If any place knows how to do fancy dress then it’s definitely the party capital that is Benidorm! Official town hall figures estimate that 35,000 people attended this year and many still appear to be here. The assortment and variety of costumes was incredible – some a little near the knuckle when it comes to taste, but hey ho, this is probably to be expected here, but full marks for effort.
The entire Calle Gerona, as well as roads leading down to it, were closed to traffic, with numerous gun-totting National police on stand-by. Thankfully there was no sign of any serious trouble, just typical drink induced scuffles, which are the norm here when people have been drinking for hours on end.
Age was certainly no barrier to taking part either, with old and young partying alongside each other into the early hours - including a fair few Spanish. The entire area was a rainbow of colour from Morgans Tavern down to Jumping Jacks and down across The Square. One got into typical Benidorm theme, dressing up as a blacked up toilet seller which many would have come across at many of the bars here, offering you anything from a spray of perfume to condoms for a small fee!
All the bars appeared to be competing for who could blast out the loudest music and each had mobile bars on the street – I couldn’t even begin to estimate how much beer was consumed but at around 8pm I did see a lorry delivering more beer to one of the bars!
It is an incredibly important event for Benidorm – not just the bars but hotels and other businesses and of course the airlines, who bring these thousands of revelers here every year. I wonder whether they have twigged why demand goes up this week each year – plus the quantity of checked in luggage, bringing all the costumes over.
We are thankfully always blessed with incredibly good weather on this day – and long may it continue… till next year. But don’t forget that on March 17 there is St Patrick’s Day – which next year falls on a Saturday, so another full weekend of celebrating! But for that 'green' is the colour theme.
