The Fuengirola International Fair: The Event Born for Coexistence that Today Draws Crowds

The Fair of Countries was first known as the Fair of Peoples. It was first held in December 1994. Given the number of nationalities that were already coexisting on the Costa del Sol at that time, someone within the Popular Group of Fuengirola, led at that time by Esperanza Oña, thought it would be a good idea to organize an event where each of these countries could showcase their customs to the rest.

In that first edition, eight countries participated, including Argentina and Germany, as well as other autonomous communities like Asturias. Since then, twenty-seven fairs have been held, with the twenty-eighth set to begin on April 30 and run until May 4. All of them have always been held at the fairgrounds in Fuengirola, but the Fair of Countries today is quite different from those early editions.

To begin with, in 2022 the fair changed its name from villages to countries as the event grew in scale, and furthermore, it is now the most populous event of the year in this locality. Not even the Fair dedicated to the Virgin of the Rosary, the veladilla of Carmen, or even the Marenostrum music festival can surpass the number of visitors that the Fair of Countries receives.

From the City Council, it is assured that it is impossible to give an exact number of visitors, since it is an outdoor event without access controls, but there is no doubt that over the four days the figure rises to hundreds of thousands of people.

Last year, the event reached peaks of crowds and congestion, which has led to certain changes for this new edition, starting in a few days, with 33 countries participating. For starters, the use of the side streets of the fairgrounds, those behind the booths, will be strengthened, which this year will have more activity than in previous years, aiming to somehow distribute the crowd so that not everything is concentrated in the central corridors.

Expand

Also, for the first time, there will be reinforcements on the commuter trains, so that there will be special schedules with trains every 20 minutes, from 10:20 PM to 12:20 AM. There will also be trains leaving at 5:00 AM and 5:20 AM for the stragglers. This is intended to reduce the number of vehicles in the municipality. As every year, there will also be parking lots available at various points in the city.

Parade

The countdown to this year's edition has already begun and for now, it is known that the traditional parade will be held on Thursday, May 1, starting at 11:30 AM with the participation of about 1,500 people. There has never been a parade as large as the one planned for this edition. The route will be the usual one: it will start at 11:30 AM from Plaza de España towards the fairgrounds, where it will arrive around 1:00 PM.

Each booth will feature a country and all of them will have displays of crafts, live music, and of course typical gastronomy. This year, the decoration of each booth has been enhanced. All will be open from 1:00 PM until 2:00 AM if the following day is a working day, or until 4:00 AM if the following day is a holiday or Sunday.