Orihuela council has officially confirmed that the annual Orihuela City Medieval Market will return to the first weekend of February next year, after the chaos in moving this year’s event. The traditional February staging was bumped to the start of April due to roadworks around the Plaza de Santa Lucía along with the view that more tourists would attend because the weather would be warmer. Traders claimed that they were not consulted over the change of the dates.
The whole affair descended into farce as over a week before it was due to be held, Orihuela council revealed that the only bidder for the tender to stage the event did not pass the technical parameters outlined by the authority.
The date then was moved towards the end of April, after the council invited five companies to bid for the contract, with fiestas councillor Mariola Rocamora strongly attacked by opposition groups for her handling of the matter. The 2017 event will be held between February 3rd and February 5th.
