Mayor Judith Piquet presented the report of nine days of festivities with over 300 activities, no serious incidents, and a police presence that doubled drug reports.
Alcalá de Henares concluded its Fairs and Festivities 2026 with a report that the mayor, Judith Piquet, summarised this Tuesday as "calm and joyful" festivities. Over nine days, more than 300 activities took place across fifty spaces, with massive participation from locals and visitors, and no serious incidents, according to the report presented by the mayor.
Piquet attributed the outcome to the coordinated work of municipal services, the Security Forces, Civil Protection, Emergencies, festive groups, and local businesses, as well as the "civic and responsible behaviour" of the citizens. In her speech, the mayor defined these fairs as a reflection of the city model promoted by her government team: "an Alcalá that is open, tolerant, generous, and loving of freedom, but also a city that guarantees safety, respect, and well-being".
The security operation, with a preventive reinforcement of the Local Police coordinated with the National Police, included filters, surveillance cameras, canine units, and a unit for violent youth gangs. This deployment, according to Piquet, allowed for "more control, more identification, and more detection before a behaviour or risky situation becomes a bigger problem". As a result, drug reports doubled thanks to the canine units, and those related to the sale of alcohol to minors increased.
The mayor emphasised that since 2023, the city has had four editions without mass disturbances: "the control of public space has not been lost at any moment and the Fairs have not been held hostage by violence". This edition recorded six brawls or assaults, considered minor incidents, and eight knives were seized. Piquet recalled that in 2022 there were 164 fights and a mass brawl that forced the evacuation of around 10,000 people, and in 2021 disturbances in Plaza de Cervantes left 10 police officers injured and four arrested.
The cultural programme was once again one of the main attractions. The Nights of the Patio were practically full, the Teatro Salón Cervantes reached an average occupancy of nearly 90%, and guided tours of the historical sites were oversubscribed despite increasing capacity. More than 11,000 people attended the concerts at La Muralla and nearly 4,000 at the evenings in the Parque de Sementales.
The high attendance generated 116 tonnes of waste removed from the public space. A special cleaning operation was deployed with over 70 people and about 30 mechanised means. As an example of speed, during the night of the opening speech, 160 kilos of plastic bottles were collected at the doors of the Town Hall just a few minutes after the event ended.
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