Spain’s Ciudad de la Luz film studios to reopen 10 years after EU ban

Complex in Alicante, sanctioned for breaking competition rules, to begin productions later this year

One of Spain's most notorious and costly white elephants, the Ciudad de la Luz (City of Light) film studios in Alicante, is to get a new lease of life 10 years after it was forced to shut by the European Union on grounds of unfair competition.

The Valencian regional government has announced that the studios will reopen with productions expected to begin later this year. Brussels had banned it from operating until 2027 after production companies, including Pinewood Studios in London, complained that government subsidies broke EU competition rules.