Wow! What a hidden gem Alicante is! The gay scene is heaving, yes, even in the depths of winter. There is a circuit to follow, which I'll be going into once I've recovered from Saturday night out - maybe tomorrow, but the bars are BIG and packed solid. It really reminded me of, of all places, London's gay scene but with much warmer temperatures and so many hot Spanish boys. Droooool. The other great thing is that age doesn't seem to matter. You have everyone from 18 to 80 mixing in all the bars. That said, there are preferred bars for the younger crowd and of course for the older crowd, but the best bars are 'age free'. 
You can probably guess, I'm impressed. It has a scene that belongs to a county's capitol city, not just a province's capitol. They say we're in crisis in spain, but in Alicante there is no sign of it!

While in Alicante, make sure to visit the marina/harbour area. It's a popular people watching area with many cafés & restaurants. Alicante is one of Spain's fastest growing cities with a boom in tourists looking for the 'real' Spain. The old town is also charming, with many hidden little gems in it. Check out the huge fish tank in Plaza Nueva with 4 foot long Tuna swimming around in it.

June 19th to 24th - Hogueres de San Juan festival.

Cover photos: 1. Hoguera de San Juan (St. John's bonfire) After the festival they are set alight.  2. Marina.