Arrecife puts the Christmas Fair out to tender: minimum fee of 25,501 euros

The Arrecife City Council has approved the public domain concession project and the specifications that will govern the installation and operation of the Arrecife Christmas Fair 2026/2027 at the municipal site located at Juan de Quesada Street number 10. The resolution was adopted via Mayoral Decree number 2026-12018, dated October 23, 2026, and is published in the Official Gazette of the Province of Las Palmas number 129, dated October 28, 2026 (announcement 3.438, reference 2.176.655). The project and specifications are now subject to public consultation for thirty business days starting from the day following the publication of the announcement.

The processing complies with Article 84 of the Regulations on Assets of Local Entities, approved by Royal Decree 1372/1986, of June 13 (RBEL), and the public exhibition complies with Article 87.4 of the same regulation. The text reproduces in full the project, the specifications, and its three annexes, and bears the signature of the mayor-president, Yonathan de León Machín, with reference to File 31049/2026.

The chosen formula is a single concession for the private use of the public domain, granted through a competitive process, for which any entrepreneur, natural person, or legal entity may apply. The City Council justifies the single concession due to the unitary nature of the fairground and the need to coordinate access, common areas, and evacuation routes. The concession is excluded from the contractual scope according to Article 9.1 of the Public Sector Contracts Law and does not involve municipal expenditure: all installations are removable and are provided by the concessionaire.

Minimum fee, area, and guarantees

The economic study values the occupied land and sets the economic magnitudes of the tender:

• Area of the site: 4,148 square meters.
• Estimated unit value of the land: 1,100 euros per square meter.
• Market value of the occupied land: 4,562,800 euros.
• Minimum fee for 34 calendar days of occupation: 25,501.68 euros.
• Provisional guarantee (2%): 91,256 euros.
• Definitive guarantee (3%): 136,884 euros, to be established within fifteen days following the notification of the award.

The fee is calculated by applying a reference annual yield of 6% on the value of the land, prorated by the days of occupation, and will be recalculated if the final calendar varies. The award will go to the admitted bidder who offers the highest fee, without subsequent negotiation or bidding; in the event of a tie, it will be resolved by public draw. The board will be a qualifying commission of three municipal officials, and bids will be submitted through the Public Sector Procurement Platform, with the possibility of in-person registration for natural persons not required to interact electronically.

Assembly, opening, and removal calendar

The specifications establish a reference calendar, without tacit or automatic extension, which will be definitively announced with the call for tenders:

• Assembly: from December 16 to 22, 2026.
• Open to the public: from December 23, 2026, to January 5, 2027.
• Dismantling and removal: from January 6 to 18, 2027.

The venue will be handed over on December 16, 2026, provided that the concession has been formalized, and the concessionaire must leave it free of installations, materials, and waste no later than January 18, 2027. Opening is subject to a prior municipal inspection, the security and emergency plan, and the public spectacle authorization.

Seven minimum mandatory spaces

The fair must have, at a minimum, the following facilities, the absence of which during the prior inspection will prevent opening:

• Fairground attractions with offerings for children, families, youth, and adults, each with a safety certificate, current inspection, and its own insurance.
• A free and open-access rest and dining area, with accessible itineraries.
• A Christmas shop with crafts and local products from Lanzarote and other islands of the Canaries.
• A gastronomic area with Canarian cuisine options and compliance with hygienic-sanitary regulations.
• Christmas decorative elements, including an access portal, lighting, and a Christmas tree.
• An inclusive zone with a sensory rest space, adapted activities, and signage with pictograms.
• An area at the concessionaire’s free disposal for complementary activities.

Public access to the venue, the walkways, and the rest area shall be free, and fixed works and anchors that alter the pavement, trees, or urban furniture are prohibited. Adjacent areas, affected by the maritime-terrestrial and port public domain, are outside the scope of the concession.

Impact for the sector

The call opens a Christmas market with nearly a month and a half of occupancy in a venue of more than four thousand square meters in the center of Arrecife, with a starting fee exceeding 25,500 euros and guarantees exceeding 90,000 euros, thresholds that condition the profile of the applicants. Leisure companies, fairground operators, and gastronomic operators now have thirty business days to file objections to the specifications before the City Council formally announces the tender in the Official Gazette of the Province of Las Palmas and in the municipal contracting profile.

Source: Official Gazette of the Province of Las Palmas, number 129, of October 28, 2026, section I, pp. 18552-18566 (official reference: 2.176.655, announcement 3.438).