The Brits just love to party…
Benidorm is certainly a magnet for those that like dressing up and last Thursday they flocked here in their thousands to attend Europe’s biggest fancy-dress event. The British Fancy Dress Day always takes place on a Thursday – the day after the official end of the Benidorm town fiesta, which is traditionally marked with a spectacular firework display, lit from Poniente beach.
This year they even rigged up a crane in the port to be the anchor for various Catherine Wheels let off at intermissions whilst others were lit from invisible pontoons in the sea. Obviously, it was all digitally set up rather than a man going and lighting them by hand, as they did in the old days, at councilorganised November 5th bonfires events in the UK.
I remember going to the local park to watch and still giggle at the cordoned off zone back then, which was vast. Meanwhile, here in Spain I have witnessed children certainly no older than four or five throwing bangers at each other, encouraged by their fathers… what would ‘elf & safety’ have to say about that I wonder!
They certainly know how to do fireworks here though and it was an incredible display that lasted some 24 minutes. At one point they were so loud, you could feel the ground vibrating through you, they were bright – just white light, no colour or design, I likened it to how it must feel in Gaza. Some 1,200kg of explosives were used, which took over 5 hours to set up – I wonder how much that all cost? I’m fairly sure it won’t be highlighted, instead, everyone will be patting themselves on the back.
I understand that yes it’s a tourist attraction and a real pull, however, what I don’t understand are the ‘mascletas’, loud firecrackers let off in the middle of the day. They have moved the location now from the top end of Avenida Mediterráneo to Jaime I in the old town… the road heading past Hospital Clínica Benidorm, over the roundabout and heading down towards the sea with the red bike lane in the middle.
The weather forecast hadn’t looked too promising for the entire week but more or less held out for the fireworks on Wednesday evening – but then let rip during the night. I bet everyone woke up on Thursday to the sight of big black clouds, torrential rain and pangs of disappointment. The council obviously did as they cancelled the float parade – a little prematurely as it turned out.
By noon, it had stopped and the sun even had its hat on, although sadly it didn’t extend for the entire day. I am sure that many of the bars and hotel groups were secretly seething, having had to fork out for the cost of the floats/lorries and costumes. A few of them still did a walking parade – Med Playa hotel group and Talk of the Coast, as they had choreographed routines, but sadly it didn’t quite have the same impact. The rain held off until around 16.00, so there would have been time to have had it – a real shame as much preparation obviously went into it. I just wonder would the town hall have cancelled a float procession if it had been a Spanish event?
As in the previous few years, Calle Gerona and roads crossing it were closed to traffic to enable partygoers to roam safely and freely. However, I must say that having covered this event over many years, it was significantly quieter. Normally you struggle to walk along Calle Gerona or through the Square, having to squeeze past throngs of people. There was certainly a variety of costumes, some rather expressive, which appeared in a number of UK tabloids under the caption “Bad taste Fancy Dress parade”.
This year there were small clumps of people outside the various bars along the stretch. I personally don’t think that it was solely down to the weather. Possibly, as far as the locals perhaps, who’d have woken up, looked out of the window and thought sod that for a game of soldiers, I’d rather stay put indoors. However, for those that had shelled out money to fly over, paying for checked in luggage to bring their outfits, a spot of rain wouldn’t have deterred them. After all, the Brits are used to it! Looking through comments on social media many had been priced out by the airlines and hotels cashing in with one chap saying that he managed to book a one-week all-inclusive cheaper than 3 nights in Benidorm… that in itself tells a story.
Attendance figures had been lowered by the town hall – every year I am sure they make them up anyway. Let’s see what happens next year and if Brexit, if it ever happens and the effect on exchange rates and airfare prices tell a story