Which shops will be allowed to open on the Costa del Sol and in Malaga this 28 February, Andalucía Day?

The celebration of the region's Día de Andalucía (Day of Andalucía) public holiday this 28 February does not allow for a long 'puente' (bridge) weekend as it falls on a Wednesday, but at least it will mean a short break midweek to help people get their strength back. As usually happens when a public holiday arrives on the calendar, the question arises: are the large stores and shopping centres shops in Malaga and on the Costa del Sol open, and is it one of the extra authorised dates when they are allowed to do so?

The Andalusian Trade Council approved that in 2024 shopping centres will be able to open a total of 16 Sundays and public holidays, in accordance with the Order of 23 June 2023, which established the working calendar and empowered local councils to request the exchange of up to two days.

However, the approved calendar does not include this Wednesday, 28 February, which means that large retail outlets will not be able to open their doors. However, the exception to this rule are shops with a surface area of less than 300 metres, which are allowed to open on public holidays if they so decide. For this reason, on this year's Andalucía Day it will only be possible to shop in the small stores that have decided to open their shutters.

In the Andalucía region, the approved calendar in which shops and shopping centres will be allowed open in 2024 is as follows: 28 March, Maundy Thursday; Sunday 30 June; Sunday 7 July; Sunday 28 July; Sunday 4 August; Thursday 15 August (in Malaga city they will also open on Monday 19 despite it being a local holiday); Sunday 1 September; Saturday 12 October (Pilar and Columbus Day); Friday 1 November (All Saints' Day); Sunday 1 December; Friday 6 December (Constitution Day); Monday 9 December, Monday (as Immaculate Conception Day, which falls on a Sunday, has been moved to that day); Sunday 15 December; Sunday 22 December; and Sunday 29 December.

To this list must be added the licences for the municipalities that are declared a Zone of Great Tourist Influence (ZGAT) and which will be authorised to open every Sunday during the summer, until 29 September, as was the case last year. In the case of Malaga, the shopping centres of Marbella, Fuengirola, Estepona, Benalmádena, Torremolinos, Nerja, Rincón de la Victoria, Mijas, Manilva and the Malaga city are in this situation. All of them will also be authorised to raise their shutters for the whole of Easter Week, as was also the case in 2023.