Court ruling casts doubts over major Costa del Sol festival, one of the longest-running in Spain

The oldest festival on the Costa del Sol and one of the oldest in Spain, the Festival Cueva de Nerja, may not be held this year. The reason? An administrative appeal, filed by one of the three companies who are bidding for the contract to manage this year's event.

One of the three bidders lodged an appeal on 28 April against the specifications approved a month earlier by the Cueva de Nerja Foundation with the central administrative tribunal for contractual appeals (TACRC), a body under Spain's Ministry of Finance, which is responsible for resolving special appeals in matters of public procurement in Spain.

This court is a specialised and independent body, which oversees the legality and transparency of public procurement processes. As SUR has learned, the company does not agree with the criteria of the tender specifications and has therefore lodged an appeal. The deadline for a resolution is two months, which would be 28 June.

"We are awaiting the resolution, but given the deadlines it is very difficult, almost impossible, that there will be time to continue with the administrative process and that there will be a company or companies that can organise a line-up of artists with guarantees of success," sources from the Nerja Foundation, an institution that includes representatives from the central government, Nerja town hall, the provincial Diputación de Málaga and the Junta de Andalucía, among other trustees, have told SUR.

In a statement on Friday 30 May the foundation said that the 64th edition of the musical event "has been provisionally suspended, following the filing of an appeal to the central administrative court of contractual resources, by one of its bidders, decreed as provided by law its provisional suspension until the court rules".

"This situation could affect the festival taking place on its scheduled dates, from 17 July to 2 August, depending on the time taken to resolve the appeal and the subsequent administrative processing," the public body explained. The foundation has reaffirmed "its commitment to Nerja, the Axarquía and the festival's audience, and is already working on the planning of future editions to guarantee its continuity and quality".

As SUR has learnt, last year's edition of the festival was also the subject of an administrative appeal for the same reason.