the catering. As an ambassador of Valencian culture, a giant paella was served for 400 people, symbolising the gastronomic fusion of both cultures, along with authentic Belgian beer to accompany the day of conviviality prior to the concert.

The event was attended by Trui Steenhoudt, Councillor for Mobility for the city of Kortrijk and a percussion enthusiast, who actively participated in the choral drumming session. The Mayor of Calpe, Ana Sala, performed the ‘honorary kick-off’ of the event, playing the first rhythmic bars on the main drum under the direction of Gino Kesteloot.

One of the big surprises of the night was the participation of renowned drummer Neil Cooper, member of the famous band Therapy, who accompanied the local and international participants on stage. All the participating artists, including Cooper, generously waived their fees to make this charity event possible.

The evening also featured a pro bono collaboration from the resident DJs of Calpe Municipal Radio, who left the studio to entertain guests during the pre-concert gathering and between musical performances with the best rock music of recent decades.

The event began with the reading of a manifesto by representatives of the Belgian community on the occasion of Belgium Day, followed by the performance of the Belgian national anthem.

The concert was structured in two distinct parts. The first included percussion pieces by rock legends such as Bon Jovi, Rammstein and AC/DC, while the second part featured popular Belgian songs, notably ‘Mooi, 't Leven is Mooi’ (‘Life is Beautiful’), which was particularly well received by the Belgian community in attendance.

The event brought together approximately 75 drummers from different countries. Most were from Belgium, but it also featured Brazilian drummers led by Alexei Leão and the participation of 10 local drummers from Marina Alta, demonstrating the international and inclusive nature of the event.

The concert ended at 11 p.m. and the clean-up was completed in record time, respecting the neighbours' rest and demonstrating the organisers' commitment to the environment. Both at the beginning and at the end of the event, it was announced that this will most likely not be the last edition of the event in Calpe. The Town Council is already working on ‘Calpe Drumt II’, recognising that due to the heat and the high season dates, many people were unable to participate for work or weather reasons.

The Councillor for Residents, Marco Bittner, described the event as ‘a moment of encounter between Belgian and Valencian culture, exemplifying the welcoming and tolerant spirit of the people of Calpe’. The initiative brought together foreigners and locals in a concert never seen in the area, consolidating the celebration of Belgium Day in style.
 

Calpe will celebrate a new edition of the Calpe Pop Festival on August 15 and 16, which this time will feature stellar performances by Nacha Pop and El Drogas, who marked an entire era of Spanish pop and rock with their songs, as well as the trendy Catalan duo that has revolutionized urban music, Figa Flawas.

The event, which has been held in Calpe since 2021 coinciding with the Ascension bridge during the peak tourist season, combines performances for an adult audience with others aimed at new generations. Thus, alongside Nacha Pop and El Drogas, the participation of young performers who are making a name for themselves in the music scene is also planned, such as Figa Flawas, Gava i Nico and DJ Capde, in addition to the performance by local DJ Abraham Pla.

The festival will kick off on August 15 with Figa Flawas, Gava i Nico, and DJ Capde. It will continue the next day with Nacha Pop and El Drogas, who was the singer, bassist, and leader of the urban rock band Barricada. The event will close with DJ Abraham Pla. 

The Calpe Pop festival will take place in the Parc de la Creativitat. The entrance is free, and the doors are scheduled to open at 10 PM on August 15 and at 8:30 PM on August 16.

From 2 August, the municipal swimming pool will be temporarily closed to carry out various maintenance and improvement works on the facilities. The swimming pool will reopen on 1 September with classes and free swimming, although on 28 and 29 August the facility will be open exclusively for registration for the new season's courses.

During the month of August, various works are planned for these sports facilities, including repairs to the dehumidifier and four diesel boilers to ensure service in the event of a biomass boiler failure. In addition, electrical panels will be replaced, and distribution pumps will be repaired. The automation of all the machinery using PLC systems is also planned, with an application that will allow the status of the swimming pool to be monitored at all times.

All this work represents an investment of €78,484.77 and was announced in March when the swimming pool was refurbished. The final execution has been delayed until now as it required the closure of the swimming pool and August is the month that least affects normal activity.

In addition, a 57.2 kW photovoltaic system will be installed on the roof, with an inverter that will allow it to be self-sufficient in the event of a power failure. This represents an investment of €22,100 and has been awarded to the company Energías Renovables HG, from Ondara. This month, turnstiles will also be installed for automatic access control, with an investment of €16,100.

Finally, under the maintenance contract signed a couple of months ago, the mouldy roof panels will be replaced and the entire deteriorated agglomerate side strip will be repaired. The entrance floor will also be replaced with epoxy and the iron door to the car park will be replaced. All this will cost €18,500.

In September, once the swimming pool has reopened, the entire exterior façade will be cleaned and the windows washed. All this work will ensure that the swimming pool is completely renovated and ready for its reopening on 1 September.

Calpe will celebrate its patron saint festivities in honour of its patron saint, the Virgen de las Nieves, starting this Thursday, 31 July. One of the most traditional and heartfelt celebrations in the town begins, organised by the 2025 festivities committee and Calpe Town Council.

The day will begin with the Entrada de la Murta, an event that kicks off the festivities and in which the members of the committee parade through the streets of the old town dressed in traditional costumes to the Miguel Roselló square. There, the queens of the festivities will perform the ‘Crida a la festa’ from the balcony of the Town Hall. In the evening, the Plaza Mayor will host a performance by DJ Fely & Macro Discomóvil SOS.

On Friday 1 August, the ‘Día del Fadrí’ will be celebrated, when young revellers will take over the Town Hall and the ‘vara de mando’ (symbol of authority) will be handed over to the 2007 revellers, who will rule the streets of the municipality for a day. At 6pm there will be Aqua-jocs followed by a foam party for the little ones in the Parc de la Creativitat. Welectric, Dj & Orquesta Óxido will perform that night in the Plaza Mayor.

On Saturday 2 August, ‘El Día de las Comisiones’ (Commissions Day) will be celebrated with cucañas, traditional games and a candy parade in the morning in Calle Llibertat. In the afternoon, there will be a children's mini-disco on Calle Cervantes and, from 11.30 pm, ‘DJ Night’ with performances by Sergio Salinas, Sansixto, Brian Cross and Omy Cid in the Plaza Mayor.

On Sunday 3 August, ‘Children's Day’ will be celebrated with various activities for the little ones. There will be a children's wake-up call, water games and a foam party in the Parc de la Creativitat, and in the afternoon, the traditional musicals will be held in the Plaza Mayor, with a children's Disney show featuring Gisela at 7.30 pm and the Hollywood musical at 11 pm in the Plaza Mayor. This will be followed by a huge mobile disco with Marsal Ventura ‘Technoflamenco’ in the Plaza Mayor.

On Monday 4 August, the eve of the main festival, at 8 pm there will be a parade with the queens and members of the 2025 Festival Committee, which will end at the parish church where the Offering of Flowers to the Virgin of the Snows will take place. In the evening, there will be a large night-time mascletá (fireworks display) by Pirotecnia Caballer, followed by a performance by the Orquesta Alaska on Tour in the Plaza Mayor.

On Tuesday 5th, the feast day of the Virgin of the Snows, patron saint of Calpe, the festivities will begin with an aerial bombardment by the Caballer pyrotechnics company. At 11 am, there will be a parade by the Festival Committee and a mass in honour of the Virgen de las Nieves. At 1 pm, there will be a mascletá in the Plaza Mayor. At 7.30 pm there will be another parade prior to the solemn procession in honour of the patron saint of Calpe, which will pass through the streets of the old town and will be followed by the famous Castell a la Mar organised by the Festivities Department, an ‘aero-aquatic’ fireworks display launched from the breakwater at Arenal-Bol beach. At 12:30 a.m., the Plaza Mayor will once again be the meeting point with a performance by the ‘Matrix’ orchestra.

 On Wednesday 6 August, Saint Salvador's Day, the traditional Valencian pilota match will be held in Calle García Ortiz. In the afternoon, the festival-goers and authorities will move to the chapel of San Salvador, where the traditional mass in honour of Saint Salvador will be held. This will be followed by a wine reception in Calle La Ermita.

From 6 to 13 August, the traditional ‘Bous al carrer’ (bulls in the street) will be held in Calle Conde de Altea with afternoon and evening sessions organised by the Associació Festera Bous al Carrer. And on Sunday 10 August, there will be a grand parade with floats from Calle Benissa to Plaza Colón.

The festivities will come to an end with free concerts on 15 and 16 August with the CalpePop Festival. On 15 August with Figa Flawas, Gava i Nico and DJ Capde. And on 16 August with Nacha Pop, El Drogas and DJ Abraham Pla from Calpe. These concerts will be held in the Parc de la Creativitat and are free of charge.

In view of the existence of expenditure that cannot be postponed until the following financial year, for which there is no provision in the current budget and given that sufficient funding is available, a credit modification for extraordinary credit amounting to €1,335,911.03 was brought before the plenary session today and approved with the votes of the government and the abstention of the opposition.

The aim is to cancel certain budget items that are not committed and are not planned to be executed this year in order to meet other expenses that need to be executed this financial year. In addition, €755,684.89 is allocated from the 2024 cash surplus. This will be used to remove items such as sanitation and rainwater infrastructure worth €569,226.14, popular festivals worth €1,000, and building repair and maintenance worth €10,000.

The items to be executed this year relate to the payment of interest on arrears arising from court rulings amounting to €380,674.92 (the company SIREM, formerly COLSUR, sued the City Council at the same time as the City Council sued the company, and the appeal has not yet been resolved).

Other items to be implemented this year include investment in urban land in the Maryvilla area through expropriation at fair market value amounting to €854,423.04, the installation of pipes and pre-installation of the public Wi-Fi network in the old town for €49,813.07, the acquisition of furniture and equipment for the Primary Care Social Centre for €40,000, the Sports and Culture Gala Awards for €10,000 and the Moors and Christians Poster Competition for €1,000.

At this point, the spokesperson for Defendamos Calpe, Paco Quiles, questioned the lack of information, stating that "we need to assess who defended not paying these bills and why. We have to pay almost €400,000 in late payment interest, but why wasn't an attempt made to pay earlier? As for the plot of land, in 1998 it was decided that it would be privately owned and we are going to pay €160 per square metre without having a plan for what is going to be done there. It could have been exchanged for land in the lower part of Maryvilla to create much-needed parking spaces. In the end, it is the citizens who pay the consequences".

The spokesperson for the Popular Party, Miguel Crespo, said that "we are holding a plenary session to pay almost €400,000 in late payment interest and €800,000 for private land, two actions that will not result in improvements for citizens. The late payment interest in the sadly notorious rubbish case could reach €6 million. On the other hand, in the requested expropriation of the plots at the last plenary session, they announced the declassification of the plots in the sectors, and it makes no sense if we compare both operations, what is going to be paid for some plots and what they plan to pay for the others. When we demand legal certainty, we are talking about costs that can be borne by the City Council. Furthermore, a requested expropriation is not the same as a forced expropriation."

For his part, Socialist spokesperson Guillermo Sendra explained that "on the Colsur issue, everyone knows that there is a criminal proceeding that began in 2010. This government team was not in office at that time, and since then there has been a series of lawsuits. The logical thing is to pay what the judges say. There is a lawsuit filed by Colsur against the City Council and by the City Council against Colsur. A judge ruled that criminal preliminary proceedings applied, and now we have to pay while we wait for the City Council's lawsuit against Colsur to be resolved."

The spokesperson for Compromís, Ximo Perles, pointed out that "there is the concept of credit compensation. If 12 million is claimed (which is what the City Council is claiming from Colsur) and the company is asking us for 6 million, we are awaiting the resolution, but for the moment there is a judge who says that we have to pay. From 2011 to 2019, the Popular Party was in government and did not change the policy of not paying. As for the plots, there is a substantial difference between the sectors, in that those in Maryvilla are urban and the others are not‘. Perles also accused the spokesperson for Defendamos Calpee of ’not attending meetings, not knowing anything and then insinuating things that are not true in order to make the government look bad".

The spokesperson for Somos Calpe, Juan Manuel del Pino, concluded by pointing out that "as for the interest on arrears, the ruling comes 15 years after the start of the proceedings and is the result of a court ruling, regardless of our opinion. As for the Maryvilla plots, we are talking about consolidated public land, and in the sectors we are talking about land to be developed, and the prices are obviously different and will be backed by the provincial court; the value of the land is not the same in one place as in another".

To conclude the debate, the mayoress, Ana Sala, stated that ‘justice is slow and this is a ruling that must be complied with. As for the expropriation requested in the 1998 General Urban Development Plan, it outlines things that no longer make sense today. The owner has been waiting 27 years for the City Council to take action to resolve the issue of private land designated for public use and has finally grown tired and requested expropriation’.

In addition, a credit recognition of 4,565.76 euros from last year's budget was approved. The municipal ordinance regulating direct financial aid to individuals or families in situations of social emergency and for the improvement of the autonomy of the elderly was also unanimously approved. The aim is to establish municipal guidelines in line with the criteria of the Valencian Regional Government that will allow for more agile management of emergency social aid.

Starting next academic year, Calpe will offer two courses from the UNED Senior programme for the first time, aimed at people aged 55 and over.

Calpe Town Council and UNED Dénia have agreed to launch this initiative, which aims to offer this group the opportunity to continue learning and enriching their knowledge in different fields.

The mayoress of Calpe, Ana Sala, and the councillor for education, Mariola Mulet, met with the director of the UNED Associated Centre in Dénia, Raquel Martí Signes, and the secretary of this institution, José Monserrat Crespo, to finalise the details of this new educational project.

Two courses will be offered: ‘The artistic vision throughout history’, taught by Susana García Mascator, from October to January, and ‘Neuroscience: how the body shapes your brain’ by Susana Gonzalo Gamo, from February to May. They will be held on Wednesdays from 5.30 pm to 7.30 pm at the Casa Nova.

Although initially aimed at people aged 55 and over, younger people may enrol if places are available. UNED Senior courses are not part of the UNED's official curriculum, so there are no entry requirements or prior studies necessary to participate.

The registration period will be from 1 to 30 September via the website uneddenia.es. The registration fee is 60 € for a single course and 110 € if you register for both.

In this way, Calpe is expanding its educational offering in partnership with UNED Dénia, of which it has been a founding member since the centre was created in the 1980s.
 

The Calpe Town Council has opened the application period for grants and subsidies to promote cultural and/or artistic education. This is the second year that financial incentives have been offered for cultural training, as is already the case for sports training.

The grants are aimed at associations, groups and/or artistic or cultural entities with legal personality and capacity to act that promote and encourage cultural, educational and/or artistic disciplines and carry out their activities in the municipality of Calpe.

The purpose of the grants is to finance the costs of cultural training, on a competitive basis, including both the association's running costs and the costs of specific activities (courses, projects, exhibitions, concerts, debates, etc.), provided that these are aimed at training, creation, promotion and dissemination of culture in all its forms.

The aim of the Culture Department is to promote and support cultural and artistic training and creation aimed at the general public, to contribute to cultural training activities carried out in the municipality by cultural organisations and to facilitate access for families to specific training in cultural activities.

The aim is to subsidise any type of organisation that has taken on cultural training as its own activity. The award criteria will take into account the organisation's experience in training, the number of members, the volume of expenditure and any discounts applied.

Applications may be submitted from today, 31 July, until 22 August. Applications must be submitted electronically via the electronic office. The eligible period will be the academic year between September 2024 and July 2025.
 

Friday, 1:
•    Exhibition ‘Baños de la Reina, la huella romana’ (The Queen's Baths, the Roman footprint). Until 30 December. Museo del Coleccionismo
•    9:00 am - 9:00 pm. Exhibition ‘Llúria, Lords and Ladies of the Land’. Cultural Centre.
•    9:00 am. Despertà (wake-up call) through the streets of the municipality.
•    12:00 noon. Taking of the Town Hall on Fadrí Day and changing of the baton of office. Miguel Roselló Square.
•    Followed by the takeover of the Department of Festivals and the changing of the medal. Plaza Mosquit.
•    6:00 p.m. Aqua-jocs (water games) and foam party. Parc de la Creativitat.
•    6:00 p.m. to 1:00 a.m. Craft markets. Calle Alemania (Arenal-Bol beach) and Plaza Mediterráneo (Fossa beach).
•    11:30 p.m. Welectric, DJ & Orquesta Óxido. Plaza Mayor.

Saturday, 2:

•    Exhibition ‘Baños de la Reina, la huella romana’ (Queen's Baths, the Roman footprint). Until 30 December. Museo del Coleccionismo.
•    9:00 am. Free Zumba class. Plaza Colón (Arenal-Bol beach).
•    11:30 am. ‘El Día de las Comisiones’ with cucañas, traditional games and candy fireworks. Calle de Llibertat.
•    9:00 am - 2:00 pm. Exhibition: ‘Llúria, Lords and Ladies of the Land.’ Casa de Cultura.
•    5:30 p.m. Children's mini disco. Calle Cervantes.
•    6 p.m. to 1 a.m. Craft markets. Calle Alemania (Arenal-Bol beach) and Plaza Mediterráneo (Fossa beach).
•    7pm - 10pm. Exhibition: ‘Paint and you will paint’. Old Town Hall (Calle Francisco Zaragoza, 2)
•    11.30pm ‘DJ Night’ with performances by Sergio Salinas, Sansixto, Brian Cross and Omy Cid. Plaza Mayor.

Sunday, 3rd:
•    10 am. Children's wake-up call, water games and foam party. Parc de la Creativitat.
•    11 am. Water games and foam party. Parc de la Creativitat.
•    6pm to 1am. Craft markets. Calle Alemania (Arenal-Bol beach) and Plaza Mediterráneo (Fossa beach).
•    7.30pm. Children's Disney musical with performances by Gisela. Plaza Mayor.
•    11pm. Hollywood musical. Plaza Mayor
 

Friday, 25:
•    Exhibition "Baños de la Reina, the Roman footprint." Until December 30. Museo del Coleccionismo
•     Exhibition Bitter Almonds by Andrea Chessa until July 30 in the exhibition hall of the Ajuntament Vell. 
•    9:00 AM - 9:00 PM. Exhibition "Llúria, Lords and Ladies of the Earth." Casa de Cultura. 
•    6:00 PM to 1:00 AM. Craft markets. Calle Alemania (Arenal-Bol beach) and Plaza Mediterráneo (Fossa beach).
•    8:00 PM. Concert by the "Coral Ifach & Joves Cantors d'Ifach." Casa de Cultura. 
Saturday, 26: 
•    Exhibition "Baños de la Reina, the Roman footprint." Until December 30. Museo del Coleccionismo 
•    Exhibition Bitter Almonds by Andrea Chessa until July 30 in the exhibition hall of the Ajuntament Vell. 
•    9:00 AM. Free Zumba class. Plaza Colón (Arenal-Bol beach). 
•    9:00 AM - 2:00 PM. Exhibition "Llúria, Lords and Ladies of the Earth." Casa de Cultura. 
•     From 18:00 to 01:00. Craft markets. Calle Alemania (Arenal-Bol beach) and Mediterranean Square (Fossa beach). 
•    20:30. Concert "Connecta Percussió". Casa de la Cultura. 

Sunday, 27: 
•    From 18:00 to 01:00. Craft markets. Calle Alemania  (Arenal-Bol beach) and Plaza del Mediterráneo (Fossa beach).
 

Today, the Governing Board approved a proposal to restrict parking on Gabriel Miró Avenue starting next week in order to improve traffic flow and facilitate access to the town's shopping area.

The parking restriction on Calpe's main shopping street will be in place from Monday to Saturday between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. During this time, vehicles will be allowed to park for a maximum of 45 minutes, which will allow for the rotation of vehicles.

To monitor compliance with the parking time, four local police officers will patrol Gabriel Miró Avenue from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., from Benidorm Street to Isaac Peral Street. Once the 45-minute parking time has elapsed, the officers will notify the tow truck to remove the vehicle.

Signs informing of the new measure are expected to be installed on Monday, after which the parking restrictions will come into force. This initiative, which aims to alleviate parking problems caused by delays in the implementation of the blue zone, is already being implemented in other municipalities in the region.

The Councillor for Traffic and Public Safety, Guillermo Sendra, said that ‘it is a drastic measure but one that benefits everyone, both businesses, because there will be a rotation of vehicles, and residents in these areas, who will be able to park from 2 p.m. onwards’.

Meanwhile, administrative procedures are continuing to enable new park-and-ride facilities. The Council is negotiating agreements to enable private plots to be leased to the Council and converted into park-and-ride facilities in the town centre, close to the shopping area. The initiative already has a budget allocation and it is hoped that the agreements will be finalised in a few weeks.

Calpe Town Council has signed, for the first time, a collaboration agreement with the Institut d'Estudis Comarcals de la Marina Alta (IECMA), a reference entity in the research and dissemination of the cultural, historical and natural heritage of the region.

With this agreement, the municipality of Calpe shows its support for the work that IECMA has been carrying out for decades, and opens a new stage of institutional collaboration that will allow to promote joint projects, promote local history and improve the dissemination of cultural and heritage values of the municipality.

IECMA is a non-profit organisation that works to promote knowledge and highlight the potential of the Marina Alta. Its activities include the publication of books and specialised magazines, the organisation of conferences and congresses, the carrying out of studies and inventories on heritage, as well as the promotion of educational and dissemination projects throughout the region.

The Culture Councillor, Guillermo Sendra has stated that: "this agreement is an opportunity to place Calpe within the cultural and scientific dynamics of the region and we can take advantage of the knowledge and experience of the IECMA for the benefit of our municipality".

For their part, representatives of IECMA have highlighted the importance of this agreement, which consolidates the link between the cultural world of the Marina Alta and the Calpe Town Council, and have valued very positively the willingness of the mayoress, Ana Sala, and the Councillor for Culture, Guillermo Sendra, to get involved in the preservation and promotion of local heritage and its history hand in hand with IECMA.

With this agreement, Calpe reinforces its commitment to the culture of the Marina Alta and opens new ways of collaboration with the IECMA to deepen the knowledge of its past and value its heritage for future generations.

The Calp Town Council, through the Equality Department, has joined the new Co-Responsible Plan, an initiative promoted by the Spanish Ministry of Equality that aims to facilitate the reconciliation of family and working life through educational, recreational and care projects aimed especially at families with children.

The Councillor for Equality of the Calp Town Council, together with the head of the Department of Social Policy, took part yesterday in an informative meeting organised by the Regional Ministry of Social Services and Equality, at which the main new features of the new call for proposals for the programme, with a total budget of 12,375,235.96 euros, were presented.

Thanks to this initiative, Calp Town Council has received a grant of €58,800, which will enable it to develop specific actions aimed at promoting shared responsibility and real and effective equality between women and men, through services that respond to the work-life balance needs of families in Calp.

The council welcomes this line of aid, which reinforces the municipal commitment to equality policies and supports the development of initiatives that promote a more equitable distribution of time and care tasks, especially in the family sphere.

The Calp Town Council plans to launch a programme of activities in the coming months that will include workshops, educational leisure spaces and childcare services that promote work-life balance, giving priority to families with greater social or economic difficulties.

Yesterday, the Procurement Department made a proposal to award the regulated parking service on public roads to the company Estacionamientos y Servicios SAU, for a bid of €575,000. There is now a 15-day period during which the other two companies that submitted bids can appeal. If they do not do so, the award will be considered final.

The tender process for the concession of regulated parking services in Calpe began last February, following the drafting and approval of the specifications. Interested companies were able to submit their bids until March. However, when the Municipal Procurement Department made its award proposal, one of the companies lodged an appeal, which delayed the administrative procedure and the start of the service.

At the end of June, the Administrative Court of Contract Appeals ruled in favour of the company that appealed the award and ordered the procedure to be reversed so that the contracting committee could request the bidder to justify the abnormality of its bid and the viability of its proposal. Once this procedure has been completed, the award proposal has been reformulated and, if no appeals are lodged within 15 days, the service will be considered definitively awarded.

One of the most notable aspects of the new contract is the reduction in the blue zone tariff for residents and traders, which is being cut by almost 50%. In the orange zone (beach area), the reduction for these groups is 22%. Thus, if until now the hourly rate in the blue zone for residents was €0.40, it will now cost €0.25, while in the orange zone it will drop from €0.45 to €0.35 per hour. On the other hand, the general rate will increase: in the blue zone it will go from £0.85 to £1.10 per hour, and in the orange zone from £0.95 to £1.45 per hour.

This change in rates is intended to benefit residents of the municipality by reducing the cost of parking in regulated parking areas.

The timetables are also being modified: until now, the maximum time allowed was two hours in the blue zone and three hours in the orange zone. With the new regulations, these limits are being extended to three and six hours, respectively.
Other changes include the integration of the green zone into the blue zone, thus eliminating the green zone, which only operated in the morning, and the elimination of the mixed orange zone. The blue zone will now have 920 spaces and the orange zone 1,135.

In addition, the specifications establish as a mandatory investment the replacement of parking meters that do not allow payment by credit card. The concessionaire must also provide the service with two tow trucks. The annual fee proposed in the specifications is €350,000 plus VAT, and the company proposed for the contract has offered a fee of €575,000.

Friday, 18:
•    9 am – 9 pm. Exhibition ‘Llúria, Lords and Ladies of the Land’. Exhibition Hall of the Casa de Cultura. Until 31 August.
•    6 pm to 1am. Craft markets. Calle Alemania (Arenal-Bol beach) and Plaza Mediterráneo (La Fossa beach).
•    10 pm - Virgen del Carmen festivities: ‘Nit de Música’ Cream Pop with performances by Venturi, Alison Darwin and L'Home Brut. Free admission. Marquee located in the fishing port next to the fish market.
•    Exhibition Almendras Amargas (Bitter Almonds) by Andrea Chessa until 30 July in the exhibition hall of the Ajuntament Vell.
•    Exhibition ‘Baños de la Reina, la huella romana’ (The Queen's Baths, the Roman footprint). Until 30 December. Museo del Cileccionismo
Saturday, 19th:
•    9 a.m. – Free Zumba class. Plaza Colón (Arenal-Bol beach).
•    9 a.m. – 2 p.m. – Exhibition ‘Llúria, Lords and Ladies of the Land’. Exhibition Hall of the Casa de Cultura. Until 31st August.
•    Virgen del Carmen festivities. Marquee located in the fishing port next to the fish market (bar run by the 2026 prefesters. Sandwiches and drinks will be available at reasonable prices):
•    6pm – Musical performance with DJs.
•    10pm – Performance by our local singer JC15.
•    11.30 pm – Performance by the La Swag orchestra.
•    6 pm to 1 am – Craft markets. Calle Alemania (Arenal-Bol beach) and Plaza Mediterráneo (Fossa beach).
•    8 pm – Concert by the Colla Xirimiters del Carellot. Free admission. Odeón Theatre.
•    Exhibition Almendras Amargas by Andrea Chessa until 30 July in the exhibition hall of the Ajuntament Vell.
•    Exhibition ‘Baños de la Reina, la huella romana’ (The Queen's Baths, the Roman footprint). Until 30 December. Museo del Coleccionismo
Sunday, 20th:
•    Virgen del Carmen festivities. Calpe fishing port (bar run by the 2026 prefesters. Sandwiches and drinks will be available at affordable prices):
•    11.30 am – Water cacolestles, traditional cucañas (pole climbing), accompanied by background music and the Colla Xirimiters del Carellot.
•    12 noon – Caldero competition. Entertained by the Colla Xirimiters del Carellot, with recognition for the three best rice dishes.
•    12.30pm – La Muixeranga de la Marina Alta will present the IFAC figure dedicated to the seafaring family.
•    10.30 pm – Performance by the La Trampa orchestra in the marquee located in the fishing port next to the fish market.
•    6 pm to 1 am – Craft markets. Calle Alemania (Arenal-Bol beach) and Plaza Mediterráneo (Fossa beach).

The Social Welfare Department of Calpe Town Council, on the initiative of the Family Prevention and Intervention Service, has launched a series of group activities aimed at children and teenagers aged between 7 and 16 who are receiving support from the Social Welfare Department. These activities will take place during July and August.

This preventive and socio-educational initiative aims to provide a safe space for the acquisition of personal and social skills, emotional management, group work, conflict resolution and improved coexistence. In addition, it promotes the active and inclusive participation of children and teenagers through recreational activities, creative workshops and group dynamics adapted to different ages.

With this measure, the Town Council is reinforcing its commitment to the protection and well-being of children and teenagers in the municipality of Calpe, especially during school holidays, when risk factors can increase due to the lack of routines and structured support, thus preventing passive leisure activities.

Group intervention also makes it possible to optimise the resources available in our municipality by carrying out different activities in collaboration with the Casa de Cultura, the Punt Jove and the Department of Tourism.

The Family Prevention and Intervention Service develops prevention and social intervention programmes aimed at individuals, families or groups with personal or social development difficulties or who are at risk or vulnerable. The aim of this intervention is to promote and develop changes that increase their conflict resolution skills, as well as to detect and prevent the causes of their difficulties, particularly those related to family, education and social and labour integration.

From tomorrow, Wednesday 16 July, coinciding with the feast day of the Virgin of Carmen, patron saint of sailors, the Calpe Police Force will have a new 6-metre semi-rigid boat that will enable it to expand and reinforce its surveillance and security operations along the municipality's coastline.

This acquisition, valued at 40,000 euros, will create the Coastal Surveillance Unit, made up of four police officers who have received specific training to operate this boat and carry out control and assistance tasks at sea.

The new vessel will enable the police to carry out surveillance tasks on beaches, search for illegal vessels, control sea fishing along the coast, supervise the use of jet skis, and provide assistance to boats and swimmers in distress, rescues and other emergency interventions. During the summer season, the unit will be on duty every day from 10:45 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.

Until now, the Calpe Police did not have its own maritime resources, so this addition is a step forward in strengthening the safety of residents and visitors, especially in the summer months, when activity on the coast increases significantly.

The Mayoress of Calpe, Ana Sala, stressed that ‘this investment responds to the municipal commitment to provide the police force with the necessary resources to guarantee an effective response to any situation and improve coordination with other security and emergency services’.

For his part, the Councillor for Culture and Security, Guillermo Sendra, pointed out that ‘this boat, together with the four officers, make up the new Coastal Surveillance Unit, which will enable comprehensive surveillance and control of the entire municipality of Calpe’.

The model presented by sculptor Luciano González Díaz has been selected as the best work in the 2nd Villa de Calpe Sculpture Contest 2025. This was decided a few days ago by the jury appointed to evaluate the participating works.

A total of 14 artists participated in the Contest with 25 works submitted, from which, as indicated in the rules, a shortlist was made, and the winner was finally chosen as ‘Los sueños rotos’ by Luciano González Díaz.

The prize is worth €7,000. The winner now has three months to create the model presented in accordance with the measurements established in the Contest rules. Furthermore, as the sculpture will be located outdoors, materials that will not deteriorate over time and can withstand exposure to the elements must be used.

With this Contest, the Culture Council aims to encourage and promote the work of sculptors and, at the same time, given that the winning sculpture will be placed in the historic centre, to enhance the beauty of the old town. The winning work will become the property of Calpe Town Council, forming part of its heritage, and the Culture Council will decide on its final location.

The Department of Culture held the first ‘Villa de Calpe’ National Sculpture Contest last year with the aim of revitalising the old town and the municipal cultural heritage.
 

The Soudal Quick-Step cycling team will return to Calpe this winter to prepare for the 2026 season as part of its sponsorship agreement with Calpe Town Council. This collaboration reinforces Calpe's international profile as a top cycling destination and helps to promote sports tourism throughout the year in the town.

For the Soudal Quick-Step team, Calpe has become a key location for its first training blocks of the season, as well as hosting the official presentation and media events. Team coach Koen Pelgrim said, ‘We have always felt at home in Calpe. The terrain, the climate, the hospitality... it's the ideal environment to prepare for the season.’

Sponsoring this cycling team means that Calpe's logo will appear on the team's vehicles, official equipment and digital platforms; promotional content such as reports, publications and videos will be generated; and activities and events related to cycling will be organised, taking advantage of the cyclists' stay in the town.

This collaboration will not only have a promotional and media impact through the team's coverage in European media, but will also help to consolidate cycle tourism as a strategic product within the 2020-2030 Tourism Plan. In addition, hashtags such as #CalpeCyclingParadise/ #CalpeParaísoCiclista will be promoted, reinforcing Calpe's image as a destination for amateur and professional cyclists.
 

The fifth edition of ‘Recycle to Conserve’ arrived in Calpe today. This is a beachside recycling awareness campaign run by Ecoembes, an organisation that has been caring for the environment and promoting packaging recycling in Spain for over 25 years, in collaboration with the Regional Ministry of the Environment, Water, Infrastructure and Territory.

`Recycling to Conserve´  aims to encourage citizens to deposit plastic, metal and cartons in the yellow container and paper and cardboard in the blue container, to enable recycling and draw attention to the problem of littering, i.e. the abandonment of waste on the coast.

The initiative seeks face-to-face interaction with beach users, informing them of the benefits of recycling for the environment. In addition, they are helped to improve the correct separation of waste and any doubts about where and how to dispose of a particular type of waste are resolved, making it possible for it to be recycled in the appropriate container in any situation and location.

The Councillor for the Environment and Beaches, Pere Moll, and the Councillor for Tourism Planning, Mireia Ripoll, visited the Ecoembes stand located on Arenal-Bol Beach this morning. One of the new features of this edition is the focus on children, who are enjoying their summer holidays on the beaches of the Valencian Community, as well as summer school students.

The environmental educators from the Ecoembes team are putting on children's theatre performances and mini workshops tailored to their ages and abilities. These fun and educational activities are designed to raise awareness about recycling from an early age and encourage responsible habits, helping to make the younger generation aware of the importance of protecting the environment.

The campaign will run until 25 July in a total of 21 coastal municipalities in the provinces of Valencia, Alicante and Castellón. Specifically, the Ecoembes team will tour the coast of the Valencian Community, visiting: Alboraya, Pinedo, El Puig, Las Arenas, Sagunto, Cullera, Gandía, Benidorm, Torrevieja, Santa Pola, Calpe, Finestrat, L'Alfàs del Pi, Dénia, Alcalà de Xivert-Alcossebre, Oropesa del Mar, Benicarló, Peñíscola, Vinaròs, Xilxes and Benicàssim.
 

One of the items on this week's plenary agenda was the amendment of the ordinance regulating non-sedentary sales to introduce a series of innovations.

The main change is the creation of a new Sunday market in the Calalga area, in the car park next to Rosa de los Vientos Avenue and next to the Fossa promenade. This market will be held every Sunday from November to June.

This market will offer textiles, footwear, handicrafts, etc., as well as fruit and vegetables, cold meats, preserves, etc. Up to 16 stalls will be authorised, distributed among 6 stalls reserved for food products and 10 stalls reserved for other products.

The creation of this market responds to the need to revitalise this area during the winter months and to requests from traders and residents of Calalga.

The amendment to the by-law will also allow the relocation of the textile market on Avenida Rumanía on Saturdays. With the opening of Vial J and its link to Avenida Rumanía, it is considered advisable to change the location of the Saturday market so as not to hinder traffic between the access to the municipality and the beaches. The market on Avenida Rumanía is expected to be moved to the school zone between the Gabriel Miró and Azorín schools. The possibility of adding a truck-bar stall is also being considered, given the absence of such facilities at its current location.

The ordinance also states that the initial temporary nature of the food market in the Petit car park has become permanent, but it contemplates the possibility that in the future the food and textile markets may be reunited in the same place, when appropriate, and if so determined by the competent body, in the vicinity of the school zone.

Other aspects of the amendment to this ordinance refer to administrative simplification, with the aim of regulating a more efficient process for the annual accreditation of compliance with obligations; separating the planning and taxation aspects of the regulation, bringing it into line with the current situation of the non-permanent markets in Calpe and taking the opportunity to simplify the forms associated with the Ordinance.

There are currently 200 stalls in Calpe between the weekly markets on Avenida Rumanía and Calle Petit. In addition, on Wednesdays there is a weekly flea market on Avenida País Valencià and in summer two craft markets are authorised in Plaza Mediterráneo and Calle Alemania, next to the seafront promenades.