Seville launches a decaffeinated Christmas with a shortage of markets and attractions

This is being an atypical Christmas in Seville and not only because, in the middle of the Constitution Bridge, residents and visitors will gather in the center of the city to enjoy the multi-step procession of their Holy Week, instead of the Christmas lighting. . This year, many points in the Andalusian capital that had become landmarks for markets and attractions during these dates are empty. In some cases, such as the Muelle de las Delicias, next to the Guadalquivir, or the Prado de San Sebastián, due to the incompatibility, precisely, with the organization of the brotherhood macro-event, or due to works, respectively. In others, such as Plaza de la Encarnación or Alameda de Hércules, because the company to which the Seville City Council decided to outsource the organization gave up on it the same week in which the stalls should have been inaugurated, forcing the council to improvise alternatives.

On October 9, the company specialized in event planning, Málaga is Art, he announced on his social networks which had been chosen by the Seville City Council to organize the traditional Christmas markets in the Plaza de la Encarnación, in front of Las Setas, and the Alameda de Hércules – an esplanade that at Christmas is filled with craft, costume jewelery and toy stalls, in addition to fair attractions, activities for children and food trucks of churros and buñuelos -, between November 29 and January 5. “We will have attractions, children’s activities… and a tourist train that will connect the two markets,” they explained, indicating an address for those interested in participating to register. However, on November 28, according to the information provided by the City Council, the company presented its voluntary withdrawal.

“It is not true that we did not have enough exhibitors because we had asked for a very high fee,” says Silvia González, administrator of Málaga es Arte. “We did it for the exhibitors themselves, so that they could have the possibility of being relocated to other places with time,” he says. González alleges that the City Council was “continuously making corrections to the extension, furniture and content proposals” that they presented and that finally “since they did not have the permits for the electricity supply” they decided to withdraw from the contract. “We had everything ready, the booths, the trailer…”, says González, who gives as an example of his professionalism the organization of other markets, such as the one at Pier 1 or the Palmeral, in Malaga.

The Seville City Council rejects this version and assures that the company did not even present the documentation for the Alameda de Hércules market and that, in the case of the Plaza de la Encarnación market, they delivered it on November 25, 27 They were given approval and a day later they decided to give up. An unforeseen event that has forced the council to look for emergency solutions. “In La Encarnación they are going to have a market,” says a municipal interlocutor. There will be 17 positions that were scheduled to open on Saturday, December 14, 15 days after when they should have opened. “Children’s activities will be scheduled in the Alameda,” says the same source, although without specifying which ones or the calendar.

“It is better to have a position than to have nothing, but it is true that a few days have passed that bring us many sales, such as the Immaculate Bridge,” explains one of the artisans who, finally, has been able to open his shop. placed in the Plaza de la Encarnación, and which emphasizes that the delay has not only been noticed in its economy due to a lack of sales. “We came from Galicia and we were here since November 20, thinking that we were starting on the 29th, these are rental days that we have not been able to compensate,” he indicates.

This is the first year in which the Seville City Council has decided to outsource the organization of some of the markets, after last year’s pilot experience with the stalls located in the Plaza de la Magdalena, a space that was not usually used for this type. of Christmas events. Until now, it was the council, through the Urban Planning Management, that authorized the occupation licenses for public space. .

Without ferris wheel and ice rink

But those are not the only spaces where Christmas is not going to be the same as other years. The Delicias pier had become a real leisure attraction at this time thanks to the promoter Sevilla on Ice. The giant ferris wheel, installed on the path of the Guadalquivir, had become a Christmas icon. The giant ice rink brought together teenagers and families, who could enjoy the rarity of skating on a surface incompatible with the Sevillian heat and then spend the day or at night at the rest of the fair attractions and at the food stalls.

The organizers received a call from the town council warning them that this year they would not be able to be located there due to the great procession that was going to take place on December 8, as the closing act of the II International Congress of Brotherhoods and Brotherhoods, and whose part of the route was parallel to the pier. “We were told that it was incompatible, but we believe that we could have closed the facilities between December 4 and 8, which is when the congress was held, but they did not authorize it,” laments the manager of Sevilla on Ice, Antonio García. .

The promoter suggested the possibility of doing it in the Prado of San Sebastián, a very close place and where Sevilla on Ice had also been installed on some other occasion, but they did not authorize it either because it was under construction. “The City Council suggested to us that we look at a location in Seville East [un barrio a 13 kilómetros del centro y mal comunicado]”But we prefer not to do anything, because the brand, what we offer, has to be located in a central location,” says García, who draws attention to how the establishment of this leisure offer in that area, usually empty and somewhat soulless, it helped provide it with movement and light during Christmas.

The data speaks of the magnitude of the project. Last year the company invested 1.3 million and this year they planned to organize “a very powerful project.” It was an edition that was going to cost around two million euros and that, by not taking place, has affected 250 people, between direct and indirect jobs, according to García. “All Sevillians, who have been with us from the beginning, who had become loyal and who were counting on continuing this year,” he indicates.

The developer is already thinking, however, about next winter and has requested an appointment with the mayor to guarantee that space. “We have a large project in mind with lighting, decoration and infrastructure and we want to go hand in hand with the City Council,” says García, who plans to fly to Berlin in January to meet with decorators and booth manufacturers for the next edition. “We want Seville to be the Christmas city of southern Spain,” he emphasizes.

Until next year, and while the City Council finalizes the alternative organization to fill the gaps in the events in La Encarnación and Alameda de Hércules, Sevillians can enjoy the markets and attractions that are already installed in Las Setas; from the theme park Inari, the enchanted town of Laplandin the Palace of Congresses and Exhibitions of Seville (FIBES), and the ice sculptures that different artists bring to life in the exhibition Freeze youaround the La Cartuja stadium.