- The extraordinary operation on the beaches of València is made up of 700 personnel from Local Police, Firefighters, Civil Protection, Red Cross, and Cleaning
- The Parks and Gardens Department will distribute over 25 tons of firewood at nine distribution points
- Equality will have four violet points along the beach to assist and prevent any acts of violence against women
- The EMT will reinforce the lines that reach the beaches with nearly 200,000 seats, and most will be operational during the evening and early morning of June 23 and 24
- A plan has been designed by the Cleaning and Waste Collection Department, starting today, Monday, June 23, and concluding on Thursday, the 26th, involving over 200 people
- Bonfires are prohibited on the South beaches
- The City Council of València has issued a series of recommendations to enjoy a magical San Juan Night without incidents
València mobilizes over 700 personnel for the night of San Juan. A special operation of over 700 personnel, made up of different departments of the València City Council, will allow the celebration of San Juan Night on the city’s beaches. Regarding the security operation, 300 Local Police officers will ensure that the night unfolds smoothly. Most of the officers, 230, will be deployed on the northern beaches while the remaining 70 will be on the southern beaches.
In the northern coastal area, there will be a Preventive Command Post (PMP) that will bring together all security devices, firefighters, and Civil Protection, located at the area known as the Dolphins Esplanade, from 8:00 pm on the 23rd until 6:00 am on the 24th, where a tent will also be set up to serve as a lost children’s collection point. Additionally, the Local Police station in La Malva-rosa-El Cabanyal will remain open 24 hours.
The Local Police will also deploy surveillance drones on both the northern and southern beaches, and the Police Operations Canine Unit (UCOP) will also work on surveillance tasks.
Furthermore, the Gender Violence Attention Unit (GAMA) of the Local Police will place a van, with the support of a service vehicle, near the Las Arenas hotel. The Equality Service will also set up four violet points on the Maritime beaches to provide information, advice, and prevention of crimes against sexual freedom. The four violet points will be located on the promenade at the intersection with Doctor Marcos Sopena, at the 3rd health post of the Red Cross next to the monument to the actor Antonio Ferrandis, at the dolphins statue at the intersection of Séquia de la Cadena and José Ballester Gozalvo streets, while the fourth will be at the height of Vicent la Roda street.
The Fire Department will also pay special attention to the southern beaches, where bonfires are strictly prohibited. In addition to the El Saler fire department personnel, the drone unit will be mobilized to monitor any incidents that may occur during the night and ensure the safety of the Devesa-El Saler Natural Park at all times.
The Councilor for Local Police and Mobility, Jesús Carbonell, has explained that the preventive operation is designed to ensure that San Juan Night passes smoothly and without incidents, although he emphasized the importance of respecting the instructions and advice provided by the City Council, Security Forces, cleaning services, and health services. He also highlighted that EMT has prepared an extraordinary plan with over 184,000 seats to facilitate public transportation for the thousands of people who, as every year, will come to enjoy San Juan Night on the beaches of the city of València.
Public transport reinforcement
EMT València will increase its public transport capacity for San Juan Night on the beach lines already reinforced with over 12 million seats for the summer campaign. To experience that magical night and to ensure that citizens can efficiently travel to all the city’s beaches, the municipal company will activate a total of 184,000 seats.
The special service for San Juan Night will start from 4:00 pm on Monday and will run throughout the night, until 9:00 am on Tuesday, on lines 18, 19, 23, 24, 25, 31, 32, 92, 93, 95, 98, and 99. The extensive reinforcement includes many of these lines running with frequencies of up to 5 minutes during peak hours both ways.
Thus, throughout the afternoon of Monday the 23rd, and the early hours of Tuesday, you can reach all the beaches of València with maximum public transport reinforcement. With lines 18, 19, 32, 92, 93, 95, 98, and 99, you can reach El Cabanyal – Canyamelar and La Malva-rosa. Line 31 goes to La Malva-rosa and Patacona beaches. Line 23 goes to Pinedo Beach, as do lines 24 and 25. These last two lines also run to El Saler and El Perellonet/Perelló beaches, respectively.
To provide closer information to citizens, during the service, EMT will have 5 information points along the promenade where information staff will offer necessary support and address any doubts about the service.
Firewood for bonfires
From 7:30 pm, nine points for the free distribution of firewood for the traditional San Juan bonfires have been set up. In total, about 25 tons of firewood will be distributed with 5 trucks and a backhoe at 9 distribution points along the promenade, which will be marked and fenced.
The firewood to be distributed comes from the pruning of the winter tree branches. However, the firewood has been cut into easily manageable units for users. It is important to remember that fires are completely prohibited on the southern beaches to preserve the integrity of the Albufera Natural Park and the Devesa de El Saler forest.
The Councilor for Parks and Gardens, Mónica Gil, reported that «the firewood comes from the pruning carried out by municipal brigades and has been classified and cut into manageable fractions. The preparation, cutting, classification, and distribution of firewood does not generate any extraordinary costs because it is done with the ordinary means of the contracts.»
From 4:00 pm on June 23rd, the 5 trucks will depart for the Promenade. The estimated frequency of truck departures is every 20 minutes.
Special rescue, lifeguard, and medical assistance service
The health posts on the northern beaches will also work uninterruptedly from 10:00 am on the 23rd until 7:00 am on the 24th. On the southern beaches, the health posts will be available until 3:00 am on the 24th.
In addition, there will be a field hospital and four ambulances available, two basic life support and two advanced life support.
Additionally, 95 chemical toilets will be set up.
Cleaning operation
The Delegated Department of Cleaning and Waste Collection has designed a plan starting on Monday, June 23, and concluding on Thursday, the 26th. In the northern coastal area of the city (El Cabanyal and La Malva-rosa beaches), over two hundred people will participate, distributed as follows: 179 workers, eight mechanical shovels, two collector machines, three tanker trucks, two hook trucks to remove bonfire residues, and nine 20-cubic-meter boxes, in addition to all the vehicle drivers.
On the promenade, 20 containers with a capacity of 1,000 liters will be installed, and from 8:00 pm on the 23rd, 100-liter bags for waste collection will be distributed. From four in the morning on Tuesday, June 24th, the sand cleaning will begin. Mechanical sweepers will gradually be brought in, followed by washing. Tractors with shovels and sand cleaning tools will start at five in the morning. It is expected that by around eight-thirty in the morning, the beaches will be completely clean for the earliest bathers.
Recommendations
The València City Council has issued a series of recommendations to enjoy a magical San Juan Night without incidents:
- Preferably use public transportation and, if using a private vehicle, park before reaching the beaches.
- Do not obstruct emergency lanes and respect the bus lane.
- Do not bring glass containers to the sand and use trash cans and waste containers.
- Do not abuse alcohol.
- Monitor bonfires at all times and do not throw glass or fuel into the flames.
- Do not stray far from the coast when entering the water and do so in the company or by informing someone.
- Avoid noisy behavior in the street, control the volume of music, and respect the neighborhood’s right to rest.