Bit of a ding dong in Águilas over summer carnival parade.

At the moment, the peñas have cancelled this week's summer carnival parade.

A bit of a ding dong has been going on in Águilas this last week over the Summer carnival procession which was scheduled to take place this coming weekend.

At the moment, the Federation of carnival peñas has pulled out and cancelled the parade, due to a disagreement over the proposed route and the decision of the council to reject a proposal to set up bars for a week  in the area of the Auditorio , in front of the Playa de Las Delicias.
The council have analysed the proposal, but decided that with the current influx of summer visitors it would be difficult to guarantee security coverage and traffic fluidity for such a long period of time.

During February when the main carnival procession takes place, the town is quieter and there is more parking and less congestion, whereas during the summer there is a lot more traffic and emergency and police services are stretched.

The Federation of peñas maintain that a great deal of work is required to adapt costumes to cope with summer temperatures, and that the participants in the carnival procession would like to be able to enjoy their summer carnival in the same way they are able to enjoy the spring carnival.

The council are disappointed by the decision to cancel the parade at such short notice: they themselves invest 400,000 into putting on the spring carnival and 30,000 euros for this one summer parade, money which they believe is well spent as a tourist promotional activity which brings a large affluence of visitors to the town every year and puts Águilas firmly on the map.

Certainly the carnival is the biggest and most spectacular in the region, and draws in visitors and participants from other areas of Spain, filling hotels and bars during a traditionally lean time for the towns hostelry sector. Although the summer carnival isn´t on such a large scale, it's still an enjoyable parade and whilst visitors may be disappointed not to see the parade this year, the council are more concerned that it damages the reputation of the town cancelling the event at such short notice.

A meeting is being held today which may reverse the decision.