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Date Published: 19/11/2021
ARCHIVED - Thousands of Brits hit the streets of Benidorm for the annual Fancy Dress Party
The hugely popular event is one of the biggest in the Marina Baixa town's calendar, attracting 50,000 people prior to the pandemic
Thousands of Brits flocked to the hugely popular 'English area' of Benidorm on Thursday November 18 to enjoy the resort's annual Fancy Dress Party.
For the last 30 years the Costa Blanca's tourist capital has hosted the huge event for the British which takes place at the end of the resort's Sant Jaume patron saint fiestas, and prior to the pandemic, around 50,000 people descended on the town to take part in the festivities.
Benidorm Fancy Dress Party began around the 1990s when the British began to congregate for the Benidorm Half Marathon held at the end of November, most of them from the same runners club. The annual gathering of runners grew, and participants soon starting donning fancy dress outfits before a massive party in the Rincon de Loix area.
The event normally includes a colourful fancy dress parade, but due to the pandemic, the procession has been called off this year. However, this hasn't stopped bars and restaurants in the area decorating the streets with British flags and balloons, and streaming music to create a party atmosphere.
In order to avoid the reported 'chaos' of previous years, and in light of a continued rise in new Covid cases in Benidorm and elsewhere in the Valencia region, National and Local Police officers began patrolling the streets in the area at 10am on Thursday when Brits donning fancy dress outfits traditionally begin the annual celebrations that go on well into Friday and the rest of the weekend.
Whilst police and the local council warned crowds outside pubs will be dispersed, they stressed that "it's a private party" and is therefore "very difficult to establish rules". However, "compliance with security measures, capacity, mask wearing and social distancing will be monitored throughout the event and afterwards".
Image 1: Twitter/@Elemjay1
Image 2: Benidorm Fancy Dress Party (Archive)
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