Spain Today – Monday 29 January 2024

In Spain today, the President applauds green and sustainable cities, tourism fair brings in more than expected visitors flying around the world to do so, small businesses to be recognised in an awards ceremony, and gambling money launderers are locked up by the Guardia Civil.

The week will begin with the absence of any relevant macroeconomic data anywhere.

European President Ursula von der Leyen will be in Rome, Italy, participating in the Italy-Africa Summit.

In our On This Day section, I have a little bit of a tenuous and potentially confusing local connection, and a brief explanation of how Spain’s busiest and biggest airports gets its name, and if you are a fan of planes, quickly grab a pen and paper, or your calendar, because I have confirmed dates for an air show in May.

Contents (click to jump ahead)

• Spanish News Headlines
• Things to Do Today
• Local Markets
• Traffic and Travel
• Weather
• On This Day
• Video of the Day
• Follow Mark Nolan’s Podcast

Spanish News Headlines

The Spanish Confederation of Small and Medium Enterprises will present awards today with the aim of recognising and giving visibility to the work and trajectory of small businesses. The gala will be held in the Auditorium of the Reina Sofía Museum and will feature the participation of Their Majesties, the King and Queen, as well as other institutional figures.

The 44th edition of the International Tourism Fair, FITUR, closed its three days dedicated exclusively to professionals with an interest in tourism exceeding its forecast of 150,000 attendees with a total of 153,000 visitors, which reflects the total recovery of the tourism sector, according to the organiser, and represents 12% more than in 2022. It is estimated that this influx of arrivals to FITUR will generate income for the Madrid economy of approximately 430 million euro.

The Guardia Civil arrested three people and investigated another eight for belonging to a criminal organisation dedicated to money laundering from irregular gambling. They are accused of committing crimes of money laundering, membership in a criminal organisation, crimes against public finances, fraud, and identity theft.

The President of the Government has visited the Impulso Verde building, the first public building in Galicia built entirely in Galician wood, which reflects the ecological and climatic impact of the LIFE Lugo + Biodynamic project, within the framework of the LIFE Program of the European Union. During his visit, having last week applauded the growth in tourism, despite the environmental impact, and whilst ignoring the administration’s own legislation for low emissions zone requirements which are left unfulfilled, Sánchez highlighted the potential of Spain’s cities to be at the forefront of sustainability through adaptation to climate change, the adoption of energy savings and reuse of resources.

To read these articles in full, visit SpainToday.news

Things to Do Today

There’s not a lot happening today, which is usually the case on a Monday, but you might want to make a note in your diary for the 3rd to 5th May, which is when the Festival Aéreo San Javier has now been confirmed to take place above the playas de Santiago de la Ribera.

In other words, another fantastic air show which will be taking to the sky from San Javier in Murcia. We will give you more details as we get closer to the date, but as it is an event not to be missed, make a note in your diary now.

For more local events, pick up The Leader newspaper every Monday, and This is Torrevieja for Torrevieja events.

Local Markets

Monday is market day in Elche and Santa Pola.

The roads will of course be busy around those locations.

Traffic and Travel

Road wise, there´s nothing significant planned but remember that if you are venturing into the mountain areas, which in some cases might be less than an hour from the sunny coast, snow chains should be a consideration to avoid getting stranded.

For information and updates about driving in Spain, visit N332.es

Weather

Spain weather forecasted for the next 10 days will have maximum temperature of 20°c on Tuesday next week, minimum temperature will be 10°c this Friday. The windiest day is expected to see wind of up to 28 kmph Friday 09, next week.

• Click here to visit AEMET for weather alerts and forecasts.
• Click here to visit the DGT for live traffic and road conditions.

On This Day

Today is the day of San Valero, celebrated in Zaragosa.

2020, the first case of COVID-19 is confirmed in Spain on the island of San Sebastián de la Gomera.

1981, the first president of democratic Spain, Adolfo Suárez, resigns. He was the President of the Government of Spain from 1976 and now gives his name to Madrid’s main international airport. He died in March 2014, at the age of 81. He was only the second influential figure to have an airport named after him, after the writer and poet Federico García Lorca, who gives his name to the Granada airport.

1919, the military pilots Sousa and Fanjul fly over Seville in their respective biplanes, managing to stay in the air for thirty minutes.

1895, often confused with a local town on the Costa Blanca, María Cristina de Habsburgo-Lorena, who herself is also often confused with a monarch of a similar name, grants Torrelavega in Cantabria the title of city.

Alfonso XIII gave Torrevieja city status, and María Cristina de Habsburgo-Lorena was his mother, wife of Alfonso XII. Guardamar del Segura has a park named after Alfonso XIII, but it’s not the park in the centre, that’s Reina Sofia, named after the last Queen, Parque Alfonso XIII covers much of the dunes area.

Video of the Day

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The post Spain Today – Monday 29 January 2024 first appeared on Mark Nolan´s Podcast.