163rd edition of the Sevilla Fair underway

163rd edition of the Sevilla Fair underway
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By h.b. - Apr 20, 2010 - 9:42 AM
370,000 lightbulbs have been used in this year's illuminations

This year's entrance to the feria - EFE

The 163rd edition of Sevilla’s Feria, the famous April fair, was officially started on Monday night as the Mayor, Alfredo Sánchez Monteseirín, flicked the switch to turn on the 370,000 lightbulbs that make up the illuminations this year.

The famous gateway to the fairground this year is dedicated to the centenary of the aviation industry in the city. Consisting of 20,000 lights, the gateway weighs 250 tons and is 43.4 metres tall. It was 100 years ago this year, that the first Bleriot XI took off from the Tablada military zone, close to today’s fairground. A replica of the plane is located above the gateway.

It’s a week of fun which will, at peak times, bring together as many as a million people across the 15 streets of 1,047 casetas which make up the fairground site which covers a million square metres in the Los Remedios district of the city. 450,000 of that is made up of the marquees, the rest is for the fairground rides and parking.

Tuesday sees the appearance of the horses and carriages. There are 1,400 with permission this year, but they will be controlled to ensure than no more than 700 are in the fairground at any one time, as any more can lead to ‘traffic jams’.

Revellers may find getting to and from the ferial more difficult this year as a local bus strike is underway, although the new city Metro will be running 24 hours a day.

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