Unless a miracle occurs, the celebration of Halloween in both the town centre and Orihuela Costa, as well as the Noche de las Ánimas in the historic centre, remain up in the air. The City Council has still not awarded either of the two contracts with just three days to go until the events, which are scheduled for this Saturday.
The Halloween celebration is organised by the Youth Department, while the Noche de las Ánimas is proposed by Culture, both areas managed by Anabel García. The Contracting Department, headed by Mónica Pastor, is working against the clock to push them forward within such a narrow timeframe. Municipal sources maintain that the events will take place on Saturday 31st October and could even be announced today, Thursday.
Unlike the tender for the assembly of the municipal nativity scene, which was left void a few days ago because no company submitted bids — forcing the council to re-tender — in this instance the issue is simply that they have run out of time.
The contract for the organisation of Halloween was put out to tender on 15th September with a deadline for submitting offers up to 30 September, whilst the Noche de las Ánimas contract was published on 23rd September with a deadline up to 7th October.
The Noche de las Ánimas, which has a budget of 39,804€, is a cultural proposal scheduled between 22:00 and 00:30 hours aimed at recovering, conserving and promoting popular traditions, historical heritage and literary, theatrical and cultural expressions linked to All Saints’ Day. It features a thematic route through the historic centre combining theatrical performances, staged settings, artistic lighting and sound effects across various event spaces, such as Mayor, Santa Justa and López Pozas streets, Ramón Sijé square, La Soledad square, the cathedral and the Town Hall.
The plays are inspired by classic Spanish literature and popular traditions, including adaptations of Don Juan Tenorio, El estudiante de Salamanca, La ajorca de oro and El monte de las Ánimas.
The event, which was revived last year following a two-year absence, had been held for six editions until the coalition government arrived. In the first year of their term, in 2023, the tender was not completed in time, whilst in the second year it was managed in extremis — just days before the celebration — and ended up deserted.
On the same day, from 15:00 to 23:00 hours, Halloween is set to be celebrated with an overall budget of 87,265€, divided between the centre (56,884€) and Orihuela Costa (30,380€), featuring workshops, face painting, parades, laser tag and inflatables.
The town centre parade is scheduled to march through the streets at 20:00 hours, departing from the corner of Alfonso XIII and Ballesteros towards Loaces, Calderón de la Barca, Avenida de España and Avenida Teodomiro, finishing an hour later at the Glorieta Gabriel Miró, decorated for the occasion.
The procession will be led by a batucada drum group and filled with witches, skeletons, vampires, ghosts, pumpkins, mummies, wolves, sorcerers, zombies and even a guardian of the haunted cemetery.
A themed train with capacity for 50 people and a hot chocolate distribution are also planned.