Torrevieja Traffic Warning – 05/06 August 2023

Throughout the month of August, Torrevieja is once again hosting the Brilla Torrevieja event, featuring bands and entertainment held in the Parque Antonio Soria.

However, on the weekend of 5 and 6 August, the controversial Reggaeton Beach Festival (RBF) is taking place in the same location, with the latest estimates from the town hall stating that some 18,000 people are expected to attend.

A number of designated plots have been identified for cars to park, however, many of them are not near the venue, and many of the attendees will not know how to find them. There are small signs littered around, but most of these are not clearly visible, especially to those new to the area who should rightly be concentrating on the road.

The organiser´s website is directing everyone to the Parque Antonio Soria, where the Friday market is normally held (it was cancelled this week to make space for RBF), where there are just 654 parking spaces allocated. There is no information on the organiser’s website as to where the parking is located. In fact, there is little published information of where to park.

The result of this is that the surrounding roads are expected to collapse with considerably more traffic than they are designed for, and with poorly placed parking that might well descend into chaos, as festival goers are keen to get into the venue, and the police do their best to direct them to one of the insufficient distant car parks.

As a direct consequence of this, it is fully expected that the traffic collapse will also impact the N-332 main road, and that too will become saturated, even more than is usual for this time of year.

Here are the key times for the event.

12:00 Pre-validation of tickets.

15:00 Gates to the venue open.

17:00 (approximately) the first performances start.

24:00 Event closes.

The best advice we can give you is unless you are attending the event, avoid the area, especially during the key times. If you do have to visit the area, make sure you take water with you at least, as your journey will be disrupted, and you need to stay hydrated.

If you are attending the event, we have obtained a map of car parks, which is below, so please consult that and direct your journey to one of the car parks, rather than the venue location, and then (sorry) walk to Parque Antonio Soria (again, remembering water, at least).

For those passing Torrevieja, the motorway is an option. You will have to pay tolls, but even that could be preferable to being stuck on the N-332 as a result of the chaos caused by this event.

Another alternative is to just stay at home. Goldeneye is on ITV, and a Harry Potter film on ITV2, or you could get a sense of busy roads by watching the cycling on BBC One, or the classis 1949 film, Whisky Galore on BBC Two.

If you are venturing out, please allow extra time for your journey, stay calm and refreshed, observe the traffic regulations and make sure you follow the instructions of those directing traffic if you come across them. Stay safe and in the words of Sergeant Phil Esterhaus (Michael Conrad) in Hill Street precinct (Hill Street Blues), “Hey, let’s be careful out there.”