Medieval Market 2011 - the promotional video that cost us 6,000 (y pico) euros! Enjoy....we paid for it!

Here is the video link:     http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uZ5J3EQund8

The fiasco of the buses to & from the Medieval Market has been well documented throughout the week!

So moving on but staying with the subject of the Medieval Market, I wondered if many of us living on the Coast or in the pedania of Entre Naranjos saw this promotional video? Seems that it has received more than 4,000 views to date (sadly at least 8 are mine & only AFTER the event, watching  with incredulity & wondering............... "why?") 

In case you decide not to watch the video for yourself, I should tell you that it´s a "VIRTUAL" production, SADLY THE MONEY USED TO PAY FOR IT WAS "REAL" & THE MONEY USED TO PAY FOR IT WAS "OURS"!
(I know it cost more than 6,000 euros because I was in the January Pleno when the PSOE asked the cost; I can remember the 6,000 euros but not the figures that followed the 3 noughts...... anyway the important bit is that it cost over 6,000 euros & 6,000 euros can pay for quite a lot of more essential stuff!).

The story is that of "Origor & the Last Cross". Setting the scene for the street theatre of the 2011 Medieval Marke and propaganda concerning the current legal battle about the future of the Orihuela Cross.

And .......propaganda for the metaphorical Princess Lorente (whoops....Lorena!).


Was it some 6,000 euros well spent?

Did it attract some 6,000 euros worth of visitors?

Was it successful........ &if so, for who? on May 22nd 2011 will it encourage voters to say,
"Yes please, we want 4 more years of frivolous, uncontrolled spending of our hard earned cash by the PP!"........................
or  will the savvy, discerning voters SHOUT A LOUD RESOUNDING "ENOUGH! NO IT´S FINISHED!  NO MORE!"

On May 22nd it´s up to You, You decide!   
 

Was the Medieval Market in Orihuela worth 400.000€? Well…….what do you say?

I don´t want to pour cold water on this event, I enjoyed the spectacle, for me the historic quarter of Orihuela never looked so good!  ..........WAS IT WORTH THE MONEY?

The crowded streets buzzed, the stalls were beautifully presented, the street theatre was exceptional, it was good, very, very good!

                                       BUT  HOW GOOD IN REAL CASH TERMS?

                                                AND  WHO BENEFITTED?

·         Citizens may have enjoyed the event and felt proud of their city.

·         Visitors may have enjoyed the spectacle and perhaps the image of Orihuela was  enhanced.

·         The market traders may have made money.

·         The local associations that had stalls may have increased their funds.

·         The local bars and restaurants may have enjoyed better than normal trading figures.

·         The hotels and tourist apartments may have seen an increase in visitors.

        BUT HOW MUCH DID IT COST US THE TAX PAYERS?  

We may never know the real cost, the costs are likely to appear, or not appear, or appear eventually across different parts of the 2011 budget.

In 2010, according to a reliable source, 400,000 euros were paid to the company that managed the event….if 2011 was bigger does that mean that it cost us even more?

Was the publicity paid for by the Ayuntamiento or the company?

Who collected the rents paid by the stall holders, the Ayuntamiento or the company?

Then there are street cleaning costs….consider the straw, the litter, the debris….who paid?

Additional street lighting and electricity costs…who paid?

Extra Police and emergency services….who paid?

And this set against a backdrop of more than 7,000 unemployed in Orihuela, in a municipality that has so little money and so many IMMEDIATE ……arguably more pressing…..needs.

Perhaps the Citizens, the tax payers of Orihuela Municipality, are of the opinion that the entertainment and the “feel good factor” are worth the cost!  

However, as we are talking SERIOUS CASH, should we be asking for a bit more information about the costs versus the benefits of the Medieval Market? Possibly asking if, how and where the expenditure could be pruned? Asking if and how the event could be improved and developed?  Should we be asking how this lavish event is being evaluated and by who across a range of measures , such as: Citizen Satisfaction, Local, Regional, National and International benefits for Orihuela? Effects on Local Businesses? Effects on Tourism? Effects on PP popularity in the May elections? To mention but a few.

                                       THE ORIHUELA COSTA PERSPECTIVE

Let us not forget that the residents of Orihuela Costa and Entre Naranjos who make up approximately one third of the population of this Municipality (even though the PP controlled council regularly does).

Were businesses, associations and groups from this third of the population actively encouraged to take part?

Residents were invited to attend and to use the complimentary buses. Sadly, many residents never made it or had to change their travel plans at the last minute because there were no effective pre-booking arrangements in place other than “first come, first served” and on the day there were too few buses for too many people. How did these residents feel? There were also residents who were left stranded in Orihuela, unable to get on the overcrowded "first come, first served” return buses, and because there is no public bus service between Orihuela and Orihuela Costa, who were obliged to pay for taxis or to opt for “phone a friend”!

Finally, how does this market compare with the Christmas Market in Orihuela Costa? Could the one third have a little bit more of the money please!

(Ms. Lorente TRANSPARENCY, HONESTY, PUBLIC INFORMATION, PUBLIC OPINION FORUMS, EVALUATION OF PUBLIC PROJECTS AND SERVICES, CITIZEN PARTICIPATION aka DEMOCRACY ARE IMPORTANT! Or does democracy, like the right of franchise according to the PP council team, end several paces short of a ballot box in Orihuela Costa? )