Madrid is a city full of life, famous for its cultural and architectural richness. Tourism floods the capital during the winter and spring, but in the summer months the immense heat makes it almost impossible to enjoy Madrid, and everyone rushes to leave the capital to spend a few days at the beach. However, soon those visiting or living in Madrid won't have to travel so far to go to the beach. Spain's new Alovera Beach, the largest artificial beach in Europe will open in 2023, and is located just over 30 minutes from the capital.
So, it seems that just what Madrid has been missing is right around the corner. In the municipality of Alovera, in the province of Guadalajara, the largest artificial beach in Europe is being built, and it is only 50km from Madrid (around 40 minutes by car).
According to the Spanish newspaper El Español, the local council in Alovera is due to approve the public tender for the complex in the coming weeks, and if everything goes ahead as planned, part of the complex could open in 2023.
The project has been held up on several occasions, partly because costs were too high. We're talking about an area of 105,000m2, of which 25,000m2 will make up the water area, and will be surrounded by another 15,000m2 of sand. In addition, the complex will have several beach bars and areas for water sports and sailing, slides, zip lines, beach volleyball courts and so on. The initial budget for the work is 15.6 million euros, and will bring yet another economic boost to Madrid's Corredor del Henares area, with the recent opening of the Oasiz Madrid shopping centre and leisure complex in Torrejón de Ardoz.
The project however has also been at the centre of some controversy. At the end of February, a vote saw the area's PP, Ciudadanos, Vox and Alternativa Alovera political parties in favour of the project, and those of the left wing parties PSOE and Unidas Podemos against. The main reason for the debate is the "Aguas del Sorbe", which supplies the entire Corredor del Henares area and Guadalajara capital with drinking water. Although its promoters have the concession of "Sector I-15 Las Suertes" to supply the complex, the use of drinking water to fill an artificial beach of such magnitude is what has put the left against it.