The New Candidate Runway at Rico Pérez Stadium in Alicante

A new format for the candidate runway for bellea del foc has been revealed. The change of location to José Rico Pérez Stadium in Alicante hinted at this transformation, and the Federació de les Fogueres de Sant Joan showcased the result during Thursday's assembly.

The Hércules stadium will feature a hundred-meter runway for the candidate parade, as previously reported by TodoAlicante, and will include two additional areas: a stage at the end and a small corridor connecting the two points.

Candidates for bellea del foc, both adults and children, will emerge onto the grass from the club's dressing room tunnel - with a photocall along the way - and ascend the runway to walk it one by one from start to finish.

At the end of the candidate gala, all the aspirants will ascend the stage again in groups to make way for the current representatives and their dames d'honor. The event will also feature an artistic segment, still being finalized. "With what you are going to see, you won't want to leave the stadium," predicted the president of the Federació, David Olivares.

This new edition of the candidate runway - scheduled for April 25 for children and April 26 for adults - will accommodate 6,100 people, distributed across three sections of the stands. The official tribune will be reserved for the presidents of the hogueras and their companions, authorities, and sponsors.

The foguerers and barraquers will be seated between the upper and lower stands of Rico Pérez. Another novelty is the number of invitations - with a request deadline until March 12 - which will increase from 22 to 50 per commission, as announced this Thursday by Olivares. The barracas will also have space.

Districts will be arranged from left to right, from 1 to 91 - the internal order of the Federació to organize the various events - to ensure they can see their candidate at all times as she traverses the hundred-meter runway. This arrangement will also apply to the final moment, over the 50-meter stage.

The president of the Federació, David Olivares, has also announced changes for purchasing tickets for the selection of the bellea del foc and their dames d'honor, both children and adults. These events will take place on May 2 and 3, respectively.

Ticket sales will take place between March 24 and 27 - from 7 to 8:30 pm - at the Casa de la Festa Manuel Ricarte, headquarters of the Federació. Once the deadline has passed, an assessment of the remaining tickets will be made to sell the rest between March 31 and April 3, the same period for requesting seat changes.

The festival leader has indicated that this change in ticket sales aims to avoid long queues and, above all, to advance the deadlines. Therefore, he has urged "responsibility" from all foguerers and barraquers when acquiring their passes for the bellea del foc selection in Alicante.