Costa Blanca

City of Arts and Science exceeds the figures for 2023 with 3.5 million tickets sold last year

The Ciutat de les Arts i les Ciències (City of Arts and Science) in Valencia has sold more than 3.5 million tickets in 2024, exceeding last year’s figures. By building, a total of 1,125,954 sales have been recorded at the Museu de les Ciències, which is 4.3% more than in 2023, while at the Oceanogràfic this figure rises to 1,952,916 tickets, 3% more.

In 2024, the Hemisfèric stands out in ticket sales with a total of 479,415, 18% more than in 2023. The commitment to renew the cinema offer of the Ciutat de les Arts i les Ciències has led to the premiere of three films: the nature documentary ‘Animal Kingdom’, the screening ‘Auroras. Luces del norte’ and the musical planetarium ‘Pink Floyd. The Dark Side of the Moon’, which has attracted more than 18,776 spectators, on the billboard from July to December. New editions of the live planetarium ‘Las Nocturnas’ have also been launched, both winter and summer.

Looking to 2024, in addition to the good results of the summer, with a total of 1,251,662 tickets sold from June to August, reservations for school tickets stood out, with 12% more than the previous year.

The flood on 29 October affected bookings and ticket sales in November, with school visits and general public visits cancelled during the first few weeks and around 50% of the total for the month. In addition, the Museu de les Ciències, the Hemisfèric and the Oceanogràfic were closed on 2 and 3 November.

During the Christmas period, from 20 December 2024 to 6 January 2025, more than 143,817 ticket sales have been recorded. It is also worth noting that during these festive weeks, a total of 11,487 people from towns affected by the COVID-19 pandemic visited the Museu de les Ciències free of charge. Of the total number of invitations handed out, 8,022 were for adults and 3,465 for children.

Content renewal in 2024

In 2024, the Ciutat de les Arts i les Ciències has dedicated a large part of its content to space with new exhibitions and activities linked to this theme. The Museu de les Ciències’ offer has been renewed with three new exhibitions on space exploration (‘Up to Space. Space Mission’, ‘The Moon within reach of your hands’, ‘Mediterranea’), new educational activities such as observations with telescopes and scientific workshops, and the launch of the competition dedicated to astrophotography ‘AstroCiutat’, which also includes the exhibition of the award-winning photographs.

Also noteworthy in 2024 is the public art exhibition outside the complex ‘Hacia el futuro’, with sculptures by the artist Pablo Atchugarry and the installation of a baby grand piano on Calle Menor, which was a great success among the visiting public.

For its part, Oceanogràfic reaffirms its commitment to marine conservation and animal welfare. Among the most relevant milestones is the international rescue of the two belugas from the NEMO aquarium in Kharkiv, Ukraine, which will soon be seen alongside the other two resident animals, Kylu and Yulka.

In the area of dissemination, initiatives such as the OceanFest festival and the dialogue series ‘The Tide of Change’ have been maintained and strengthened, attracting broad participation from the public. In addition, educational experiences have continued to arouse great interest among visitors, with proposals such as the ‘Backstage Tour’ and the visit to the Sea Animal Recovery Centre, where the work of rehabilitating sea turtles can be observed first-hand.

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Costa Blanca

Moldovan mobster arrested in Torrevieja

A 37-year-old Moldovan male has been taken into custody by the Guardia Civil in accordance with an Italian European Arrest Warrant (EAW). Known as “thieves in law,” the detainee belonged to the Russian-Soviet criminal organisation VOR V ZAKONE, which was committed to committing significant crimes.

The arrest happened on February 28th in Torrevieja while Guardia Civil officers were performing a public safety duty. While on patrol, they spotted three people on a restaurant terrace and saw one of them attempting to hide after spotting them. The officers became suspicious of this behaviour and went on to identify him.

After doing technical examinations, the authorities concluded that the person’s Romanian passport, which was of excellent quality, was a fake. After being detained and brought to government facilities, his fingerprints were recognised, proving his identity.

On March 2th, 2022, the Verona Criminal Court sentenced the detainee to 11 years in prison for international criminal conspiracy offences of a mafia nature. The detainee was a member of the VOR V ZAKONE organisation, which was committed to committing crimes against people and property using mafia-style intimidation, threats, and violence.

The man had been hiding in Spain since the sentencing, using fictitious paperwork to evade discovery. To ascertain whether the fugitive has committed crimes in Spain, the Guardia Civil is still looking into the matter.

The detainee was taken to the Court of First Instance in Torrevieja, where he was ordered to be detained until his extradition to Italy.

The Guardia Civil underlines its commitment to combating international crime and deals another blow to organised crime with this operation.

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Alicante to Seville daily with new Ryanair schedule

During the summer of 2025, Ryanair will run daily flights between Alicante and Seville.

The company plans to connect the two cities on a daily basis from today, March 27th, until October 25th. This year, the connection is strengthened with a flight every weekday, in contrast to the 2024 summer season when the route ran six days a week (with double frequency on Sundays and no flights on Wednesdays). Additionally, Ryanair plans to launch eight weekly flights in April 2025, with the addition of a second daily frequency on Saturdays.

Reaching 125,581 passengers in 2024, the link with Seville, the capital of Andalusia and Spain’s fourth most populous city, saw stratospheric growth. Compared to 2023, when the route carried 58,361 people between the two cities, this number marked a 115% increase.

A potential increase of frequency on the Alicante-Elche and Seville route has not been ruled out, and Ryanair will soon release its 2025–2026 winter schedule. Given the ongoing increase in demand on this route, the Irish airline may be planning to improve connection, as it ran five weekly flights during the previous winter season.

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Benidorm could start fining illegal tourist properties by Easter

Since the formal transfer of authority is anticipated to take place next week, Benidorm may start immediately fining unlawful tourist accommodations as early as Easter. Marián Cano, the Regional Minister of Innovation, Industry, Commerce, and Tourism, made this announcement as an indication of the advancements made in working with local councils to keep an eye on the tourism industry’s underground economy. The city councils of Alicante, Castellón, Elche, Torrevieja, and Benicarló are among the other municipalities that have stated their intention to take on this responsibility. This progress has already been formalised in Valencia, where the transfer of powers has been completed and all the procedures are prepared for approval next week in Benidorm.

In her response to a parliamentary question, the Nuciera councillor discussed the issue in Les Corts and stressed that the new tourism inspection plan “is not a continuation of the previous one, but rather an improvement that introduces more effective measures, strengthens institutional collaboration, and better responds to the needs of the sector.” She stressed cooperation with local governments in this regard in order to provide “more effective inspections and a swift response to irregularities.”