San Javier’s 56th International Theatre, Music and Dance Festival has closed with around 25,000 spectators, making it the most popular edition of the past decade. Attendance and box-office takings both rose by almost 10 per cent, while the event recorded a record number of subscribers, with more than 300. The programme featured 20 productions across 19 consecutive days.

Five key performances sold out: Japanese percussion group Yamato’s ‘Hinotori, the Phoenix’, Luz Casal’s concert, Els Joglars’ ‘The Retable of Marvels’, ‘The Comedy of the Pot’ starring Carlos Sobera, and ‘Phaedra in the Underworld’, which marked Lydia Bosch’s return to the stage. Average attendance at Auditorio Parque Almansa reached 1,300 per performance.

The festival also brought free circus, dance and street theatre to San Javier, Santiago de la Ribera and Puerto Tomás Maestre in La Manga del Mar Menor. A new free film cycle, held with the Regional Film Library of Murcia, attracted around 2,000 people.

Organisers said the festival had an economic impact on local tourism, hospitality and retail. Hotels in the Mar Menor area reported increases in turnover of up to 50 per cent, while the overall economic return was estimated at up to five times the public investment. The programme included international and inclusive projects, as well as performances by local artists.