Malaga bullfighting fair attracts strong interest as queues on first day of season ticket renewal show

Culture

More than 100 people turned up for the opening of the ticket offices, with the first customer arriving at the bullring after midnight on Wednesday

Antonio M. Romero

Anticipation is building for the Malaga bullfighting fair. On the first day of season ticket renewals, queues formed at the city's bullring. Although fans are guaranteed their seats and have three days to collect their tickets, around 100 people waited, some for several hours, for the ticket offices to open at 10am on Wednesday.

Francisco Calvo was the first to arrive at the bullring shortly before midnight. Throughout the morning, he took turns with his friend Francisco Martín to secure his season ticket for the special upper tier, limited to 150 seats at very affordable prices.

At 4.30am, Juan joined them in the queue. Javier Fernández arrived at 8am from Alcalá de los Gazules (Cadiz). He has been a season ticket holder for eight years.

The person who holds the record for being the oldest season ticket holder in Malaga is Manuel Jiménez Bravo, who has been buying his seat for the bullfights for 66 consecutive years. He waited patiently, seated next to the walker he uses due to his mobility issues.

Fans waited in the shade to enter the bullring when the doors opened at 10am. Once inside the arena's corridors, sheltered from the high temperatures, they waited to enter the ticket area.

There, in an air-conditioned environment, they received personalised service at one of the four tables staffed by Tauroemoción employees.

After collecting their season tickets, which offer a 40 per cent discount compared to individual tickets, they received a bag containing the poster for the bullfighting fair, the commemorative stamp for the 150th anniversary of La Malagueta, the book Antonio Ordóñez Araújo. Cruz de Beneficencia: historia y verdad by Julio Ramón Yagües Fernández and the official magazine of the festival.

Preferential treatment for season ticket holders is part of the policy Tauroemoción CEO Alberto García announced after the signing of the contract on 24 June. This policy also includes 50 per cent discounts for the bull-leaping competition, for other events in the Malaga season and other bullrings managed by Tauroemoción.

One of the goals García has set for himself is to double the number of season ticket holders at La Malagueta during his five years of managing the arena, reaching 5,000. Last season, there were 2,261 season ticket holders in Malaga.

Season ticket renewals will be open until 25 July. New season ticket holders will have from 26 to 28 July to purchase them both at the ticket offices and on the official website of the bullring: www.plazatorosmalaga.es, while the sale of individual tickets will take place from 29 July.

The ticket office is open Monday to Friday from 10am to 2pm and from 5.30pm to 8.30pm. On Saturdays and Sundays, it only opens in the morning.

For any further information, please call 632 188 216 or email taquilla@tauroemocion.com.

Read dedicated local reporting for Malaga city