The night from 23 to 24 June is considered one of the most magical moments of the year along Spain’s coastline. Thousands of people gather for the traditional Noche de San Juan on the beaches, celebrating the start of summer, jumping over waves, enjoying music and fireworks, and symbolically welcoming a new season. However, while the revellers leave the beaches in the early hours of the morning, a race against time begins for the municipal cleaning crews. In 2026 as well, St John’s Night once again left tonnes of rubbish along the coastline in Málaga.
Spain Expat Press Editorial Team
by Marlon Gallego Bosbach
A celebration with a darker side
The Noche de San Juan is one of the most popular festivals on the Costa del Sol. Every year, tens of thousands of people gather on the beaches of Málaga in particular to celebrate the shortest night of the summer together. Bonfires, music, picnics and traditional rituals create a unique atmosphere.
However, the celebrations also bring a growing waste problem. In the early hours of 24 June, many stretches of beach already presented a familiar scene: plastic bottles, drink cans, packaging, food leftovers and other litter covered large areas of the sand. The well-known city beach La Malagueta, which is considered the centre of the festivities, was once again among the worst affected.
Major deployment for beach cleaning
To clear up the aftermath of the celebrations as quickly as possible, the municipal cleaning company Limasam activated a large-scale special operation. The first cleaning teams were deployed as early as 5:30 a.m. to restore the beaches to a usable condition. The objective was clearly defined: by 10 a.m. at the latest, both locals and tourists were expected to find clean beaches once again.
A total of 227 staff were deployed for this task. This included 71 regular beach cleaning workers as well as 156 additional employees specifically assigned for the Noche de San Juan. They were supported by a fleet of 75 vehicles and specialised machines, including tractors, beach cleaning machines, high-pressure washers, tanker trucks and waste collection vehicles.
Preventive measures were not enough
In advance, the city council had already introduced extensive measures to keep the amount of waste as low as possible. Additional collection points were set up along the beaches. In the most heavily frequented areas alone, 40 extra large containers with a capacity of 1,000 litres each and 330 additional litter bins were provided. In addition, an information campaign was launched urging visitors to dispose of their waste properly and leave the beaches clean.
Despite these precautions, the morning after the festival once again showed how great the challenge remains for the city’s cleaning services. Many visitors did make good use of the provided bins; however, large amounts of waste were still left behind on the beach areas.
Year after year, tonnes of waste
A look at previous years’ figures highlights the scale of the problem. Following the Noche de San Juan in 2025, Limasam collected a total of 20.8 tonnes of waste from Málaga’s beaches. Almost twelve tonnes of this came from La Malagueta alone. Although this represented a decrease of around ten per cent compared to the previous year, the impact on the environment and the city’s cleaning services remains significant.
Official figures for 2026 are not yet available. However, given the images from the morning after the celebrations, observers once again expect several tonnes of waste to have been collected.
Between tradition and responsibility
St John’s Night is deeply rooted in Spanish culture and symbolically marks the beginning of summer. For many people, the beach celebrations are a fixed highlight in the annual calendar. At the same time, however, debate is growing about the responsible use of coastal areas.
The city council, environmental groups and cleaning services therefore appeal to visitors every year to take their rubbish with them or dispose of it in the provided bins. The costs for cleaning and repairing damaged infrastructure run into thousands of euros each year and place an additional burden on public budgets. In 2025 alone, damage was recorded to beach furniture, showers, playground equipment and other facilities following the Noche de San Juan.
Clean beaches as a shared responsibility
Despite the extensive deployment of cleaning staff, vehicles and additional infrastructure, 2026 once again shows that the cleanliness of the beaches cannot be ensured through technical measures alone. What remains crucial is the sense of responsibility among visitors. The final figures from this year’s clean-up operation will show whether efforts to reduce waste have been effective.
What is already clear, however, is that in order for the beaches of the Costa del Sol to maintain their appeal in the future, responsibility must be shared equally between the city council, cleaning services and those who take part in the celebrations.
