17 Dutch arrested in Valencia for firework bombs during Fallas festival
Spanish police arrested 17 Dutch nationals for carrying firework bombs during Valencia’s annual Fallas festival, authorities said. The arrests are part of a growing pattern of “firework tourism,” where visitors from the Netherlands, Belgium, and Germany come to Valencia to use powerful fireworks that are restricted in their home countries, RTL reports.
Authorities said that the 17 Dutch nationals were detained before they could ignite the explosives. In 2024, three Dutch visitors were caught with firework bombs, and last year 12 were arrested. This year’s four-day festival saw the highest number yet.
The Fallas festival, recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage event, involves constructing massive figures of wood and polystyrene, sometimes reaching 30 to 40 meters high. On the festival’s final night, March 19–20, these figures are set ablaze amid fireworks displays. “Consumer fireworks are allowed, firework bombs certainly are not,” Jesús Carbonell, Valencia’s councilor for public safety, said.
Because Dutch participants had been involved in previous incidents, police used drones to monitor individuals carrying heavy fireworks. In most cases, officers acted before the explosives were detonated. One device, however, exploded on the bank of the Turia River, which borders the city’s west and south sides, leaving a half-meter-deep crater.
Over the four festival days, police detained 97 non-Spanish nationals, including Belgians, Germans, and Poles. The chief of Valencia police told regional broadcaster A Punt that foreigners “fixated on fireworks and explosions meet in Valencia, especially encouraged via social media by Dutch, Belgian, and German visitors. It is firework tourism aimed at illegally detonating extremely dangerous devices they make themselves.”
Authorities link the rise in firework tourism to stricter regulations in the Netherlands, Belgium, and Germany. Dutch law banned consumer fireworks during the last New Year’s Eve, while cities like Brussels, Antwerp, and Ghent have restricted fireworks in public spaces.
“There is a perception that everything is allowed during the Fallas festival,” Carbonell said, “but that is certainly not the case. We do not tolerate the use of prohibited fireworks, and protecting our residents is our number one priority.”
Professional fireworks are reserved for controlled areas. Since the Dutch were detained before igniting their bombs, they are likely facing heavy fines rather than harsher criminal penalties.
