Spain's music industry giants compete to manage Marenostrum Fuengirola

The Marenostrum Fuengirola festival is looking for a new manager. The town hall has decided to change the venue's operating model and put its manageent out to tender in order to make it more self-sufficient.

Marenostrum Fuengirola has hosted international stars, from Rosalía to Bob Dylan, from Jennifer Lopez to Sting. It is now a well-established festival, with steady growth that last year climbed to second place nationally in attendance (191,573 across its 35 concerts).

Behind these figures lie eleven years of experience in organising large-scale events and a prime location, just steps from the sea and with an Arab fortress as a backdrop.

Some of the most powerful companies in the industry, responsible for festivals such as BBK, Arenal Sound and Icónica Sevilla, and venues such as the Movistar Arena in Madrid (Last Tour, The Music Republic, Riff Producciones, Grupo Concert Tour, ProVenue, Global Talent Services, Mundo) are competing for the contract.

A decade after its launch on the hill of Sohail castle, the town hall is implementing the plan it had envisioned from the beginning, which was put on hold due to the Covid-19 pandemic: make Marenostrum an autonomous festival with zero cost to the municipal coffers.

"Now that we have achieved the objectives we set at the start of the project, the next phase is professional management, in which the town hall will simply oversee compliance with the requirements in the tender specifications," culture councillor Rodrigo Romero said.

Whoever takes over Marenostrum will assume all the setup and maintenance costs for the site. This will save the town hall over one million euros per year.

To offset this investment, the town hall has established a fixed, practically symbolic fee of just 6,000 euros per year, plus a variable fee based on profits. With these payments, the concessionaire will have access to the space for six months a year (preferably from April to September) for a non-renewable period of 12 years.

However, events will only be held for a maximum of three months, with the remaining time dedicated to setting up and preparing the facilities.

The town hall is looking for a venue manager, not a promoter. That's why the temporary joint ventures bidding for Marenostrum include a mix of profiles covering almost the entire live entertainment value chain: from concert promoters to artist management agencies, companies specializing in festival production, ticketing, sponsorship acquisition and venue management.

Last Tour, for example, responsible for events like Bilbao BBK Live and the now-defunct Cala Mijas, is bidding alongside 33 Producciones, a tour management and design company with a strong roster of artists, and independent promoter RocknRolla Producciones, with experience in venue management.

Andalusian company Green Cow Music has partnered with two of the most influential companies in the sector, The Music Republic and Riff Producciones, both part of the Superstruct ecosystem, one of the world's largest operators of festivals and live events (Arenal Sound, Sónar, FIB, Resurrection Fest).

Seven companies make up another of the joint ventures vying for Marenostrum: a union of companies specialising in venue management (ProVenue with Movistar Arena), artist booking (Global Talent Service), concert and tour promotion (Grupo Concert Tour) and sponsorship acquisition (Sponsory Media Group), among other areas.

Veteran Malaga-based company Mundo, responsible for brands such as 101 Music Festival and a benchmark in the promotion of events in the Costa del Sol and Andalucía, provides the local touch.

Most of these companies have already worked at the venue hand in hand with the town hall, organising concerts over the past eleven years. They know the space and how it has operated all this time. Now it's a matter of them taking the reins while respecting "the spirit of Marenostrum".

As part of the business plan, the new management company must be open to all promoters interested in participating in Marenostrum Fuengirola, as it has been until now, and not limit itself solely to booking artists from its own labels.

The only difference is that, while the venue was free under the town hall's management and the promoter only assumed the risks of their concert, now the concessionaire will determine the conditions for using the space.

The tender also stresses the importance of preserving an area designated as a site of cultural interest (BIC), valuing measures to protect historical and archaeological heritage. It also requires a noise impact assessment to minimise disruption to residents, as well as a transport plan and a promotional strategy for the event in Fuengirola.

"The key is to ensure that Marenostrum remains in Fuengirola, managed with respect, care and with the town in mind," Romero said.

Currently, the process is still in the documentation review phase. If the deadlines are met, the contracting committee will make its decision by mid-August so that the winning bidder can begin work in October.

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