Not a fair deal

MANY of the Valencian Community’s most-visited fairs and fiestas are held in mid-August. 
This year, the Covid-19 crisis has obliged town and city halls throughout the region to cancel them, bringing multi-million losses as visitors stay away. 
That was the case for Elche, which 500,000 people visited during the centuries-old Mystery Play and the Nit de l’Alba events in 2019. 
This year, Elche’s mayor Carlos Gonzalez calculates that having to suspend the fiestas will lose €50 million for the city and its businesses. 
Xativa (Valencia), whose Fallas fiestas had to be cancelled in March when Covid-19 began to spread, also had written off its Fira d’Agost, a fair that has been held since obtaining Jaume I’s royal charter in 1250. 
Xativa’s Fiestas councillor Pedro Aldavero estimated that cancelling the fair has brought losses of €25 million. 
“What is there to say?” Aldavero shrugged.  “We have to accept it and try to reduce the impact as best we can.”