PONT DE VALENCIA
Valencia News | Heatwave Deaths, Train Strike & July Fair
WEEK OF 29 JUNE 2026
Bon dia. A deadly heatwave is tightening its grip on the region, with 26 lives lost in Valencia and the Mediterranean running three degrees above its seasonal temperature. A national railway strike starts today, with more than 300 trains cancelled across Spain. And on Wednesday, the city launches its month-long Gran Feria de Julio — 155 years young — with a recreation of Valencia as it looked in 1871.
CITY & ENVIRONMENT
26 dead as the heatwave claims its first victims
The Valencian Community has recorded at least 26 heat-related deaths, all in people aged over 65, according to new health data reported by Las Provincias. Health authorities are urging older residents to take precautions against heatstroke, including staying cool and watching for early symptoms such as dizziness and disorientation.
The burden of extreme heat is not falling evenly across the city. Data published by Levante-EMV shows that poorer neighbourhoods in Valencia and l’Horta are experiencing temperatures up to five degrees higher than wealthier areas — a gap driven by differences in green cover, building density, and access to cool indoor spaces.
Parents are also raising alarms about conditions inside schools. With classroom temperatures reaching 36°C in some cases, families are calling on authorities to make urgent improvements to school buildings and playgrounds. The pressure follows another sweltering end to the academic year.
Underlying all of it: the Mediterranean Sea has reached 25°C — roughly three degrees above its seasonal average. Scientists quoted by Las Provincias say the unusually warm waters are helping to sustain and intensify the current heatwave, and may increase the risk of extreme weather events in the months ahead.
Sources: Alerta entre la Valencia sénior: 25 mayores fallecidos por causas achacables al exceso de temperaturas — Las Provincias · Los barrios pobres de València y l’Horta sufren un bochorno hasta cinco grados más alto que los ricos — Levante-EMV · Un fin de curso abrasador: las familias exigen medidas contra el calor en escuelas infantiles y de verano — Levante · El Mediterráneo está a 25º, tres grados por encima de lo normal — Las Provincias
CITY & TRANSPORT
320 trains cancelled as railway workers strike
A new railway strike begins today, with more than 320 trains cancelled across Spain. The action affects high-speed and long-distance services and is expected to disrupt summer travel plans across the network. The railway workers’ union is demanding greater involvement in management decisions and improved working conditions.
Source: 320 trenes cancelados por la huelga del Sindicato Ferroviario que empieza este lunes — Valencia Plaza
CITY & POLITICS
Corruption verdicts, Mazón protests — and a case that took two decades
Spain’s Supreme Court has convicted former transport minister José Luis Ábalos — a senior figure in the governing PSOE — on charges of bribery, embezzlement, influence peddling, and involvement in a criminal organisation. He was sentenced to 24 years in prison. The New York Times has a summary of the case and its implications for Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, with opposition parties renewing calls for early elections.
Separately, a much older corruption case reached its final chapter last week. A court in Valencia acquitted all five remaining defendants in the Imelsa case — including Marcos Benavent, the former public official who once called himself a “money junkie” — ending proceedings that began more than two decades ago. Prosecutors had alleged kickbacks and contract-rigging in Valencia’s cultural sector. The court noted in its ruling that years of procedural delays had affected the case.
And in Paiporta on Sunday, hundreds gathered for the monthly protest demanding accountability from former Valencian president Carlos Mazón over his handling of the 2024 flood disaster. Demonstrators are calling for Mazón to be stripped of parliamentary immunity. The protests, held in one of the worst-hit municipalities, have now been running longer than any other political demonstration in the community’s recent history.
Sources: Spanish Leader’s Former Ally Is Sentenced to Prison for 24 Years — NY Times · Absuelto el ‘yonki del dinero’ y otros cuatro acusados en la pieza del ‘caso Imelsa’ sobre los contratos de Cultura en Valencia — El País · Paiporta acoge la manifestación para pedir que Mazón no sea aforado — Valencia Plaza
CITY & ECONOMY
The grocery bill is up €1,100 a year since 2020
Valencian households are spending more than €1,100 extra per year on everyday groceries compared with 2020, according to Las Provincias. Eggs and olive oil have seen some of the sharpest price rises — a pattern familiar to anyone who has shopped in the city over the past few years.
Source: Los hogares valencianos ya gastan 1.100 euros más al año en la cesta de la compra que en 2020 — Las Provincias
CITY & SAFETY
School attack narrowly averted in Foios
Two eighth-grade students have been arrested and are under investigation after police say they gathered machetes and other weapons and attempted to stab a fellow pupil at a school in Foios, north of the city. Las Provincias reports that investigators found the pair had been frequenting online forums that glorified school killings. The case is still under investigation.
Source: El germen de la matanza frustrada del instituto de Foios — Las Provincias
CITY & CULTURE
Valencia travels back to 1871 — and the Gay Games are under way
The Gran Feria de Julio opens on Wednesday with a spectacle in the Plaza del Ayuntamiento: a recreation of Valencia as it appeared in 1871, marking 155 years of the festival. The month ahead brings free concerts, fireworks, and the summer fairground in the Turia riverbed — rides, games, and the particular atmosphere of a city that takes its summer celebrations seriously.
The Gay Games 2026, which opened last week, are now in full swing. The opening ceremony filled the Ciutat de Valencia stadium in Orriols, launching a week of competition across 39 sports. Valencia Plaza has published both a report and a photo gallery from the opening night. Meanwhile, the city’s Venezuelan community held an emotional vigil at Plaza de la Virgen on Sunday for victims of the earthquake in Venezuela. Donation points have been set up across the city, including at Plaza de la Virgen, to collect food, medicine, and other supplies for survivors.
Sources: ¿Por qué Valencia viajará a 1871? La historia detrás del gran espectáculo que transformará la plaza del Ayuntamiento — Valencia Extra · València se convierte en la capital del deporte y la diversidad con la inauguración de los XII Gay Games — Valencia Plaza · La celebración del Orgullo 2026 en València, en imágenes — Valencia Plaza · València se vuelca con Venezuela: una emotiva vigilia por las víctimas del terremoto — Levante-EMV
