The 'Fancy Dress Benidorm' returns to the streets of Rincón de Loix on November 14

The city council and leisure venues expect attendance to exceed 30,000 people at an event “that continues to grow and is increasingly international”

The streets of Rincón de Loix and other areas of Benidorm will once again be filled with colour next Thursday, 14 November, just one day after the end of the Festes Majors Patronals, with the celebration of the so-called 'Fancy Dress Party', a costume party that attracts thousands of British people every year and is "a benchmark in the Valencian Community". This is how it was described this Friday by the Councillor for Events of the City Council, Jesús Carrobles, who presented the first details of this new edition to the media, in the company of Irene Carreño and Manolo Nieto, manager of Abreca and promoter of this celebration, respectively. 

Carrobles recalled that this party began to be celebrated 33 years ago following the initiative of the local businessman Manuel Nieto and "since then it has only grown to become, possibly, the largest costume party in Europe". The councillor has emphasised that the departments of Events and Citizen Security, which he also coordinates, “have been working on the organisation of this event for around three months” and has pointed out that the event, which has been adding incentives in recent years, such as the parade of floats, “is becoming more and more attractive and attracts more public, both British and of other nationalities”. 

“It is an event that is no longer limited to the English area, but transcends the entire city”, said Jesús Carrobles, who added that “the public is in this area for a few hours, but it is increasingly common to see British people dressed up in venues in the centre or other areas of Benidorm”, on a day that “despite the large volume of public that it moves, hardly registers any significant incidents, because people come to have a good time and in a calm manner”.

Regarding this year's organisation, the councillor has recalled that the Local Police will close the streets of Gerona and Lepanto to traffic at around 12 noon to guarantee the safety of traffic and pedestrians, due to the large concentration of people estimated; around 30,000. Likewise, the manager of Abreca, Irene Carreño, has indicated that there will be "between 50 and 60 establishments that will participate in one way or another in the organisation".
 

The central event will be the parade of floats, which is scheduled to start at 4 pm, and in which "the participation of some 30 floats, dance groups, batukadas and other types of entertainment has already been confirmed", added Manolo Nieto. This businessman has also highlighted that "there are more and more establishments that are getting involved and more public" and has advanced that, "taking into account how this season has gone, everything indicates that the arrival of public may be even greater than in other years". 

Nieto also recalled how this celebration came about in one of his establishments somewhat by chance. “We had a small but very loyal audience, and I rented some costumes and organised a buffet and a party in which about twenty people participated. The following year – he continued –, as they had had such a good time, they told me that if I provided the food again, they would bring their friends, and there were 50 of us. And the following year a hundred, the next 500 and so on up to 30,000 of us today,” he said. 

The businessman added that the 'Fancy' has evolved in a very short time "by itself, with the involvement of more people and in a selfless way" and he stressed that it is a party "very safe and with hardly any incidents thanks to the work of everyone, the collaboration of the City Council and the good atmosphere of the public, which has made that in addition to British people, Belgians, Dutch and Spanish people are also increasingly joining the celebration and making it more international every year".