CalpeNoticias EN

Calpe celebrated LGTBIQ+ Pride Day today with the 2025 edition of Calperide, under the slogan ‘La mar de lliure’ (“Very free”). The day of protest began with an emotional and powerful speech by the Town Council Secretary, Jordi Alfred Francés Conejero, from the balcony of the Town Hall.

In his speech, Francés called for mutual respect as the basis for a diverse and free society and reminded everyone that the fight for the rights of the LGTBIQ+ community is still necessary. ‘Being diverse means being equal,’ he said, stressing that there is no freedom without equality, nor equality without respect. He also warned about the hate speech that is taking hold among young people and defended diversity as a source of social, cultural and human wealth.

The speaker ended his speech with an invitation to enjoy diversity in several languages and a message of unity and hope: "Let's shout to the world: freedom, and more freedom, and diversity, and respect, and colours, and rights... and more freedom to be and to exist. La mar de lliures!" (Let's shout to the world: freedom, and more freedom, and diversity, and respect, and colours, and rights... and more freedom to be and to exist. Very free!).

After the opening speech, the traditional protest march took place from Miguel Roselló Square to Colón Square, where the Calperide entertainment events were held, with a performance by the artist Alexia The Night and the L'Askampà Live Show mobile disco.

New this year were the rainbow points, visible spaces providing information and raising awareness about the rights of the LGTBIQ+ community, resources for diversity and messages of support.

With this event, Calpe Town Council reiterates its commitment to equality, diversity and respect for the rights of all people, and joins in the Pride celebrations with a clear message: Calpe is, more than ever, ‘la mar de lliure’ (very free!).
 

The 2025 Festivities Committee will hold the election and proclamation of the Queen of the Calp Festivities and the Children's Queen tomorrow, Saturday 28 June, in the Plaza Mayor.

 This event, which will begin at 9:30 p.m., is one of the most important events organised by the Festival Committee, as it marks the presentation of the entire Committee. Thirty-three young women from Calpe aged 18 will compete for the title of Queen of the Festivities, the highest female representative of the festivities. The same event will also serve to choose the Children's Queen from among 26 eight-year-old girls.

 All the candidates for queen will be accompanied by children and young people from the 2017 and 2007 age groups who are part of the Festival Committee and by the festivalgoers from the 1987 age group who make up the committee chaired by Tania Puigcerver Moreno.

As in previous years, the Queens will be chosen by lottery before a notary at a gala that marks the official presentation of the Festival Committee and also serves to bid farewell to the Queens of the 2024 Festival. As is traditional, the queens from the previous year, María Avargues and Martina Maragón, will be responsible for drawing the names of the new queens, which will be read out once the courts of honour are present on stage. Irune Aguirre and Marcos Maguire will act as presenters.

The event will be held in the Plaza Mayor, where a large catwalk will be set up to lead to the stage and 1,800 chairs will be installed. The 2025 Festival Committee, which is responsible for organising the patron saint festivities to be held in August, has already held other events as part of this year's programme, such as the organisation of the Three Kings Parade and the Holy Week events.
 

The Administrative Court for Contract Appeals has ruled in favour of the company that challenged the contract for regulated parking on public roads and has agreed to refer the case back to the contracting authority so that it may request the tenderer to justify the irregularity of its bid.

The Calpe City Council's contracting committee considered that the appellant company was guilty of presumption of abnormality, as the occupancy rates for the blue zone included in its bid were much higher than the available occupancy data and considered it very difficult to achieve the bidder's forecasts. The company's revenue forecast did not economically justify the bid submitted. The annual tender fee proposed by the City Council was €350,000 and the company's financial bid was €575,000.

When the City Council rejected its bid, the company lodged an appeal with the TARC, which in its ruling considered that when the City Council detected the alleged abnormality, it should have required the company to justify the viability of its proposal within a sufficient period of time for justification.

In other words, the TARC does not analyse the viability of the bid, but considers that the company was not given the opportunity to justify its bid, which is a necessary step when the contracting authority considers that a bid is presumed to be unviable because it is abnormally low or, in this case, abnormally high. The TARC therefore upheld the appeal and obliged the City Council to request the company to justify its bid.

The tendering procedure goes back to square one and compliance with the administrative deadlines will prevent the blue zone from starting this summer. The government team has received the appeal with disappointment and has already urged the contracting committee to continue with the procedures so that the tender can be put out as soon as possible.

Friday, 27:

•    9 am – Free Zumba class. Plaza Mediterrani (Fossa beach)
•    12 noon – Opening of the exhibition ‘Baños de la Reina, la huella romana’ (The Queen's Baths, the Roman footprint). Until 30 December. Museum of Collecting.
•    From 6pm to 1am - Craft markets. Calle Alemania (Arenal-Bol beach) and Plaza Mediterráneo (Fossa beach).
•    8pm - Presentation of the book: ‘Dentro de Ifach’ by Rafa Terol. Saló Blau.
•    8pm - Calperide (celebration of LGTBIQ+ Pride Day):
•    8pm - Speech by Jordi Francés from the balcony of the Town Hall (Miguel Roselló Square).
•    8.30pm - Protest march from Miguel Roselló Square to Colón Square.
•    9.30pm - Performance by Alexia The Night. Colón Square.
•    11 pm – Mobile disco ‘L'askampà Live Show’. Plaza Colón.
•    Painting exhibition ‘A flor de piel’ by Noelia Lillo. Ajuntament Vell. Until 29 June.

Saturday, 28:

•    9 am – Free Zumba class. Plaza Colón (Arenal-Bol beach).
•    From 6pm to 1am – Craft markets. Calle Alemania (Arenal-Bol beach) and Plaza Mediterráneo (Fossa beach).
•    6.30 pm - Guided tour of the old town. Advance booking required at the tourist offices: 96 583 69 20/ 96 583 85 32/ 677912754 or by email at turismo@ajCalpe.es.
•    9:30 p.m. - Election and proclamation of the 2025 queens. Afterwards, mobile disco. Bar service provided by the Prefesters 2025. Plaza Mayor.
•    Painting exhibition ‘A flor de piel’ by Noelia Lillo. Ajuntament Vell. Until 29 June.
•    Exhibition ‘Baños de la Reina, la huella romana’ (The Queen's Baths, the Roman footprint). Until 30 December. Museum of Collecting.

Sunday, 29th:

•    6 pm - Dance ‘¡Hola, verano!’ (Hello, summer!). With horchata and fartons for all attendees. Civic Centre.
•    From 6 pm to 1 am - Craft markets. Calle Alemania (Arenal-Bol beach) and Plaza Mediterráneo (Fossa beach).

Calpe Town Council has announced the contest ‘The beach as a canvas’ with the aim of designing signage for accessible points on the beach.

This initiative is part of the campaign to promote Calpe as an accessible tourist destination within the Tourism Sustainability Plan (PSTD) under the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan (PRTR) funded by the European Union - Next Generation.

According to the rules, the theme of the contest is beaches, and the organisers are looking for an original, creative and inclusive design that reflects accessibility and diversity. 

To participate, you must fill in a form and send your design to turismo@ajCalpe.es by 29 June.

The proposal that receives the most ‘likes’ on the Tourism social media stories on 1 July will be the official image of the accessible point on the beach. The winner will be announced on 8 July.

The campaign to promote Calpe as an inclusive destination, of which this initiative is a part, will be carried out on social media, as well as in both general and tourism-focused online and offline media, to raise awareness of the town as an accessible holiday destination.

The mayor of Calpe, Ana Sala, and the councillor for Urban Planning and Infrastructure, Juan Manuel del Pino, inaugurated section 6 of Vial J this morning, which, by plenary agreement, will now be called Avenida Felipe VI.

Section 6 of Vial J is the last segment to be completed in a project that dates back to the 1989 General Plan and is one of the key initiatives of this term of office. This road will connect with sections 1-5 (which begin at the roundabout on Avenida de la Generalitat and end at the roundabout on Avenida Casanova via the Gargasindi district). This will connect Casa Nova Avenue with País Valencià and Rumanía avenues, making this section crucial for diverting traffic from the beach area to the national road without passing through Ejércitos Españoles and Diputación avenues.

This project, which is over 500 metres long and 20 metres wide, includes all the necessary infrastructure, such as sewerage networks, drinking water supply, public lighting, communications and sustainable urban drainage systems. In addition, the road development includes wide pavements, lanes for each direction of traffic and an inner median strip with tree pits to improve the aesthetics and sustainability of the environment.

Mayoress Ana Sala pointed out that "after years of work, the residents of Calpe now have a Vial J, which will be renamed Avenida Felipe VI, which will facilitate mobility within the municipality. This is an inner ring road that will relieve congestion on other avenues such as Generalitat Valenciana, Diputación and Ejércitos Españoles, reducing traffic jams, noise and inconvenience and facilitating access to beaches, residential areas and the town centre for both residents and visitors," added the mayor.

For his part, the Councillor for Urban Planning and Infrastructure, Juan Manuel del Pino, highlighted the ‘sustainable urban drainage system (SUDS) that has been incorporated into the central reservation. This is a smart  urban drainage system whose main function is to collect rainwater efficiently and ecologically, while preventing possible flooding’.
 

Consorci Mare, the entity that treats waste from 52 municipalities in the Marina Alta, Marina Baixa and Campello regions, has achieved a record figure this week: it now has 10,000 citizens registered in the Eco Park network system.

The Consortium has also published the recycling data for each municipality between 1 January and 31 May. In Calp, the five most deposited types of waste are small electrical appliances, alkaline batteries, metals, plastics and textiles. In Calp, the Mare Consortium's Eco mobile is located on Calle Finlandia on Wednesdays from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and on Fridays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Ninety-nine per cent of users of this service are private citizens, with the remainder being companies and organisations.

The big news about this service is that, starting next year, the Mare Consortium and the Town Council will begin to offer discounts to those who use the eco-parks to recycle their waste. To be eligible for these discounts, you must be registered in the computerised system. All you need is your ID card and to go to the mobile recycling centre when you visit the town. Once registered, citizens will be eligible for prizes and will be able to see what they have recycled at any time.

In addition, proper recycling through mobile eco-parks reduces the cost of this service for the City Council, which is already studying individual benefits from 2026 for those citizens who recycle the most.

Mobile eco-parks are waste management facilities for depositing and recycling waste that cannot be disposed of in street containers. Some of the waste that can be deposited includes small electrical and electronic appliances, used textiles, used cooking oil, motor oil, paints, small amounts of rubble, etc.

Waste that goes to the eco-park, such as electrical appliances and electronic devices, is usually the most polluting in the home. They contain minerals and elements that, if not treated properly, pollute the soil and water. By using the Eco mobile to deposit our waste, we reduce the amount of waste going to landfill, promote a more circular, green and fair economy, and reduce the need to extract raw materials from the earth, protecting the environment and the planet's biodiversity.

Friday, 13:

•    10:00 a.m. Painting exhibition ‘A flor de piel’ by Noelia Lillo. Ajuntament Vell. Until 29 June.
•    5:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Blood donation. Local Red Cross Assembly (c/ María Jorro, 1, Local-1).

Saturday, 14:

•    6:30 p.m. Guided tour of the old town. Advance registration required at the tourist offices: 96 583 69 20/ 96 583 85 32/ 677912754 or by email at turismo@ajcalp.es
•    10:00 a.m. Painting exhibition ‘A flor de piel’ by Noelia Lillo. Ajuntament Vell. Until 29 June.

The Councillors for Sports, Ximo Perles, and Education, Mariola Mulet, have jointly promoted the contracting of maintenance and repair services for sports facilities and educational centres. This is a new way of carrying out maintenance and repairs on these facilities, which often require minor work that cannot be delayed.

The contract covers sports areas and educational and social centres. It has an annual budget of €296,450 with the possibility of extension. The successful bidder, which has already started work, will carry out the tasks set by the council technicians, who have already drawn up an action plan.

This initiative will enable work to be carried out such as the conversion of the old bar in the Domingo Crespo Pavilion into a multi-purpose sports hall and a comprehensive refurbishment that includes the replacement of all the doors to the changing rooms and toilets, the replacement of the flooring, the replacement of the benches in the changing rooms and the refurbishment of the concierge area. The air conditioning will also be repaired.

In addition, the changing rooms in the Esplai Park and Benítez areas will be refurbished and a storage room will be created in the old toilets. As for the Ifac Pavilion, the roof and methacrylate panels in poor condition will be removed and leaking gutters will be replaced.

On the football pitch, the changing room doors will be replaced, the roof of the stands will be cleaned and painted, the public address system and scoreboard will be replaced, and damp will be repaired on the blue court.

The swimming pool will also be subject to these actions, as it is planned to replace the access door to the car park, repair damp ceiling shelves, replace the door to the biomass tank and carry out other repairs to floors, doors and lockers.

With regard to educational centres, this contract will enable the clearing of the Azorín and Gabriel Miró schools, the creation of a shaded area at the Mediterrani and Oltà schools, and the replacement of the fencing at the Silene de Ifac nursery school and the CEE Gargasindi school.

Other actions in the field of education include replacing the vinyl flooring in the classrooms of the Silene de Ifac nursery school, renovating the trees in the playground of the CEIP Mediterrani primary school and replacing the protective fabric on the internal fencing of this centre.

The fencing at the Gabriel Miró Primary School will also be replaced, the doorbell at the Oltà Primary School will be replaced and the mechanism for the blinds at the Mediterrani Primary School will be replaced. In addition, painting work is planned in all schools.

The Councillor for Sports, Ximo Perles, stated that ‘for many years, sports facilities have been neglected, and this summer we have launched this emergency plan so that when the school year begins in September, our children will have decent and dignified facilities’.

Calpe Town Council has announced the competition ‘The beach as a canvas’ with the aim of designing signage for accessible points on the beach.

This initiative is part of the campaign to promote Calpe as an accessible tourist destination within the Tourism Sustainability Plan (PSTD) under the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan (PRTR) funded by the European Union - Next Generation.

According to the rules, the theme of the competition is beaches, and the organisers are looking for an original, creative and inclusive design that reflects accessibility and diversity. 

To participate, you must fill in a form and send your design to turismo@ajCalpe.es by 29 June.

The proposal that receives the most ‘likes’ on the Tourism social media stories on 1 July will be the official image of the accessible point on the beach. The winner will be announced on 8 July.

The campaign to promote Calpe as an inclusive destination, of which this initiative is a part, will be carried out on social media and in both general and tourism-related online and offline media to raise awareness of the town as an accessible holiday destination.

A delegation of officials and citizens from Calpe took part this weekend in the celebration of the 800th anniversary of the charter of Oppenheim (Germany), a town with which Calpe is twinned and with which it has maintained links of cooperation for more than two decades.

The Calpe delegation, led by political representatives and members of various associations, was welcomed by the mayor of Oppenheim, Silke Rautenberg, and also had the opportunity to meet again with numerous personalities who have participated in this twinning over the years, including Erich Menger, the mayor who initiated this relationship.

The commemorative events included a historical retrospective of the municipality, various musical events with the participation of a big band and a children's choir, as well as meetings with local associations. There was also a gastronomic exchange with a local cooking group, with whom the Calpe delegation shared the preparation of a traditional paella.

Through this meeting, new contacts have been established to reactivate cultural exchanges and various German musical groups have been invited to give concerts in Calpe, as well as to discover the Moors and Christians festival and Calpe's culture. For their part, the German leaders reiterated their willingness to promote any activity related to these exchanges and invited Calpe to attend the Oppenheim Wine Festival in August, the main celebration of this municipality located on the banks of the Rhine, whose local economy is centred on wine growing.

The re-establishment of an association in Oppenheim specifically responsible for twinning has also been promoted, which will enable cultural exchanges to be deepened and access to both local and European funding to be gained.
The special delegate for Twinning, Marco Bittner, stressed that ‘the spirit of twinning must transcend the political sphere and spread throughout the citizenry, especially among community organisations’ and encouraged the population to participate in these exchanges through projects that will find in the Town Council ‘a reliable ally to make them possible’.

The Twinning Department is offering Calpe associations its collaboration in setting up joint projects with the twin municipalities. Musical groups and sports associations are particularly invited to contact the department to explore opportunities for exchanges, performances and international competitions that will enrich the cultural and sporting life of the municipality.

The twinning between Calpe and Oppenheim, which began at the start of the 21st century, is visible in both municipalities through public spaces dedicated to their sister city. In Calpe, Plaza Oppenheim, located near La Manzanera, symbolises this relationship, while in Oppenheim a street in the urban expansion area pays tribute to the Alicante municipality.

With the aim of reinforcing tourist information services and improving visitor services, Calpe is once again installing two tourist information points on the beaches. These points are located on Arenal-Bol beach and Fossa beach and are staffed by tourist guides who join the department's existing staff.

The beach information points are open Monday to Saturday from 10 am to 2 pm and from 6 pm to 9 pm, although their opening hours are extended in July and August. Both points are located on the seafront promenade, right next to the beach, which is why they have always been very well received.

The initiative helps to improve tourist assistance, offer better and more personalised complementary services and provide direct contact with visitors. These points join the existing offices, the Tourist Info Centre, located in the Plaza del Mosquit in the heart of the Old Town, and the Tourist Info Peñón, located opposite the salt flats, which are open all year round and whose main function is to provide specific information, especially on locations, and to publicise the complementary services available in Calpe.

The positive response this service has always received and, above all, the number of enquiries it has received each year make its installation a worthwhile investment.

The Calpe Local Police commanders have met with the Mayor, Juan Antonio Sánchez, and the Councillor for Public Safety, Guillermo Sendra, to prepare the security plan for the summer period.

At this coordination meeting, criteria and lines of action were established, and the human and material resources needed to deal with a period when the floating population can reach figures in excess of 140,000 inhabitants were specified. This substantial increase in the population makes it necessary to plan ahead for the organisation of events and the surveillance of beaches, residential areas and the town centre.

Over the coming weeks, the workforce will be reinforced to cope with the summer demand, and the Local Police will focus on combating illegal sales and monitoring the promenades and beaches.

‘This substantial increase in visitors during the summer requires hard work in terms of planning and organising the Local Police structure in order to maintain the high level of public safety that Calpe offers, and this meeting seeks to coordinate and adopt effective measures,’ said Guillermo Sendra, Councillor for Public Safety.

In addition to the increase in personnel planned for the summer period, measures will also be taken to put a semi-rigid boat into service for maritime surveillance, to incorporate police officers on bicycles along the promenades and to purchase four new motorcycles this week to reinforce the material resources of the Calpe Police.

Calpe's Red Wall has been one of the locations selected by Netflix to commemorate its tenth anniversary in Spain. The platform has included the town's landmark in its commemorative promotional video, highlighting its architectural value and international profile as a first-class audiovisual location.

This recognition reinforces Calpe's position as a strategic destination for film and television shoots. The Netflix recording was made possible thanks to the work carried out by the Calpe Film Office, an initiative of the Calpe Town Council's Department of International Promotion, which facilitates the management of permits, logistical coordination and support for production companies interested in filming in the municipality.

Since its launch, the Calpe Film Office has collaborated with various national and international platforms, attracting productions that generate a positive economic impact on the local economy and project the image of the municipality globally. An example of this was the institutional visit held in October last year with representatives from the sector, during which new opportunities for collaboration were explored.

The inclusion of Calpe in this promotional video is one of several initiatives aimed at consolidating its international profile as a film location. Initiatives of this kind help to spread tourism throughout the year, boost the local economy and position Calpe on the main circuits of the audiovisual industry.
 

Friday, 13:

•    Painting exhibition ‘A flor de piel’ by Noelia Lillo. Ajuntament Vell. Until 29 June.

Saturday, 14:

•    6.30 pm – Guided tour of the old town. Advance booking required at the tourist offices: 96 583 69 20/ 96 583 85 32/ 677912754 or by email turismo@ajcalp.es
•    Painting exhibition ‘A flor de piel’ by Noelia Lillo. Ajuntament Vell. Until 29 June.
•    5 pm - Maze challenge. Youth Club (Punt Jove - Plaça de la Constitució).
•    9 pm - Theatre ‘Paco y Maite a Calpe’. Auditorium (Casa Cultura, Av. Masnou, 1)

Sunday, 15:

•    5pm - Youth Club farewell (Punt Jove - Plaça de la Constitució).

Calpe Town Council wants to reward emerging talent from Calpe who have excelled in the fields of sport and culture. For this reason, the plenary session has given initial approval to the regulations for these awards, which will be presented at the Calpe Sports and Culture Gala to be held in September.

These are cash prizes, with a maximum of five awards in each field, each worth 1,000 euros. The awards will go to individuals who have excelled in various disciplines. Specifically, in sport, the awards will recognise the most outstanding player in the youth category, the most outstanding player in the senior category (i.e. athletes over the age of 18 during the corresponding season or year) and the most outstanding player with other abilities. In culture, the awards will go to those who excel in the performing arts, musical creation and dance, in the plastic arts and design - painting, sculpture, drawing, photography, video art, cinema, etc. - and literary arts.

The spokesperson for the government team and Councillor for Sports, Ximo Perles, pointed out that these awards were created to recognise the effort and merits of emerging local athletes and artists, not those who already have an established career. ‘It is for athletes who do not belong to any club or local sports schools because they are minority sports such as karting, motor racing, inline skating... who do not receive any kind of support,’ he said, adding that very broad guidelines have been drawn up so that the jury, which will make the final decision on the awards, ‘has a very wide margin of discretion’.

These awards are aimed at people registered as residents in Calpe and nominations can be submitted in two ways: through local sports clubs or cultural associations, or by the athletes or artists themselves if they are not affiliated with any club or association.

The proposal was approved by the governing team (Somos Calpe, PSOE and Compromís) and Defendamos Calpe, with the PP abstaining.

Defendamos Calpe councillor Toni Tur said: ‘We like the approach of the proposal, which takes minority sports into account. It's great not to leave anyone behind.’ ‘We want the effort, dedication and adversity that athletes have to overcome to be taken into account, rather than just competitive success.’

For his part, the spokesperson for the Popular Party, Miguel Crespo, described the guidelines as ‘hasty’ and criticised the ‘financial reward system as being in need of improvement’. ‘The committee that will assess the merits of each applicant will have to assess and compare which discipline is more relevant, whether winning a regional inline skating, swimming or triathlon championship is more relevant, which has more weight within the same category and even between different categories; it is difficult to quantify this for the people who have to make the assessments.’ He suggested that the best way to promote sport and culture was to award grants.

The spokesperson for the socialist group, Guillermo Sendra, stressed that this was a ‘very important’ step forward in the promotion of sport and culture and pointed out that the jury would include representatives from each political group. He criticised the popular municipal group for not having implemented an initiative of this kind during its years in government.

The Councillor for Sports, Ximo Tur, pointed out that the scholarship system is highly regulated and that a model very similar to that of the Alicante Provincial Council has been chosen. ‘How can we compare a darts champion with a chess champion or a motorcycling champion? They are so different, which is why we opted for a jury and very broad criteria’.

The spokesperson for Somos Calpe, Juan Manuel del Pino, emphasised that these awards will mark ‘a turning point’ and ‘allow many children, young people and those who are not so young to be recognised and, in addition, receive financial support’. ‘It is a way of showing them that their efforts and art are worthwhile’.

At its regular plenary session this afternoon, Calpe Town Council will discuss initiating the process to amend the PGOU in order to prohibit the conversion of commercial premises into residential properties within the municipal area, except in La Fossa.

The aim is to respond to two problems: to prevent the increase in the price of commercial premises caused by this situation, which weakens the commercial fabric, and to prevent these establishments from being converted into tourist accommodation, as most of the applications registered in recent years were for this purpose.

The Calpe council is taking this step after suspending the processing and granting of this type of licence in June 2024 in order to study the modification of the urban planning regulations. It is now presenting the draft amendment to the PGOU (General Urban Development Plan) as well as an initial strategic document that determines that the prohibition of this change of use will affect the ground floors of multi-family dwellings (apartments, flats, etc.) throughout the municipal area, with the exception of La Fossa. It will also not affect single-family dwellings (detached houses, semi-detached houses, etc.).

The study analyses the ratio of square metres of commercial premises per dwelling in different areas of the municipality of Calpe with residential use, taking into account the Municipal Sustainability Indicator System of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Agenda, which establishes a desirable ratio of between 12.5 and 17.5 m² of commercial space per dwelling. In the case of La Fossa, this ratio is higher, at 21.04, hence the exception.

In other areas such as the town centre, despite having a much higher index - 28.55 - the ban applies because it is considered that most of the dwellings are primary residences and where it has been observed that most commercial premises that change use end up being converted into tourist accommodation. In fact, it is in this area where the highest density of registered residents in the municipality is found and, therefore, where the presence of tourist accommodation can have the greatest impact.

In addition, this measure aims to promote the concept of a city equipped with primary services, where spaces for coexistence and socialisation among citizens are created. In this regard, the Councillor for Territory, Juan Manuel del Pino, pointed out that: ‘keeping commercial premises open to the street not only boosts the local economy, but also strengthens everyday life in neighbourhoods’.

This morning, the “Smoke-Free Beaches” flags were raised on Calpe's main beaches, symbolising the start of the new municipal by-law on the use and management of the coastline, which restricts smoking along the entire Calpe coast. The regulation, which came into force a few days ago, is in line with the Town Council's commitment to public health and environmental protection.

The measure restricts smoking on all beaches and coves within the municipal area, except for two designated areas on the busiest beaches: La Fossa, near Plaza Mediterrani, and Arenal-Bol, opposite Plaza Colón. Smoking is permitted in these areas, but the use of reusable ashtrays is compulsory. These will be distributed at tourist information points to prevent cigarette butts from ending up in the sand.

This initiative also aims to protect the environment from highly polluting waste such as cigarette butts. It should be remembered that 15% of the waste collected on beaches is cigarette butts, which not only pollute the environment but also pose a risk to marine wildlife.

The raising of the flags will serve to remind both residents and the thousands of people who visit us of the entry into force of the new regulations and reinforce the message of a Town Council committed to healthier and litter-free beaches.

The Calpe Town Council began this process last year when it joined the Smoke-Free Beaches Network of the Valencian Regional Government's Department of Health, creating smoke-free areas on the beaches of Arenal-Bol, La Fossa and Cantal Roig. Now, with the entry into force of the by-law, another step has been taken towards a cleaner, healthier and more sustainable coastline.

The Councillor for the Environment at Calpe Town Council, Pere Moll, pointed out that ‘cigarette butts are one of the main sources of pollution in our marine and coastal ecosystems, as a single cigarette butt pollutes 500 litres of sea water, so this measure will help to reduce their negative impact’.

For her part, the Councillor for Health Prevention, Itziar Doval, stressed that ‘this action not only seeks to reduce the environmental impact of cigarette butts, but also to protect the health of beach users. We want to have healthy environments where everyone can enjoy the surroundings without putting their health at risk’
 

Last week, Calpe Town Council began a new phase in the selection process to recruit new officers to the Local Police Force with the aim of strengthening the workforce and security in the municipality. The physical entrance tests were held from Monday to Wednesday with 340 candidates taking part, of whom 175 successfully passed.

The Council is offering 11 places on a first-come, first-served basis. The Town Council has welcomed the high number of participants in this phase of the process, which is now moving on to the second phase with theoretical and psychometric tests until the competitive examination process is complete.

According to Guillermo Sendra, Councillor for Public Safety, ‘this measure is part of the municipal government's commitment to increasing the human resources of the police force, with the aim of continuing to offer citizens and visitors more effective and closer attention in terms of safety and collaboration. This reinforcement of the workforce goes hand in hand with an increase and improvement in the material resources of this vital professional service’. This call for applications represents another step towards a safer Calpe, in line with the municipality's strategic security and prevention plans.

Calpe has been one of the destinations selected this year to host the ‘Travel Challenge’, an educational event in which 64 Dutch university students from the tourism sector have participated, allowing them to discover the culture, landscape and gastronomy of the municipality. The day was organised by the Foreign Tourist Office in The Hague (Turespaña), the Costa Blanca Tourist Board and Calpe Town Council.

The visit began at the Casa Nova with a working meeting focused on finding innovative solutions to reconcile the challenges of sustainability with tourism promotion. The group then moved on to the old town to enjoy a tasting of typical local dishes and ended the day with a visit to La Cometa.
This visit is part of a training programme that will visit other towns such as Benidorm and Alicante, so that future professionals in the Dutch tourism sector can get to know the Costa Blanca first-hand.

The Dutch market is a strategic market for tourism on the Costa Blanca, as in 2024 alone more than 1.5 million Dutch tourists arrived at Alicante airport, making it the second largest international market in terms of passenger volume.

In addition, Dutch tourists have high purchasing power and make multiple trips throughout the year, making them particularly interesting.

After its stop in Calpe, the “Travel Challenge 2025” will continue its tour until 6 June, visiting other towns with activities focused on innovation and digital promotion of the tourism sector. This year's edition aims to exceed the 1.3 million views on social media achieved by last year's edition in Fuerteventura.