If you ask a lot of expats, Benidorm is the tackiest place in Spain (personally, I love it), so when the news came out this week that the Benidorm Town Hall wants to put advertising on the beach, most were probably not surprised.
With images of huge, invasive billboards all over Benidorm beach to make it look even worse than it already does, I imagine there are expats all over Spain cringing at the thought. But………is Benidorm City Hall going to be able to put advertising on the beach, and will it look that bad?
No, actually it won’t.
What Benidorm Town Hall is asking the Central Government to do is to modify the Ley de Costas (the Spanish Coastal Law).
The requested modification would allow advertising on the beaches and on the Paseo Maritimo. But, they’re not talking about massive billboards and huge posters. Instead, they envisage smaller things like advertising on garbage cans, on beach beds, and on umbrellas.
The PP, of course, who seems to be good at putting down ideas but not coming up with any solutions hates the idea and says it will ‘open the door to barbarism’ (like Benidorm is some bastion of good taste and serenity?). The Socialists and Liberals, however, see it as a good idea as it will bring in much needed extra income. Have to say I agree with the latter.
As long as it istastefully done, I don’t see anything wrong with it. Other beach towns around the world have done it, and it has soon become just part of the beach. And, yes, the city needs money. It has to come from somewhere, so why not let local businesses pay for some of it?