The mayor of Madrid, José Luis Martínez-Almeida (c), participates in the training that the Chicago Bears team of the NFL League organized for children last Friday at Go Fit Vallehermoso in Madrid.RODRIGO JIMÉNEZ (EFE)
And now, security.
After the approval of the court, the controversial Madrid
mascletà
will be held this Sunday at one in the afternoon on the Puente del Rey esplanade, in the Madrid Río park.
The capital's City Council has made public its mobility and security plan.
Vehicle traffic on the M30 will remain normal during the
mascletà
, although the connecting branches with the A-5 and the exits to the San Vicente roundabout, Puente de Segovia and Paseo de la Virgen del Puerto will be cut.
More information
The 'mascletà de Almeida: this explains the effect on a renaturalized environment with 121 species of birds without an environmental impact assessment
Madrid Calle 30, a municipal company that fully manages the M-30, will cut eight branches of the perimeter of the Puente del Rey in Madrid Río, but will keep the interior road operational and two of the three exterior lanes through which traffic can be circulated without restrictions and normally, although maximum caution is requested, as the City Council warns in the press release.
The cut will occur at 12:00 on Sunday and the branches will be fully opened half an hour after the end of the event, which lasts seven minutes and will begin at 1:00 p.m.
To guarantee security, Madrid Calle 30 will reinforce with 35 more troops than usual who carry out their work during the Sunday days, including intervention agents, surveillance, conservation, maintenance personnel, Tunnel Control Center operators and engineers.
Safety device
On the other hand, a complete security and emergency device has been established for Sunday morning, in which a CECOR (Operational Coordination Center) will be organized in the vicinity of Puente del Rey, where the Firefighters' commanders will be, Municipal Police and SAMUR-Civil Protection, services that will be deployed in the area of the
mascletà
celebration .
On the part of the Fire Department, 23 professionals will be mobilized, making up three forestry pumps that will act as checkpoints, in addition to two command vehicles and two more firefighters as chief and supervisor on duty.
Meanwhile, SAMUR-Civil Protection will deploy 21 health workers in ten different units (two advanced life support, four basic life support and four first response units) and an Advanced Health Post that will also have a special procedures team.
Finally, the security and emergency device will have around 160 municipal police officers.
What does the protocol signed between Madrid and Valencia say?
The mayor of Madrid and the mayor of Valencia signed in January, during the International Tourism Fair, a tourism promotion protocol in which Almeida's electoral promise has been included: if the PP wins in Valencia, there will be
mascletà
in Madrid.
The agreement between both mayors was forged last month and will last four years, with the possibility of a one-year extension.
In the protocol, to which EL PAÍS has had access, it is highlighted that both cities “are historically linked by geographical and cultural characteristics” and that therefore “it is convenient” to increase tourist exchange between them.
For this, a working group will be created with personnel from the tourism areas of both cities, “cultural, tourist and leisure” events will be held to increase “knowledge among citizens” of the tourist offer of Madrid and Valencia and They will create contact channels for companies that work in that sector.
Although this protocol does not have, in itself, legal commitments or a budget, it does open the possibility of creating specific agreements for activities, such as
this Sunday's
mascletà .
How much does a similar event cost in Valencia?
Madrid will use more kilos of gunpowder than the last
mascletà
that was made in the Plaza del Ayuntamiento in Valencia at the close of the Fallas on March 19, 2023, which used more than 260 kilos.
That was carried out by the same company that was contracted in Madrid and had a cost of 8,500 euros, according to the Public Sector Contracting Platform.
The one in Madrid will cost 46,000 euros.
The agreement between both mayors was forged last month and will last four years, with the possibility of a one-year extension.
In the protocol, to which EL PAÍS has had access, it is highlighted that both cities “are historically linked by geographical and cultural characteristics” and that therefore “it is convenient” to increase tourist exchange between them.
For this, a working group will be created with personnel from the tourism areas of both cities, they will carry out “cultural, tourist and leisure” events to increase “knowledge among citizens” of the tourist offer of Madrid and Valencia and they will create contact channels for companies working in that sector.
Although this protocol does not have, in itself, legal commitments or a budget, it does open the possibility of creating specific agreements for activities, such as
An event of this type exceeds 120 decibels, according to the official tourist website that promotes the Valencia Fallas and its pyrotechnic events.
The World Health Organization (WHO) considers any sound higher than 65 decibels as noise and, in entertainment events, recommends a maximum average sound level of 100 decibels.
These figures also allow us to measure the other cost that is talked about in Madrid: the environmental one.
Why in Madrid Río?
Initially, the
mascletà
was projected in the Plaza de Cibeles or the Plaza de Colón, as evidenced by a publication in X on the official account of the Valencia City Council.
In November, both administrations studied “the technical feasibility” of doing so in those places, although they did not rule out “other locations.”
The company Pirotecnia Valenciana SL was in Madrid that weekend to study the place and date for the event.
A week ago, the City Council confirmed that the
mascletà
would take place on February 18 on the Puente del Rey.
Almeida has assured that this point meets “all the technical requirements”, although in no space has he explained what they are.
The vice mayor, Inmaculada Sanz, has said that the technical reports will confirm “that it is a space where it can be done from all points of view, security, environment and everything else.”
But, three days before the event, they are still not public.
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