Alicante cancels meson bars and limits crayfish numbers for Hogueras 2026
July 31, 2025, Alicante
The Alicante Municipality has approved new regulations for the city's main festival, Hogueras, in 2026. The main innovation is the abolition of mesons-bars and a limitation on the number of racós depending on the category of festive commissions.
✅ What will change at Hogeras 2026?
Meson bars are banned - temporary bar spots that were previously located throughout the city will no longer be set up on the streets.
Clear limitation of cancers by categories :
- Especial category - up to 3 crayfish
- Primera and Segunda categories - up to 2 crayfish
- Other categories - only 1 cancer
The maximum capacity of each rako is 1,000 people.
Only Especial and Primera can organize temporary fairs and markets
🗣️ Official comment
“We want to highlight the cultural value of the monuments, regulate the use of public spaces and adapt the celebration areas to the scale of each foguera,”
said Cristina Kutanda , Councillor for Holidays, during the Assembly of the Federation of Hogeras.
🏛️ Why are these measures being taken?
The decision is based on the status of Hogueras as an intangible cultural heritage , awarded to the festival by the Generalitat of Valencia in 2014 .
In 2024, the Valencian authorities also recommended that the municipality take measures to reduce the negative impact of mass events on the lives of citizens and to protect cultural values.
“Cancers should be places for cultural communication and social integration, not sources of noise and conflict,”
was noted in the appeal of the Directorate of Cultural Heritage.
What happens next?
The decree comes into force on July 31, 2025 and will remain in force throughout the Hogeras of 2026 .
After the festival, city officials will evaluate its effectiveness and consider possible adjustments.