The City Council of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria will present two credit modifications totalling €4.9 million for the Promotion Society, which manages culture and carnival, at this Friday's plenary session, after detecting a budgetary imbalance in 2026.
The City Council of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria is trying to prevent the Promotion Society, the public company responsible for cultural management, the carnival, and the main festivals of the city, from generating a deficit like that of the previous year. To this end, the council plans to approve two credit modifications totalling €4.9 million at this Friday's plenary session, which will cover the overspending detected in the 2026 accounts.
The first of these allocations, amounting to €4.1 million, is intended for cultural activities, the carnival, and the city's festivals. Specifically, €1,360,527 is allocated to cultural events that have exceeded the budget, while another €2,509,608 is reserved for the carnival held in January and February. Additionally, €250,000 will be distributed among five local festivals: those of Carmen-La Isleta, San Lorenzo, Los Dolores-Schamann, El Pilar-Guanarteme, and La Naval-Puerto, with €50,000 for each.
The second credit modification, amounting to €800,000, is intended for the second phase of the city's bid to be the European Capital of Culture in 2031. According to the report, these funds cover the increased expenses generated by the process.
The injection comes halfway through the fiscal year, despite the Promotion Society's budget for 2026 having already increased by 6.43% compared to 2025. The aim is to avoid a new deficit like that of the previous year, the figures of which have not been detailed in the report.
Breakdown of the cultural allocation
Of the €4.1 million allocated to culture, €50,000 is assigned to the Martín Chirino Art and Thought Foundation. With this contribution, the annual aid to the foundation is set at €390,000, plus service costs such as security, cleaning, hostesses, ticketing, and IT at the Castillo de La Luz. The total cost of the agreement and services, according to the report, amounts to approximately €1 million per year.
For the 30th edition of the Temudas festival, which will take place from September 10 to 26, €350,000 is allocated, which is 31.25% more than initially budgeted. The Municipal Symphonic Band of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria receives €180,827 to boost its activities in cultural spaces and the preservation of its music archive, deposited in the Provincial Historical Archive.
Christmas also requires an extraordinary allocation of €419,700 to cover unforeseen expenses, such as the rental of generators and repairs due to adverse weather events that occurred in the first quarter. Additionally, €360,000 is allocated to regularising recurring services of the Promotion Society itself, such as cleaning, security, insurance policies, IT maintenance, and supplies, as well as salary adjustments for professional categories not reflected in payrolls.
The carnival, main deviation
The celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Las Palmas de Gran Canaria carnival exceeded the planned budget, according to the report. The council justifies the deviation by the exponential growth of the festival, which has revived street carnival. The increase in fees for national and international artists, which have risen by up to 40% compared to previous years, along with security, transport, and material costs, explain the need for an extraordinary contribution of €2.5 million.
The report highlights that the city's carnival has achieved the highest participation and visibility on television, social media, and in the press, both nationally and internationally, which justifies the investment. The Promotion Society has had to equip itself with greater digital infrastructure and decorative elements for the main stage to achieve a leap in quality.
The five city festivals, held in different neighbourhoods, require an additional €250,000 for their proper production and execution. Each of them receives €50,000. These festivals are those of Carmen-La Isleta, San Lorenzo, Los Dolores-Schamann, El Pilar-Guanarteme, and La Naval-Puerto.
The approval of these credit modifications is expected at this Friday's plenary session, and the City Council hopes that the injection of funds will prevent the Promotion Society from closing the fiscal year with a deficit like that of the previous year. The residents of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria will thus see the continuity of the city's cultural and festive activities guaranteed, although the extraordinary disbursement reflects the difficulty of adjusting budgets to the reality of costs.
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