On Sunday, December 21st, the Torrevieja City Council proposes to give the job of putting up a light and visual spectacle with 220 drones adjacent to the Juan Aparicio coastal promenade.
The contract, which was already signed for Christmas 2024, calls for a light show, aerial figures, and choreographed performances with at least 220 drones. These will all come together to create visuals of a “Christmas artistic theme with representative elements of the city of Torrevieja.”
Two passes
There will be two performances of the same choreographic production, each lasting at least 15 minutes. There will be about 1:30 hours between performances to make sure as many people as feasible can attend.
The first showing will start at 6:30 p.m. and the second will start around 8:00 p.m., depending on how well the devices utilised in the exhibition work.
To start, they will need at least 18 pyrodrones. These are planes that have two cold fire charges without explosives and make a visual impact like a flare.
The winning bidder must have the State Aviation Safety Agency’s permission and credentials to do this kind of display.
Reasoning
The technical reason for the contract says that celebrating local holidays is usually linked to light and visual shows that are common around Christmas time. Also, because of recent improvements in technology for unmanned aerial aircraft, especially for fun, it may be possible to coordinate “large-scale visual displays using these technologies.”
Torrevieja can set itself apart from other cities by using new technologies to celebrate its holidays. This attracts more visitors at times when the number of visitors has traditionally dropped, which helps to make tourism more stable throughout the year.
The technological experts say that this contract is “essential for holding an event that not only adds to the variety of Christmas activities for the public, but also encourages the use of cutting-edge technology in the leisure and entertainment sector.” It also wants to get “young people involved in Christmas activities in the municipality of Torrevieja, all in collaboration with the Department of Tourism, to promote the city as a tourist destination.”
| Act | Cost (€) |
|---|---|
| Holiday and Christmas Lighting | 450.000 |
| Three Kings Parade | 196.081 |
| Organization of Patron Saint Festivals | 172.000 |
| Organizing Christmas Parties | 167.000 |
| Patron Saint Festival Concert (“Sidonie” and “La La Love You”) | 157.000 |
| Mama Mia Musical | 120.000 |
| Contract for the Organization of the Salt Queen Gala | 49.800 |
| Municipal Nativity Scene and Tent | 40.000 |
| Diego Ramírez Pastor Award Gala | 29.823 |
| Christmas Drone Show | 25.000 |
| Children’s Parade | 22.490 |
| TOTAL | 1.429.194 |
Source: Public Sector Procurement Portal. There are other costs associated to the celebrations that are not yet in the procurement database.
Contracts
This contract is one of at least 12 that the Torrevieja City Council has given out this year for the Christmas and Patron Saint Festivities, all of which will happen in a month and a half.
Some of them, like the illumination or the procession, come from multi-year contracts that were given out last year or the year before because they are so big.
The municipal intervention has not warned of any fragmentation, which is when contracts are split up so they can be awarded more quickly and directly. This, on the other hand, limits free competition and the public’s ability to see how money is spent. Even though some of the services are similar, their separate tendering lowers the threshold that requires a more complex process that is also more in line with free competition.
From the point of view of the Contracting rules, that idea of dividing is always open to interpretation.
Author: Derek Appleton
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