Laurence Dollimore
THE Fallas festival in Valencia has been suspended over coronavirus.
Ximo Puig, president of the region, announced at 10pm tonight that the Magdalena de Castellon will also be cancelled.
Puig said he hoped the events could be held at a later date ‘when the health situation allows.’
He said the priority is to ‘protect the health of the Valenciana community’.
The Fallas festival sees up to two million people flock to Valencia city in a celebration of the arrival of Spring.
Estimates believe it has an economic impact of around €500 million.
The suspension includes the Falles de Denia, Pego, Calp, Pamis and of all the cities and towns in the region, according to local reports.
The city’s most important event has only ever been cancelled during World War Two (1937 – 1939) and in the year 1896 due to the war in Cuba.
It comes after the Valencian Community registered 15 new coronavirus cases on Tuesday, 12 of them in a nursing home in Torrent.
A total of 63 people are infected in the region, the majority (42) in Valencia city.
