Relive a Year of Great Stories with the Ten Most Read News from Alicante in 2024

2024 is now history. Just hours ago, the chimes marked the end of a cycle in which records were broken and ushered in the new year, leaving 365 days ahead with much to tell about the province of Alicante.

The future stories that will fill the pages over the next twelve months on TodoAlicante's front page will join those already narrated and explored by our editorial team.

On these, we wanted to reflect on the most-read topics during 2024. We summarize them in this list.

Last February, nearly a hundred National Police officers performed a spectacular exhibition at the Alicante bullring. The force showcased its special units to 7,000 students from local schools.

The show featured the Special Security Operations Group (GOES), the Prevention and Reaction Unit (UPR), drones, Tedax-Nrbq units, canine guides, and cavalry; the exhibition that most captivated the young audience.

However, during the media parade, only one pass was missing: the Police helicopter, which was scheduled to perform at the Alicante arena exhibition.

Pedro Sánchez's trip to Valencia - following the tragic Campanar fire that claimed ten lives - prompted the aircraft to travel to the Turia capital to provide coverage for the Prime Minister, as dictated by security protocol.

Alicante's Explanada shone again from the second half of the year with the much-anticipated reopening of the cul-de-sac at its intersection with Rambla de Méndez Núñez. After endless works, this new corner of the city opened to the public transformed into an oasis of water, lights, and colour.

Since mid-March, locals and tourists have enjoyed how the jets form their shapes and movements, while the ground-installed light play changed colours, giving a new vibe to this iconic promenade similar to others located in Portugal and Melilla.

The old Cantera route has completely changed from a century ago. Where the train tracks once ran, Alicante residents now traverse the unique space thanks to the new green over the sea of Alicante, inaugurated last June.

The tram routes that connected the city with the Marinas were removed to create a new promenade dedicated to pedestrians and cyclists, transforming from neglect to a new access and connection route between the beach area and the city centre.

José's address changed on his ID out of sheer necessity. This Alicante resident was forced to register in an Andalusian municipality to take the exam certifying his Valencian language skills, leaving behind the challenging JQCV tests. "They make it so difficult that it becomes even harder than English."

For this Alicante resident, obtaining the Valencian title is necessary to practice his profession, teaching, in the Community. The lack of this certificate left him out of the competition, unable to secure a position due to not meeting this requirement.

Emotion appeared on the face of bonfire artist Pedro Espadero once the official bonfire topper of 2024 was raised. The massive piece completely filled the skies of the Town Hall square, a work that kept him tense during the plantà, days before the main events of the city's official festivities.

"This day is terrible for me," he admitted last June while cranes lifted the completed topper to the highest point. Especially if there is any complication, as seemed to be the case at the time. The central sacabuche appeared to be stuck, yet the topper managed to fit into the central body of 'Alicante Legends', turning Espadero into a legendary artist, who admired his work through tears of emotion.

The town of Guardamar del Segura has been on edge in recent months due to episodes of violence that transformed it from "a sea of tranquility" to experiencing aggression and terror firsthand.

Beatings of residents in the centre, harassment of women, and assaults on Local Police officers were some of the distressing experiences faced by the residents. The perpetrators: several immigrants housed in hotels in Guardamar del Segura.

The legal battle in the TSJ over the implementation of the Medicine degree at the University of Alicante has concluded. Judges dismissed the appeal filed by the UMH against the authorization of these studies by the Botànic Council, creating a division between the two public universities in the province.

The Generalitat's settlement, months before receiving the ruling, led Mazón's Government to withdraw from the battle and advocate for an inter-university campus to calm the waters. However, the UA rejects this measure, especially after winning the case; while the UMH denies internships to students from the San Vicente campus in already agreed public university hospitals.

There have been numerous surprises and other tragic episodes on Alicante's beaches during this past summer. One of them was the appearance of a blue shark on the beach of les Deveses in Dénia. The shark approached the shore and caused panic among the bathers.

The lifeguard team warned people not to enter the water in the vicinity of the discovery. Additionally, they raised the red flag, among other preventive measures taken to avoid further scares and prevent any risk.

The tragic DANA that struck Valencia province on November 29 has occupied numerous TodoAlicante headlines. The meteorological phenomenon also made its presence felt in the province, where municipalities took preventive measures such as closing schools and cancelling activities to avoid risks to the population.

The Generalitat activated the yellow alert across the province for intense rains of up to 20 litres per square metre in an hour and 60 mm over 12 hours, accompanied by thunderstorms with the possibility of hail.

They were an ordinary couple. They lived quietly in El Campello and ran the company Abadix Fruits SL, supposedly dedicated to importing bananas, avocados, pineapples, mangoes, yuccas, and bananas from Ecuador, Panama, and Brazil.

But in reality, according to the police investigation, they were infallible drug traffickers dealing in large-scale drugs, who were seized with the largest cocaine stash in Spain's history and the second in Europe, 13 tonnes, with an estimated market value close to 800 million euros.

One of the events expected to repeat during the early days of 2025 is the arrival of snow in the mountains of Alicante. The province was already blanketed in white a few weeks ago, during the coldest day of the year with a maximum temperature of 13.9 degrees in the capital.

The most striking aspect of that day was that snow made its appearance in the Alicante mountains, specifically in the Sierra de Aitana.