Onil sets up 100-strong safety plan for hill climb, 25-27 Sept

Today's essentials (5 key points)

• Onil is putting together a safety operation of nearly 100 personnel ahead of the Subida Internacional de Onil, its international hill climb on 25, 26 and 27 September, according to El Periódic.
• Open-Meteo forecasts a hot day across the Costa Blanca, with Alicante city reaching 30 degrees and the interior around Villena climbing to 34 degrees.
• Alicante plans to ease congestion in its centre with more public transport and by diverting cars onto the motorway, according to TodoAlicante.
• The Sant Joan de Déu residence in Pego, which offers 36 elderly-care places, is described as being in an unsustainable situation, according to El Periódic.
• A resident has lodged a complaint over alleged sea dumping during beach cleaning at El Portet de Moraira, reported by La Marina Plaza.

Today's essentials

Onil sets up 100-strong safety plan for hill climb, 25-27 Sept. Manuel Pineda, the central government's subdelegate in Alicante, chaired a coordination meeting in Onil on Thursday 3 September to prepare a safety and emergency operation of nearly 100 personnel for the Subida Internacional de Onil, the international hill climb held on 25, 26 and 27 September, according to El Periódic.

Around the table with Pineda, El Periódic reports, were Onil's mayor Jaume Berenguer, race director Manuel Sánchez, and representatives of the Guardia Civil, the Local Police, the National Police unit, the Automobile Club of Alicante, the health board and the Civil Protection service. The idea is simple: get everyone who will be on the ground that weekend to agree on the same plan before the cars arrive.

The operation brings together close to a hundred people (a figure the source gives as approximate), spread across security, traffic, access control, medical assistance and emergencies. Pineda framed it as a joint effort, stating that collaboration between the security forces, health services, Civil Protection, the town hall and the organisers is fundamental to the smooth running of the event.

The race itself runs on the CV-803, climbing from kilometre point 0.66 in Onil up to kilometre point 5.385 in the direction of Banyeres de Mariola: 4.725 km of road, 255 metres of elevation gain and a maximum gradient of 8.22 percent, according to Motor Alicante. It is the final round of the 2026 Spanish Hill Climb Championship and, per COPE Alicante, the only round of that championship staged in the Valencian Community, organised by the Automobile Club of Alicante.

The motorsport weekend does not stand alone. It coincides with Onil es Mostra, a social and cultural event in the town that is expected to draw thousands of visitors across the same three days of 25, 26 and 27 September, A Todo Motor notes, so the town centre and its approaches will be busy well beyond the racing crowd.

What this means for you: if you live near Onil or regularly drive the CV-803 towards Banyeres de Mariola, plan around that last weekend of September, as parts of the route will be closed for the climb (the exact hours and diversions have not yet been confirmed by the authorities). If you fancy a day out rather than a detour, the same weekend pairs the racing with Onil es Mostra in the town centre. The full running of the event is set for 25 to 27 September, according to laFRESCA and El Periódic.

Weather today

Hot and dry, up to 34 degrees inland. Open-Meteo forecasts a hot, dry day across the Costa Blanca for Thursday 3 September, with highs of 30 degrees in Alicante city and up to 34 degrees inland, and no rain expected anywhere.

In Alicante city, expect a low of 23 and a high of 30 degrees under mostly clear skies, with a light breeze of up to 13 km/h and a zero percent chance of rain. On the southern coast at Santa Pola, temperatures sit between 22 and 31 degrees, again mostly clear, with wind up to 15 km/h. Inland around Villena the day starts foggy and climbs to 34 degrees from a cool 20 overnight, with breezes up to 17 km/h.

This is a genuinely hot day, so keep water on you, seek shade during the early afternoon and hold off on strenuous outdoor plans until later. With clear skies and no rain, it is a straightforward beach or pool day, just mind the peak-sun hours inland where it runs hottest.

Transport & traffic

• Alicante airport, a barometer of Costa Blanca tourism. Alicante-Elche airport has long been a marker of the region's tourism health, having passed the twelve-million-passenger mark, according to AlicanteOut. That volume matters for anyone living here: it underpins the density of flight connections that make popping back to the UK, Ireland or northern Europe cheap and frequent, and it feeds the seasonal rhythm of prices, crowds and car-hire availability that shapes daily life on the Costa Blanca. A busy airport is convenient for travel but also the engine behind the summer surges you feel on the roads and beaches.
• Alicante's plan to unclog its city centre. TodoAlicante reports that Alicante is betting on more public transport and on diverting cars onto the motorway to relieve congestion in its city centre. For drivers, the practical takeaway is that the strategy leans on keeping through-traffic out of the core and pushing it onto the ring roads, while nudging residents towards buses and trams for short trips into the centre. If you regularly drive into central Alicante, expect the balance to keep tilting towards public transport, which is worth factoring in when you plan errands or commutes.

What's changing for you

• Pego's elderly residence under strain. The Sant Joan de Déu residence in Pego, run by the town hall and offering 36 places for older people, is in a situation described as unsustainable, according to El Periódic. If you have an elderly relative in or near Pego, this is worth watching: the home provides individual, personalised care across those 36 places, and pressure on a facility of that size can affect waiting lists and continuity of care. Keep an eye on the town hall's announcements if you rely on, or are considering, a place there.
• School nurses sought for special-education centres. Informacion reports that the Alicante Nursing College is calling on the regional health authority, the Conselleria de Sanidad, to create specific, properly regulated posts for school nurses in public special-education centres. For families with a child in a special-education school, this is the practical stake: dedicated, stable nursing posts would mean consistent on-site medical care rather than ad hoc cover. Nothing changes today, but if your child attends one of these centres, it is a demand worth following as the Conselleria responds.

Local news to know

• Complaint over sea dumping at El Portet de Moraira. A resident has filed a complaint with Teulada-Moraira town hall, registered on 27 August, over the tractor sieving the sand during beach cleaning at El Portet de Moraira, claiming the practice was repeated four days later and that he managed to film it, according to La Marina Plaza.
• Breastfeeding accessories midwives point to. La Marina Plaza reports on Haakaa breastfeeding accessories recommended by midwives, framed around the idea that new mothers no longer experience nursing as a rigid or solitary process.
• Where a boat from Alicante can take you. AlicanteOut rounds up the best spots you can reach by boat from Alicante, a nod to how easily living here opens up short Mediterranean trips.
• Benidorm Pride runs 1 to 6 September. Benidorm Pride 2026 is being held from 1 to 6 September, with headline dates including a Pool Party, Ñ Divas Disco, the White Party, the parade and the Main Stage After-Party, according to Life in Benidorm.

See the full agenda, tonight and tomorrow