Orihuela has approved two grants of €130,000 for the annual projects of Holy Week and the Reconquest and Moors and Christians festivities, providing combined municipal support of €260,000 for the 2026 financial year.
The Local Government Board agreed the awards on 20 October, and their conditions were published in Alicante province’s official gazette on Friday 23 October.
These are exceptional direct grants, a funding arrangement based on the distinctive cultural and tourism significance of the two celebrations.
Music, the museum and festival activities
The Junta Mayor de Cofradías, Hermandades y Mayordomías de la Semana Santa will receive one allocation for a programme covering activities and the preservation of heritage resources, as well as processions.
Its project totals €130,900 and includes €95,000 for bands, €12,900 for maintaining the Holy Week Museum and €9,000 for printing, alongside other supporting services.
The Santas Justa y Rufina Moors and Christians festival association will receive the other €130,000 towards a project with a total budget of €250,265.
That programme covers restoration of festival items, maintenance of the association’s premises, Cultural Week, the mid-year festivities, competitions and publication of the magazine, alongside the floral offering, Retreta and parades.
It also includes the Taking of the Castle, the Guerrilla de Pólvora gunpowder event, bands, pageantry, accessibility and promotion, together with talks, concerts and other cultural activities.
Advance payments and expenditure deadline
The conditions provide for an advance payment of 80% of each grant, equivalent to €104,000 per organisation; the balance will be paid once the council approves the complete expenditure justification for the project.
The associations must supply financial documentation supporting their expenditure and declare any other grants, income or resources assigned to the same activities, with combined funding not allowed to exceed the actual project cost.
The final deadline for submitting that expenditure justification is 20 November 2026.
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