What’s new in Malaga in 2022?

There always seems to be something new in the pipeline in Malaga, whether it’s a new look for iconic parts of the city, the arrival of a major tech company or a bid for the World Expo. 2022 promises to be no exception and as usual, there’s plenty on the horizon for the city this year. In this blog post, we’ve put together a round-up of the most important so read on to find out what’s new in Malaga in 2022.

Malaga Expo 2027?

Malaga is one of the candidates for the world expo in 2027 and is competing with the theme of The Urban Era: towards the sustainable city. At the moment, Malaga’s only rival is Bloomington in Minnesota, but other cities may well join the race. We’ll know whether Malaga will host Expo 2027 at the end of January. You can find out more about Malaga’s bid here.

New works in Malaga in 2022

This won’t be the year we see the start on the planned auditorium in the Port or on the new seafront promenades in Pedregalejo and El Palo. But we will see the following:

• Pedestrianisation of Calle Trinidad Grund in Soho – work begins on removing the traffic from this central street in Soho in early 2022. It’s part of a project to make the entire district pedestrian-only, which would be a big improvement.
• First stage of Calle Carretería completed – the initial stretch should be finished by Easter with the other three stages taking considerably longer, probably well into 2023. But, making this street and Calle Álamos pedestrian will do a lot to make this part of Malaga much nicer to walk in.
• New library and cultural centre – work to turn the 16th century Convento de San Agustín in the heart of the old quarter (near the Picasso Museum) starts this year. The multi-million euro project plans to turn the building into a public library and cultural centre and includes a giant glass roof over the lovely central patio. The restoration will take at least 45 months, depending on what archaeological finds lie under the building…

• Metro opens in the centre – we know, we couldn’t quite believe it either but 2022 should be the year that Malaga Metro finally finishes work in the city centre. Both the stations at El Corte Inglés and Atarazanas are due to open in the autumn/early winter. And we should then see the Alameda Principal and the area around Centro Larios free of machinery, materials and mess.
• Megayacht harbour ready – you’ll have noticed the cranes and dreggers hard at work next to El Palmeral and Muelle Uno. The work on upgrading the berths to allow megayachts to moor should be complete in the spring. Expect to see some seriously cool boats in town this year.
• Largest planetarium in the EU – work starts shortly on this huge space between Plaza Mayor and Bahía Blanca (home to IKEA). When complete in 2023, it’ll be the largest of its kind in the EU.

New hotels in Malaga in 2022

2021 saw a flurry of new hotels open in Malaga and 2022 looks set to follow the same pattern. On track to open over the next few months are:

• Hotel Moneo – this colossus next to Atarazanas Market opens its 138 rooms over 10 floors in the spring. It’ll be 4-star and managed by H10.
• Vincci Calle Larios – the third Vincci hotel is set to open early this year. It too will be 4-star and have 76 rooms.

New culture in Malaga in 2022

As usual, Malaga will welcome some great new art over the next 12 months and host a fun calendar of events. Look out for:

• Face to Face – Picasso and the Old Masters – see how the 20th century’s greatest artist was influenced painters like El Greco, Zurbarán and Gijsbretchs. At the Picasso Museum from February to June.
• Paula Rego – the Portuguese artist has a retrospective at the Picasso Museum this spring, which brings together a whole range of her works.
• Squid Games doll – a replica of the giant doll (5m high) takes pride of place at FreakCon on 5 and 6 March.
• Cirque du Soleil is back – the world’s best circus talents return to Malaga at last in December with Crystal, a show on ice at the Palacio de Deportes.

New sporting events in Malaga in 2022

After being the European Capital of Sport in 2020 and 2021, Malaga keeps up the sporting events this year. They include:

• La Vuelta 2022 – the world’s finest cyclists will whizz through the city during Stage 12 as they ride their way from Salobreña to Peñas Blancas in Estepona along the entire Costa del Sol coastline. See the pros on 1 September.
• Under 17s basketball world championship – Malaga welcomes 17 of the world’s best basketball players for the world championship between 2 and 10 July.

Stay bang up to date with what’s new in Malaga this year by signing up to our free newsletter.