BLUE FLAG BEACHES
A total of 57 beaches and 15 marinas in Andalucía have received the distinctive Blue Flag, awarded by the European Environmental Education Foundation and which recognises the quality of the environment and the health quality of the waters. It means that this year Andalucía receives 8 blue flags more than last year. In Málaga 17 beaches in eleven municipalities have received the award, including Nerja, Torrox, Fuengirola, Marbella and Estepona. The provinces of Cádiz and Almería have received in addition awards in concepts of life- saving and first aid, as well as for Environmental information and education.

AERO FILM FESTIVAL
Fans of adventure sports are, without doubt, enjoying the World Aero Games which are currently being held in different Andalucian locations. Now in addition they have the opportunity to enjoy the second edition of the Aero Film Festival which is held until July 1 in Segura de la Sierra, Jaén province. The event, included as part of the Aero games offers 24 international films in competition and a photographic competition of images of flight which compete in the categories of Nature, Sport and Adventure. The Jaén Aero Film Festival has become one of the best in Europe and is now a tourist and cultural attraction of the first order.

GOLFSPAIN.COM
There is no doubt about the importance that golf has in the Andalucian tourism industry. Each year thousands of Spaniards and foreigners visit here exclusively to play this sport which is less elitist each day and more popular with many fans in Andalucía which offers the best facilities for the playing of this sport. Now making a reserve for a round of golf can be done quicker and more simply than ever - thanks to a pioneering system in Spain. The internet portal Golfspain.com Using this portal you can make instant reserves and can check the tee off times available in real time for different golf courses. A notably improved service for clients therefore thanks to this new facility.

DESCRIPTIVE AUDIO TOURIST GUIDE
For those who want to know Seville - you no longer need to carry a tourist guide while you see the monuments. A descriptive audio guide can now be purchased from top hotels in the city which explains in sound the history of each monument. The idea has come from the company BBD Multimedia with the support of Sevilla City Hall. It’s a simple system using a compact disc and player. Thanks to a plan with 99 important points, the tourist can know details of the history of the city. The disc also contains 350 photographs of Seville with images which it also describes. A presenter reads the descriptive texts written by the historian José María de Mena. The CD is on sale for 19 Euros - some 3,000 pesetas, while the player is lent to tourists by the hotels.

ANTEQUERA MONUMENTS BY NIGHT
Several monuments in the Málaga town of Antequera can now be visited during the night. Access is therefore easier to those tourists who prefer to avoid the high daytime temperatures of the summer. The Collegiate church of Santa María la Mayor, the Carmen church and the Municipal museum are some of the places open on Tuesday Wednesday and Thursday evenings from 9 to 11pm. The idea, which continues in operation until September, also applies to the Museum in the Convent de las Descalzas - inhabited by a congregation of enclosed nuns. The Collegiate church of Santa María la Mayor, dating from the 16th century was the first church constructed in the renaissance style in Andaucía. The Nájera palace, home of the Antequera municipal museum, built at the start of the 18th century contains in its interior pieces as valuable as El Efebo - the bust of Germanic or the Venus of Antequera.

PARISH CHURCH OF HINOJOSA DEL DUQUE
A plateresque jewel in the middle of the Córdoba sierra. The parish church of San Juan Bautista, better known as the cathedral of the sierra, which has taken two years to restore so that the faithful and the visitors can now see it as in its best moments. The restoration cost some 60 million pesetas, about 360,000 Euros, and was carried out under the European Lider II programme together with the Junta de Andalucía, Cajasur, the Cordoba Bishopric and the local council. The reinauguration is in itself good news - but there is more... Because to celebrate the occasion the temple is hosting, until July 8, a grand exhibition of 21 works by the painter Zurbarán - a cultural event of great calibre which no local or Andaucian will want to miss. The majority of the works from the convent of the buena muerte y de la concepcion in Lima, Peru. Hinojosa del Duque is celebrating. Once again you can enjoy its hundred year old church - a pleasure - enjoy the exhibition and the historic walls which surround it.

JAEN DIGITAL SALON
New technologies are the centre of attraction of the show on at the Jaén provincial museum until July 8. It contains 82 digital works from artists from different countries, and comes from the 8th digital salon in New York. In this curious exhibition a whole wealth of possibilities offered by new technologies can be seen such as digital images, CD roms, Digital videos, web pages and interactive installations. The Digital Salon of New York is held in the American city each year. Now we have the opportunity to see it in the Jaén provincial museum from Tuesday to Sunday until July 8.

AGENDA
Cristóbal Ruiz has an exhibition in the Sociedad Económica de Amigos del Pais in Málaga until Tuesday July 3.

Between Thursday 5 and Sunday 8 of July the Musical bands of Andalucia competition will be held in the Granada province town of Chauchina.

Zalamea, in Huelva, celebrates the San Peter romería this first Sunday of July to the Marigenta parish.

The South Theatre Festival is held in Palma del Rio in Córdoba from Monday 2 to Saturday 7 July.

Until July 15 we can visit the Málaga municipal museum exhibition room to see three centuries in shapes and objects from the royal palaces and monasteries.

Torredonjimeno in Jaén is celebrating its fair in honour of Saint Peter the Apostle from Wednesday 27 June to Sunday July 1.

The Andalucia beach volley ball club championships continue until July 22 in the provinces of Almeria, Granada, Málaga, Cádiz and Huelva.

The procession of the Virgen de Araceli takes place in Lucena,m Córdoba province on Wednesday July 4.

José Mercé performs in the municipal caseta of Estepona as part of this Málaga province town’s fair, on Saturday July 7.

The Joaquín Peinado 1918 to 1945 show ends in the Casa Museo de San Vicente in Granada on July 8.

José Aguilera continues to show his ‘Myths, saints and personalities’ in the Sala Alameda in Málaga. Saturday 7 of July sees the popular wine tasting in Aguilar de la Frontera, in Córdoba.

The bagpipe player Carlos Nuñez performs in the Cervantes Theatre in Málaga on Saturday 7 July.