British holidaymakers are being advised that they might receive some “strange looks” if they fail to dress appropriately while visiting Benidorm next month.
Lucy Young, also known as the Benidorm Enthusiast, has issued a warning that the popular coastal town is preparing for its annual ” fiesta patronal”, an exuberant week filled with partying, music, dancing, and parades. Lucy highlights that Benidorm’s festivities are particularly “special” due to the influx of thousands of British and Irish tourists who join in the celebrations.
The festivities this year will continue until November 13. However, Lucy points out that it’s the day after the fiesta when visitors to the Spanish destination should pay extra attention.
According to Lucy, this is because Sinatra’s bar, a well-known establishment in Benidorm, initiated the British Fancy Dress Day right after the fiesta as a tribute to UK tourists. The event is part of a grand street party that marks the conclusion of the festive period.
Lucy detailed: “Many years ago Sinatra’s decided to say thank you to the British people for coming over and celebrating the November fiesta with the Spanish people by having a giant paella made outside the bar, which they would then give away to anybody for free in fancy dress.”
“This started on the Thursday following the fiesta and gradually grew from just a handful of participants to several hundred, eventually becoming the largest fancy dress party in Europe, extending throughout the streets of the new town.”
fiesta patronal”Last year around 40,000 people attended and this year it is expected that number will be closer to 50,000. Of course it’s impossible to feed 50,000 in one go with a paella, but in the run up to this day during the fiesta week there are giant paellas and free barbecues hosted by the bars in the new town.”
“When it comes to fancy dress day on Thursday though, it’s just one big party. There are stages and pop-up bars in the streets, there’s a parade done by the bars, and if you’re not in fancy dress, you may well get some strange looks.”
Benidorm is a favourite destination for Brits, with an estimated 800,000 believed to have visited the resort in 2023. This means that travellers from the United Kingdom accounted for about a third of the 2,766,366 tourists it welcomed.
The British Fancy Dress Day is believed to have first occurred in the 1990s.
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