The 'món de la festa' unanimously calls for the suspension until 2021 due to uncertainty and the lack of health guarantees

Castelló will not celebrate the Magdalena parties this year because of the coronavirus crisis and will allocate their uncommitted budget to the municipal anti-crisis shock plan. The decision has been made this afternoon by consensus, at the request of the party, whose representatives have unanimously asked for the definitive suspension until 2021 due to the lack of short and medium-term health guarantees and the uncertainty of another mass events in the coming months can be celebrated.

“Today we have met with representatives of the world of the parties to discuss the future of Magdalena this year and they have unanimously asked us for the definitive suspension until 2021 due to the current coronavirus crisis and the lack of health guarantees to be able to celebrate it in terms. For this reason, after listening to gaiatas, collas, linked entities, Festes de Carrer, queens and criers, we have decided by consensus that the next Magdalena will be in 2021”, explained the mayor and born president of the Patronat Municipal de Festes, Amparo Marco. In addition, and at the request of the party, "it has also been decided that the budget for the festivals should be used to alleviate the effects of the covid-19 crisis in the city, for measures that contribute to economic revival and for social coverage", Marco has detailed.

It should be remembered that the Magdalena parties were suspended and postponed four days before the declaration of the state of alarm, by Decree 4/2020, of March 10, of the President of the Generalitat, following the instructions of the Ministry of Health that established the desirability of not holding mass events because of the risk of the spread of the coronavirus.

Representatives of the Gestora de Gaiates, the Federació de Colles, the linked entities (Germandat dels Cavallers de la Conquesta, Moros d'Alqueria, Colla Bacalao, Colla del Rei Barbut y Colla de Dolçainers i Tabaleters) and Festes de Carrer, in addition to the queens of this year's festivities, Carmen Molina and Gal·la Calvo, and the town criers, José María Prades and Marc Osorio. There has also been representation of the bullring. One by one they have been exposing their impressions and opinions and they have agreed to postpone the celebration of the Magdalena until 2021, in order to organize parties with full guarantees for citizens, health and safety.

In the coming days, the Consejo Rector de Fiestas will be convened to convey to them the unanimous sentiment of the celebration of the non-celebration of the parties this year and the request to allocate the budget of the Magdalena that is not committed to carrying out policies that minimize the effects of the covid-19 crisis in the city, for measures that contribute to economic recovery and for social coverage.