Rincon de la Victoria’s ‘Tolkien-inspired’ park put out to tender

THE construction work on the controversial ‘Tolkien-inspired’ park in Rincon de la Victoria has been put out to tender.
The project has sparked significant interest amongst bidders, who will have to meet a minimum bid of €1.74 million.
Interested companies will be able to present their submissions until May 24, explaining the financial and technical proposals, and the project is expected to be awarded by the beginning of June.
The park is to be constructed in the area of Torre de Benagalbon, in a municipal land plot of around 80,000 square metres.
After its official presentation at the international tourism fair, Fitur, Mayor Francisco Salado assured that the legal aspects were taken care of and that the park would be inspired by “the magic of fairy tales, fantasy and elves, which are universally known and do not belong to any author.”
However, the project was met with difficulties regarding copyright issues as there were direct mentions of the Lord of the Rings author at the tourism fair. In addition, during the presentation, representatives of the council were accompanied by actors dressed up as characters that significantly resembled those of the films based on JRR Tolkien’s books.