Living on the costa

The mayor of Mijas, Josele Gonzalezassured this Monday that the arrival of the Cala Mijas festival “has been a shock to the image and economy”, estimating the City hall reached more than 20 million euros of economic impact in the town and throughout the Costa del Sol.

Together with the Councilor for Fiestas, Tamara Verathe councilor has taken stock of this macro-event that was taking place for the first time in the town and that said goodbye last Saturday after three days of music in which the venue Sonora Mijas received international artists such as Arctic Monkeys, Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds, Liam Gallagher, The Chemical Brothers, Kraftwerk either Nathy Peluso.

“We are very happy with the development and economic and media impact that the celebration of this festival that we promoted for the first time from the Mijas Town Hall has had, and it is that ours is a young and multicultural city that has demanded for a long time this type of events of great international repercussion and with first level artists”, has pointed out.

González has assured that from the Consistory they are going “to continue promoting new musical events that can be held in this newly opened venue, Sonora Mijas, which is already receiving very good reviews both by the attendees and by the promoters and artists who have gathered here”.

In a statement they have indicated that the figure of 20 million euros estimated by the City Council represents an initial calculation, according to the repercussion of this type of festivals that are already consolidated and that are held in other provinces and is both due to their direct economic impact and due to the media.

“We have exceeded the initial forecasts reaching the 107,000 attendeesa great figure to be the first of the many editions that are yet to come and that have attracted our city to visitors from more than 50 countriesBeing the 27% of the total foreign public attendees who have come mainly from the United Kingdom, Germany and Italy”, he explained.

The alderman added that it has been an edition “that has perfectly combined music, sun and beach in a unique enclave within the province“. “An economic impact that has had a special impact on some of the sectors most affected by the pandemic, such as the hotel industry, commerce and accommodation in the city,” he stressed.

In this sense, the national public has also been very diverse, being the provinces of Madrid, Valencia, Catalonia and Murcia the ones that have had the most presence together with the local and Andalusian. In addition, it has been an “intergenerational and international” festival, Vera pointed out, highlighting that it has been a “totally new venue that was lent to the enjoyment of all attendees”.

Precisely, they have underlined that “the variety and quality” of the musical programming has been one of “its great guarantees” with up to 90 artists that have passed through the Cala in these three days to bring the best rock, pop, electronic and urban music to the attendees.

“From the first minute we bet on a solid festival, looking to the future and that we want it to grow edition after edition. An open festival also thanks to its stage located in the Torreón, which with views of the sea, brought music closer to the more than 2,500 attendees who came to this point”, stressed the mayor of Fiestas.

No notable security incidents

As for security, the festival had a special device coordinated by the Civil Guard, Mijas Local Police, Civil Protection and event security personnel to guarantee the well-being of attendees both inside the venue and in its surroundings, “a provision that has borne fruit, not detecting incidents and being the good atmosphere the predominant line“, has said.

Likewise, he has indicated the effort made by the City Council and the organization in terms of coordination and mobility, with three car parks with capacity for 5,000 vehicles at El Hipódromo, El Lagar and Las Lagunas, as well as free shuttle buses for the movement of those attending the venue. In addition, there has been a special access and road traffic control device.

In regards to the cleaningDuring the three days, cleaning and waste collection work has been carried out throughout the premises at various time slots, with the participation of the municipal cleaning services, Basic Income and the company contracted by the organization.

In the camping area, several daily collections have been carried out before and after the concerts, as well as systematic reviews at the main entrance and surrounding areas, in the common areas of the camping area and the bus stops, both in the area of concerts as in the points from which the buses leave. More than 300 containers were installed.

From the Consistory they have highlighted that there have been “many departments and people involved so that the birth of Cala Mijas has been a success“, giving thanks for “everyone’s effort that has made it possible for us to talk about a festival that has exceeded all expectations and which has been positively echoed by provincial, national and international media”.

They have highlighted that the sustainability It has been very present in all the processes, from the adaptation of the space with zero surplus balance to the use of sustainable toilets. The recovery of existing flora and the relocation of different varieties of trees affected by the works on the plot have also been carried out, and the use of concrete and asphalt has been avoided, minimizing the carbon footprint of the adaptation process.

In addition, Cala Mijas has focused its efforts on the contracting Km0“counting on local workers, an aspect also reflected in the gastronomic and contemplative offer, promoting the use of local products through agreements with suppliers in the area”.

Finally, it has been carried out donation to the project ‘Embrace the sea of ​​Mijas’ of the NGO Equilibrio Marino, with the aim of recovering the special conservation area (ZEC) of Calahonda in Mijas and efforts have been added for the prevention and awareness against sexist attacks through the installation of a purple point.

“The Cala Mijas festival thus closes its first edition with a firm commitment to a quality offer that seeks to consolidate itself and become an essential item on the agenda for many international music fans”, they have pointed out from the Consistory.