Learn to save a life at l'Albir beach, 14-16 August

Today's essentials (5 key points)

• The Costa Blanca faces a hot Friday, with highs of 33 degrees in Alicante and up to 36 degrees inland around Elda, according to Open-Meteo.
• Alicante-Elche airport carried over 2.3 million passengers in July, an 11.1% rise on a year earlier that puts it on course for an annual record, the Olive Press reports.
• Benidorm's Local Police have set up a special deployment for the busy 15 August long weekend, according to El Periódic.
• Torrevieja's local government has approved the project for a new heated pool at the Ciudad Deportiva, as reported by Informacion and El Periódic.
• Benidorm fills its 14 to 16 August weekend with music and nightlife, including BRESH and the Summer Urban Fest at Penélope, according to Life in Benidorm.

Today's essentials

Learn to save a life at l'Albir beach, 14-16 August. Free, open-to-all workshops on drowning prevention, safe rescues and CPR run on l'Albir beach (Racó de l'Albir, l'Alfàs del Pi) on 14, 15 and 16 August 2026, no booking and no age limit.

The campaign, called "¡Prevenidos, listos, ya!", is run by the Fundación Mapfre and SEMES Socorrismo, the lifesaving arm of Spain's emergency-medicine society, alongside the l'Alfàs del Pi Beaches and Health councils, according to El Periódic and the town hall. The sessions are free and drop-in: on 14 and 15 August they run from 11am to 2pm and again from 4pm to 8pm, and on Saturday 16 August from 11am to 4pm, all on the sand at l'Albir.

There are three hands-on modules you can pick up in a single visit. "Prevenidos" teaches you to read the risks, respect the beach flags, stick to supervised zones and keep an eye on children. "Listos" shows how to help someone safely without becoming a second victim: calling 112, alerting the lifeguard, using a flotation aid. "Ya" covers the first emergency gestures and cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). Luis Morant, the town's Beaches councillor, calls it a valuable chance to learn how to react in an emergency.

The timing is pointed. According to the Real Federación Española de Salvamento y Socorrismo (RFESS), Spain recorded 274 drowning deaths in 2026, described as an all-time high, with June its worst month ever at 92 drownings, eight of them in the Valencian Community; the same federation says nearly nine in ten drownings happen in areas with no lifeguard, and that people aged 55 to 74 and European tourists are among the most exposed. El Periódic gives a separate, longer-run estimate of between 400 and 600 drowning deaths a year in Spain, with more than 200 recorded between January and June 2026, figures drawn from a different reference period that should not be merged with the RFESS count.

If you would rather just swim, l'Albir itself is one of the safer bets right now. The Racó de l'Albir has a special summer lifeguard and first-aid setup with three lifeguards and a health professional on duty, staffed from 10am to 7pm in August and running until the end of September, according to the l'Alfàs del Pi council.

What this changes for you: if you or your family are swimming on the Costa Blanca this summer, an hour at l'Albir this weekend is a cheap insurance policy, especially since most drownings happen off supervised beaches. Stick to flagged, patrolled zones, and know that a stranger's CPR can be the difference before the ambulance arrives. The national tour moves on to other Spanish beaches after l'Albir, with eight towns planned for summer 2026, according to Infobae, though the next dates were not specified.

Weather today

Hot and cloudy Friday, up to 36 degrees inland. Expect a hot day across the Costa Blanca on Friday 14 August, with overcast skies but almost no rain, according to Open-Meteo.

In Alicante city the mercury sits between 24 and 33 degrees under a cloudy sky, with just a 3% chance of rain and a light breeze topping out around 12 km/h. It is muggy rather than blustery, so carry water and keep out of direct sun in the early afternoon.

Inland is the hot spot: around Elda the low is 22 and the high climbs to 36 degrees, dry all day, with wind up to 20 km/h. On the northern coast, Denia ranges from 25 to 34 degrees with the same grey, near-rainless sky. With highs at or above 34 degrees province-wide, early morning or after 7pm are your best windows for a beach or a walk.

Transport & traffic

• Alicante-Elche airport, a summer record in the making. Alicante-Elche is on track for its busiest year yet, building on the traffic that once made it a twelve-million-passenger airport, according to AlicanteOut. AlicanteOut recalls that the gateway passed its twelve-millionth annual passenger back in 2016, a milestone that signalled how central the airport had become to the Costa Blanca's tourism economy. That matters for residents as much as visitors: more routes and fuller flights tend to mean better connections home and cheaper off-season fares, but also more crowding at security and on the roads to the terminal during August peaks.
• July: 2.3 million passengers, up 11.1%. Alicante-Elche airport handled more than 2.3 million passengers in July, an 11.1% jump on the same month last year, the Olive Press reports. Airport operator Aena confirmed the July figures on Wednesday, putting the airport on course to smash its annual record, according to the Olive Press. In practical terms, expect the terminal to stay packed through the 15 August long weekend, so if you are flying or collecting someone, leave extra time, use public transport or pre-booked parking, and check your flight status before setting off.

Local news to know

• Extra police in Benidorm for the long weekend. Benidorm's Local Police have launched a special operation for the 15 August "puente", described as one of summer's peak weekends for crowds and traffic, according to El Periódic.
• Torrevieja approves a new heated pool. Torrevieja's local government has approved the project to build a new heated pool at the Ciudad Deportiva, as reported by both Informacion and El Periódic.
• Guided tours return to El Salt in Alcoi. Guided visits to the El Salt Palaeolithic site in Alcoi are back on the calendar, according to TodoAlicante.
• Day trips by boat from Alicante. AlicanteOut rounds up the best Mediterranean spots you can reach by boat from Alicante, a reminder of how easy sea outings are from the port.

Tonight and tomorrow, the Costa Blanca

• Benidorm's weekend: BRESH and Summer Urban Fest. Benidorm packs its 14 to 16 August weekend with music and nightlife, including BRESH and the Summer Urban Fest at Penélope, according to Life in Benidorm. The line-up spans club nights and family-friendly options, so there is something on whether you want a late one or an early-evening plan with the kids.
• Benidorm's regular weekend line-up. Benidorm keeps up its usual summer weekend mix of concerts, parties, comedy and tradition, as chronicled by Life in Benidorm in its late-July round-up.

See the full agenda, tonight and tomorrow