Costa Blanca

Alicante’s Half Marathon is run by thousands

The 10K Aguas de Alicante Half Marathon took place yesterday, and thousands took part. The race happened at the same time as the last stage of the 9th Women’s Cycling Week-Volta of the Valencian Community. Mayor Luis Barcala and Councillor for Sports Toni Gallego went to the start of the athletics event together. Mayor Barcala said, “Sporting events like these two events support the goal of de-seasonalizing the tourism sector.” This is supported by the fact that 80% of hotels are full this weekend in mid-February and that it has a big effect on other parts of the city’s economy, like bars and hotels.

The mayor also talked about how important it is for both events to promote Alicante: “It is very important that about 8,000 people from 43 countries or different provinces of Spain come to Alicante to compete in or watch the Half Marathon. This includes athletes and their families.” Also, that pictures of Alicante can be sent abroad now that La Volta is here, which is good for tourism.

Moroccan Youness Belyamna won the men’s division of the International Half Marathon with a time of 1h 08′ and Welsh Sioned Howells won the women’s division with a time of 1h 20′. People from Poland, Bartolomé J. Falkowski and Natalia Gasnk, were the first to cross the finish line at Pier 12 in the Port of Alicante for the 10 km race. Their times were 31 minutes and 57 seconds and 38 minutes and 55 seconds.

A singer named Mario González played the “Hymn of Alicante” before the 5,300 people who signed up for the race. Before getting to the Explanada promenade, the first few miles of the course were the same for both the Half Marathon and the 10k. People who had signed up for the 10 km race turned left at this point to go back to the finish line at Muelle 12. People who had signed up for the 21.095 km race went through different streets in the city centre until they reached Avenida de Lóring, Paseo de los Mártires de la Libertad, and then continued to the finish line.

At one of the Runner’s Fair stands near the finish line, people who wanted to could have their names and times engraved on race medals after the race. The Plaza de los Luceros pond can be seen in front of them. A few weeks ago, people who used the race organization’s social networks voted on whether to copy this famous spot in Alicante.

The Volta for Women

After that, Gallego went to the awards event for the 9th Setmana Ciclista-Volta Feminina de la Comunitat Valenciana. The council member said, “The City Council has made clear its support for cycling, and in this case, women’s cycling.” In 2024, Alicante was the site of a stage start for the same event. This year, it is being touted as the finish of La Volta. Cycling is a good way to get people to visit the city. The category of a race on the calendar of the International Cycling Union (UCI) also helps spread the word about Alicante as a tourist location at this time of year.

More than 300 local police and Civil Guard officers have been on duty to keep everyone safe on this “super sporting Sunday.” Along the coast and in the city centre, traffic had to be shut down at different times and places to make sure both events ran smoothly. More than 200 helpers have joined them. Also, more than sixty physiotherapy students from CEU San Pablo, Elche, and the European University were stationed at the finish line to touch athletes who needed it.

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Costa Blanca

Consum announces the opening of new stores in Aldaia, Alaquàs, Sueca, Xàtiva, Massanassa and Torrevieja

Consum expands its operations in the Valencian Community and announces the opening of additional stores in six towns throughout Valencia. The Valencian cooperative’s comprehensive network of supermarkets in the region is further enhanced by these new openings.

New Consum stores are scheduled to open in Valencia in 2025

The following are the new stores that Consum will establish in the towns of Valencia:

Alaquàs

Aldaia

Massanassa

Sueca

Xàtiva

Torrevieja (Alicante)

Three of the stores that were acquired from Kuups last year have enabled the establishment of some of these new supermarkets. These have already been assigned an estimated opening date:

Massanassa (C/ Medi Ambient), which is scheduled to commence operations at the conclusion of May.
Alaquàs (Av. Blasco Ibáñez) and Aldaia (Av. Miguel Hernández) will launch under the Consum brand in the middle of the year.
Consum intends to maintain its pace of establishing 53 new supermarkets in 2025, including 18 of its own stores and 35 Charter stores, as well as to execute 31 renovations and expansions.

In 2024, Consum achieved revenues of €4,707.03 million, a 7.3% increase, and profits of €108.7 million, a 7.5% increase from the previous year. These figures substantiate the business model advocated by the Valencian cooperative, which is founded on price competitiveness, a diverse selection of leading brands without sacrificing the quality of its own brand, and a steadfast dedication to ensuring customer savings through discounts and gift vouchers. More than €62.2 million has been allocated to this initiative.

Antonio Rodríguez Lázaro, the CEO of Consum, stated that “these results are indicative of the dedication of our entire team, the confidence of our customers, and our capacity to adjust to change while maintaining our commitment to sustainability and innovation.”

It maintained its sixth position in the national classification of distribution companies by surface area throughout the year, increasing its market share by 0.1% to 4.7% of the national market. Nielsen reports that its market share by sales in its area of influence is 13.45%.

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The El Raso, Guardamar celebrates with a Tapas Route and concerts between May 15th and 17th

The programme for the third edition of the Guardamar del Segura City Council’s festivities has been unveiled in collaboration with the residents’ association of the El Raso Urbanisation, an area that is home to a significant number of international residents.

Between May 15th and 17th, the El Raso Urbanisation will commemorate its festivities with a Tapas Route and concerts. The festivities will take place on Thursday, May 15th and Friday, May 16th, and will feature an International Tapas Route featuring twelve establishments, which is two more than the previous year. María Venerdi, the Councillor for Festivals, has announced that participants will be able to experience tapas and a drink for 3.50 euros. Additionally, participants will have the opportunity to participate in a drawing for a variety of rewards and vote for their preferred tapa on the “Tapaporte.” Last year’s edition saw the sale of over 7,000 tapas, as emphasised by the local organisers.

José Luis Sáez, the mayor of Guardamar, has emphasised the significance of “neighbourhoods becoming increasingly integrated into the dynamics of the municipality,” and he has noted that this event has “consolidated itself and become a great gastronomic celebration for the municipality.”

The city council will also offer a transport service that will travel to all participating venues in order to simplify the process of travelling.

Auditorio del Campo will host a grand celebration on Saturday, May 17th, commencing at 6 p.m. The event will feature a variety of musical groups, including the Costa Blanca Singers, who will serve as the opening act.

The charitable nature of these festivities has been emphasised by the Guardamar councillor for Festivals. The El Raso festival committee has sold T-shirts for the Tapas Route at a price of 10 euros. The proceeds of these sales, in addition to those from the bar service on the 17th, will be donated entirely to charitable causes, including the ‘El Milagro de Ver’ Foundation, which is dedicated to enhancing eye health in developing countries, and to those impacted by DANA in Valencia.

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Elche joins the national protests for Palestine on May 10th

Tomorrow, Saturday May 10th, the Elche Palestine Solidarity Committee has scheduled a demonstration in accordance with the national mobilisations under the slogan “Move for Palestine.” The march will commence at 7:00 p.m., and the rally will be held at the Chimeneas de L’Algeps in Elche at 6:30 p.m.

The initiative aims to denounce the situation in Gaza and Palestine as a whole, and to encourage citizens to demonstrate their solidarity and demand genuine action to halt the violence. The Elche Palestine Solidarity Committee extends an invitation to all individuals, irrespective of their gender or age, to participate in this collective demonstration.

As part of a coordinated campaign to increase awareness of the situation in Palestine and demand an end to the violence and occupation, this mobilisation is one of a series of demonstrations that have been organised in various cities throughout Spain.