The third edition of the La Palma Blue Experience festival, promoted by the La Palma Island Council through the public company SODEPAL, was presented today at a highly anticipated press conference, with the participation of key figures from the island and the institutions responsible for its promotion. The festival, which combines activities to raise awareness about marine sustainability and coastal conservation, will culminate this year with a much-anticipated finale: concerts by Juanes and Óscar de León, to be held as part of the event (on December 20th), adding a unique touch of music and solidarity to the program.
The press conference was attended by the president of the La Palma Island Council, Sergio Rodríguez; the councilor for Economic Promotion, Commerce, Culture and Heritage of the La Palma Island Council, Miriam Perestelo; the mayor of Breña Alta, Jonathan Felipe; and the general director of Coasts of the Government of the Canary Islands, Antonio Acosta.
The La Palma Blue Experience festival returns this year as a forum for reflecting on the importance of marine conservation, with a special focus on the blue economy and the importance of caring for our coastline. The program, organized by the La Palma World Biosphere Reserve Foundation, will include activities such as talks, workshops, and screenings for secondary school students from various schools across the island.
The closing event of this edition will be a concert by Juanes and Óscar D’León, in which music will come together to continue defending the preservation of the environment and our marine ecosystems.
Environmental education will also be a key component, focusing this year on workshops about cetacean strandings. These workshops will primarily aim to teach the importance of protecting the marine environment and how to respond in such situations. This activity will be led by the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, through its University Institute of Animal Health and Food Safety.
In addition, the traveling exhibition of cetaceans from Macaronesia will be inaugurated by the Loro Parque Foundation and with the support of the La Caixa Foundation, Fred Olsen and Archipiélago Renting; in which the species that inhabit the waters of La Palma will be shown, raising awareness about their protection.
In this regard, the president of the Cabildo of La Palma, Sergio Rodríguez, highlighted that many of the educational activities will be based at the Cigar Museum of Breña Alta, where also “the famous ambergris stone found in the stranding that occurred on Nogales beach will be presented, which is already in the hands of the Island Council.”
In this regard, the president highlighted the role of Antonio Fernández, Professor of Forensic Veterinary Pathology at the University Institute of Animal Health (attached to the ULPGC), in the discovery of this specimen valued at around 500,000 euros.
For her part, the Councillor for Economic Promotion, Trade, Culture and Heritage of the Cabildo of La Palma, Miriam Perestelo, added that “this festival was born with clear objectives which are to raise awareness and sensitize the public about the importance of our seas and coastline, especially in an environment like that of our island, and also about the opportunities for economic development of everything linked to the blue economy, maintaining sustainability as the objective.”
The mayor of Breña Alta, Jonathan Felipe, was equally excited about the selection of his municipality as the venue for this festival, and also highlighted that “the municipality of Breña Alta is a place full of opportunities for the island of La Palma, emphasizing its role as a provider of services at the island level,” which reinforces its collaborative nature as well as its connection to the coastline and environmental responsibility.
Finally, the Director General of Coasts for the Canary Islands Government, Antonio Acosta, emphasized the need to involve all citizens in protecting the coastline, highlighting the importance of education in raising awareness about the importance of our marine ecosystems. He made special mention of the Loro Parque Foundation following the signing last Friday of a protocol of action with the Directorate General of Coasts for all the Canary Islands.
La Palma Blue Experience, a festival organized by the La Palma Island Council through the public company SODEPAL, with the support of the Government of the Canary Islands through the Ministry of Tourism and Promotur with its “Canary Islands Latitude of Life” brand, will be held with a program of activities that will encourage active community participation. The combination of music, science, and marine conservation promises to make La Palma the epicenter of sustainability and environmental stewardship, while further establishing this festival as a leading event for raising awareness and knowledge about our coastline in the Canary Islands.
For more information about the La Palma Blue Experience festival and to purchase tickets for the concerts, please visit the official website (www.lapalmablueexperience.com)