New location walk “Starlight” becomes a tribute street in Alicante, honoring film stars from the port to the Teatro Principal. In 2015 the Alicante City Council, together with the Port Authority, created a promenade around the harbor to honor actors and actresses. Cast metal sculptures formed as the iconic chairs of the Esplanade now line the area. Seven years on, the city plans to move this project into a richer cultural and urban space around the Teatro Principal, bringing the tribute closer to a theatergoing audience. [Source: Alicante City Council]
The Board of Directors is expected to approve on Tuesday the technical memory for urban furniture design based on the Esplanade chair motif, with the aim of situating the seating around the Alicante Main Theatre. The project credits architects Isaac Peral and David Bisquert. The current plan features five glossy aluminum seating units next to memorial plaques and a resin model that allows reproduction of at least sixty chairs. The initial cost is estimated at around 46,000 euros, including VAT. [Source: City Planning Records]
Harbor hosts ‘Light of the Stars’ march
The concept continues an initiative that began with a competition to promote the Alicante Film Festival. The event is supported by the City Council, the Port Authority, the College of Architects, and the Alicante Film Festival itself. The winning idea centers on returning to a recognizable Alicante cultural element as a reference to the movie seat, transforming the final artwork into public art, personalized by an artist for each actor. [Source: Festival Committee]
Each edition planned a personalized cast metal sculpture by renowned artists to honor individual actors or actresses. The reproduced sculpture would serve as urban furniture, ensuring every honored figure has a place in the city and reinforcing Alicante’s cultural identity by integrating art into public space. The first chairs were placed in 2015, two years after the initiative began. Today, nothing remains of that original installation. [Source: Local Archives]
The port places the wooden platform on which the promenade is extended in front of the Esplanade.
Now, seven years after the project’s inception, the new municipal initiative revisits the concept with a change of location. The idea is reframed as standardized street furniture that annually honors a number of artists during the Alicante Film Festival. The aim is to create seating groups that encourage neighborhood interaction around the theater environment. [Source: Municipal Documentation]
Under the proposed plan, the name of the honored actor or actress will be engraved on the back of each chair. Both the front and back will feature a bright polished aluminum finish, attached to a commemorative plaque with the event date. The plaque will be shaped like a star as a visual metaphor for movie stars, and it will bear the name of the honored artist. In this way, Alicante residents give the film industry a visible place in the city while enjoying the chairs as functional street furniture. The project outlines the construction and placement of fifteen chairs, with installation anticipated within three years. [Source: Urban Design Proposal]