Romans and Carthaginians in Cartagena, Spain faces cuts
26 / 07 / 2010
Cartagena Spain, The town hall is on an austerity drive
2010-07-27
The organizers of the popular Romans and Carthaginians fiestas in Cartagena have announced that due to budgetary restraints they will be unable to put on the most spectacular and popular element of the fiesta this year - the Roman Circus.
One of the biggest problems they have is a suitable venue, as the Estadio Cartagonova is no longer open for their use, Cartagena FC now playing in the second division and needing the ground, so last year the Town Hall of Cartagena helped with the costs of hiring a portable bullring in which to hold the event.
This year, however, the Town hall, along with every other town hall in the Region of Murcia, faces massive budgetary cuts and is on an austerity drive, which means there is no money to fund the hire of a bullring.
Toni Moreno, the president of the association, is pragmatic about the decision, "If we only have four coming in and the circus costs eight, it is obvious that we neither should or could put the circus on. The responsible thing is not to do it this year, and I believe that people will understand, " she said at the weekend.
It costs nearly 58,000 euros to put on the Roman Circus, which includes hiring in professional actors and trained combat experts for the mock gladiator battles, as well as the hire of exotic animals for the evening, so it has been decided to use the funds already pledged for the circus to spice up some of the other events which are taking place during the week.
Apparently we're all in for some surprises this year when watching the parades passing by, and have been promised some extra treats in the encampment zone, so we'll keep you up to date as the Fiestas approach and let you know the final programme once it's available.
The dates for this years' Romans and Carthaginians, Fiestas de Romanos y Carthagineses, are the 17th -26th September.
If you've not seen these spectacular fiestas before, here's last years programme to whet your appetite. Romans and Carthaginians, Cartagena
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