- Councilor Borja Santamaría criticizes the lack of promotion and strategy just three months before the international event.
- The controversy Gay Games Valencia 2026 increases after the transfer of the “Village” to the Orriols neighborhood without neighborhood consensus.
- The socialists accuse the PP of giving in to its Vox partners and hiding an event that places the city as a benchmark for diversity.
Political tension has exploded in the Valencia City Council. Socialist councilor Borja Santamaría today denounced the “obvious contempt” and lack of commitment of the Mayor María José Catalá towards one of the biggest sporting events of the year. The controversy Gay Games Valencia 2026 focuses on the total absence of dissemination campaigns and on planning that, according to the PSPV, seeks to make the event “absolutely nothing is noticeable” on the streets of the city.
The transfer from the Village to Orriols generates discomfort
One of the most critical points of the controversy Gay Games Valencia 2026 has been the unilateral decision to move the nerve center of the event, the Village, from the City of Arts and Sciences to the Orriols neighborhood. Santamaría has criticized the fact that the municipal government considers this activity “annoying” and moved it to another neighborhood without having previously consulted the affected neighbors.
“It is striking that it is the only event modified after the ruling on the festivals”said the mayor, who insists that this lack of dialogue shows that the local executive does not believe in the values of inclusion that the games represent. For the socialist group, this movement is one more “obstacle” in a chain of silences that puts at risk the international projection of Valencia as an open and modern city.
An international event at risk of invisibility
From the PSPV they have recalled that this event was an achievement of the previous progressive government to place the capital of Turia on the world map of inclusive sport. However, they denounce that the PP’s current dependence on its Vox partners—a formation that has always rejected the event—is hindering the organization. The controversy of Gay Games València 2026 lies, according to the socialists, in the fact that just a few months before the event there is no visible strategy or atmosphere in the city.
Faced with this situation, the Municipal Socialist Group has demanded an immediate rectification and the activation of a promotional campaign at the level of a first-level event. “Valencia cannot afford to be late; it requires leadership and, above all, belief”They concluded, warning that they will not allow an event that is the heritage of the diversity of all Valencians to be dropped.
