Farewell to horses in the jousts at Ibiza Medieval: now it is time to jump and fly

The atmosphere of the Middle Ages is beginning to be felt in Dalt Vila and, officially, there is just over a day to go before Ibiza Medieval begins again. The eagerly awaited fair comes with several new features, as announced on Tuesday by Ibiza Town Hall’s councillor for Festivities, Fran Torres, accompanied by the mayor, Rafael Triguero, who was experiencing one of his worst moments in office following complaints over alleged irregularities at one of his properties.

The first of the new features may be one that many residents had long been waiting for: medieval jousts with horses are over. In their place, it is time to jump and fly.

“We have listened to residents’ request not to have so many animals at the Medieval fair”, Torres explained, adding that, instead, there will be a new area in Reina Sofia: “A children’s acrobatics school” for the youngest members of the family. In fact, the medieval fair will begin this Thursday at 10am in this area, with a medieval gymkhana aimed at pupils from schools in Vila. According to Torres, it is a charitable activity promoted by the Ibiza organisation Proyecto Juntos.

Wristbands to help identify minors

Also with children in mind, this year sees the launch of a second citizen information point at Ibiza Medieval. The usual stand in Vara de Rey will this year be joined by another in es Soto and, from both, Civil Protection “will help distribute a type of wristband with an assigned number” for children to wear, so that they can be identified if they get lost.

The grand opening of the fair will also take place on Thursday at 7pm, with a performance by the Galician company Pablo Méndez Performance, entitled 'Ses Taules. El umbral del tiempo', in honour of the place where it will be held: the Portal de Ses Taules. This will be the focus of an event full of mystery, shadows and guardians. “It will be a great show with puppets and giant elements, acrobatics, dance and theatre... One that nobody should miss”, Torres stressed.

After the performance, the streets of Ibiza Town will be filled with entertainment groups, dance, theatre and live music. From 7.45pm, performances are scheduled in Reina Sofia park, Cathedral square and the Vara de Rey promenade, which the Town Hall hopes will be free of works as soon as possible. These will not be the only stages, Torres recalled: “There will also be performances at the bastion [of Santa Llúcia], in the Town Hall cloister and in the churches of Santo Domingo, the Convent and our Cathedral”.

More than 200 stalls and 70 fixed shows

It is precisely in Cathedral square that storytelling activities, orc performances and falconry displays are scheduled. These will feature the only animals taking part in this edition of Ibiza Medieval, with the same number of performances as last year.

In total, “more than 70 fixed shows will fill our stages with theatre, singing, live music...”, Torres listed, highlighting what he considers sets Ibiza’s medieval fair apart from the others held across Spain. Torres also noted that “practically 80% of the artists who are part of this programme are from Ibiza or live here”. “We have more than 150 performances, so you can imagine how beautiful and lively this Medieval fair is going to be”, he emphasised.

After two companies bidding to organise the fair tied, this year the winning company is finally Teatro de la Saca, S.L., Torres said. It will be responsible for most of the stalls that will be distributed from Vara de Rey to the Cathedral. “There are 120 external ones, from the mainland, then 60 from artisans and food businesses from the city, and, in addition, we have 22 from our pagesos, who show us the culture, our Ibizan roots and the art of making artisan products”, the councillor added.

Around 210,000 euros and 70,000 visits

To carry all this out, Ibiza Town Hall has an approximate budget of 210,000 euros, of which the Consell de Ibiza provides 30,000 to cover payments such as “overtime” for the Local Police during these days, Torres explained. Specifically, Ibiza Medieval will have reinforced security and cleaning services at night. “This does not mean that we organise the fair and stop attending to other neighbourhoods. A general reinforcement is being carried out across the city of Ibiza,” the mayor clarified.

Triguero also recalled that last year the fair exceeded 68,000 visits, which, according to Torres, was 14% more than the previous year, and this figure is expected to rise in this edition. “It is the best time for all our residents to share the pride of living in a city declared a World Heritage Site by Unesco, especially in this very special year, in which major investments have been made that undoubtedly improve this space. They make it more liveable and easier to move around, so that Dalt Vila can be more alive”, the mayor added.