"Elvis Mania" hit Benidorm at the weekend, where a three-day tribute to "The King of Rock n´ Roll" took place. As in previous years, hundreds of Elvis fans flocked here for the “Benidorm Elvis Fiesta”, many travelling specially from the UK – and who could blame them with the spectacular sunny weekend we just had, but many Spanish fans were also present too!Considering that he tragically died in 1977 aged only 42 – meaning he would have been 88 this year, the fan base he still commands is incredible.
The Melia Hotel was the main arena for the event and shows took place at two other venues – the Rock & Roll House and new this year, Tropical after The Showboat closed down. International Elvis Tribute Artistes – ETA´s, all in character and at various stages of his career put on full production shows and many of the fans turned out as Elvis look-a-likes, with the uniform quiff, sideburns and clothing.
There are many different types of Elvis impersonators – those that normally either look alike or sound alike but this event manages a combination of both. Even the ladies make an effort and this year there was a fabulous group all dressed as Las Vegas showgirls, drawing compliments from everyone.
There was an incredible weekend of entertainment lined up for the Elvis fans - fun filled poolside shows at the hotel, Elvis themed games, a world class ETA line up with shows going on in 3 separate venues and of course the legendary after show parties - which went on well into the early hours!
It certainly took a lot of energy to put together the smooth running of this weekend extravaganza and to ensure that all the fans went away buzzing and enthused. To finish off the perfect weekend, there was a grand finale closing show at the iconic Benidorm Palace featuring all of the ETA´s on Sunday night, allowing even more fans to attend.
The date for next year’s event has already been released – 19 to 21 April 2024 and many of the attendees were already booking their places.
