There are some opportunities that are simply unmissable, especially if we’re talking about summer, Benidorm and the most surprising music festival around. It’s called the Low Cost Festival, taking place on 23rd and 24th July in Benidorm’s L’Aigüera Park, bringing together the crème de la crème from the national and international indie scene.

Following a brilliant first edition held in Alicante, the Low Cost Festival 2010 is moving to Benidorm to offer audiences on the Costa Blanca a first-class line-up. The British groups Editors and Placebo, undoubtedly two of the biggest exponents of alternative rock around today, are just two of the acts lined up to play at the festival, which will also feature performances by other high voltage international bands such as These New Puritans, The Raveonettes, Adam Green, Tokyo Sex Destruction and Vive La Fête.

The line-up of national groups performing at the Low Cost Festival 2010 is also unbeatable. Love of Lesbian, Los Planetas, Lori Meyers and Arizona Baby have seduced a whole army of follows with their lyrics and chords, both in Spain and abroad. Together with them, Benidorm and its beaches will offer audiences an idyllic setting, which is why it is already considered the ultimate music event of this summer.

The green areas and central boulevards make L’Aigüera Park the city’s green lung and a wonderful setting to enjoy concerts. The Low Cost Festival enclosure is divided into three stages: there are two tiered open-air spaces, the Oscar Esplá amphitheatre and the Julio Iglesias auditorium, and the bullring.

As well as music, the festival presents an attractive programme of leisure and entertainment and Benidorm’s tourist offer and nightlife. For starters, festival-goers will get special prices at shops, restaurants and bars around the city. And, throughout the entire week from 19th to 25th July, there will be free concerts at midday, low cost gastronomic routes, the record and alternative fashion fair, and even a documentary film festival, along with many other surprises.

via Official Tourism Site of the Region of Valencia.

Last May, the city of Benidorm had the highest level of hotel occupancy among residents and foreign tourists of any tourist destination in Spain, with 82.7% occupancy, according to the latest Hotel Tourism Survey published by the National Institute of Statistics. Furthermore, Benidorm was the destination with the highest number of overnight stays among Spanish residents, with 427,534 overnight stays.

These results are also true for the rest of the Region of Valencia where the number of hotel places offered also grew by 1.38%. In this respect, hotels in the Region of Valencia received a total of 634,141 travellers and registered over two million overnight stays. This represents a year-on-year growth of 4.98% and 0.51% in the number of travellers and overnight stays, respectively.

There has been an important increase in the number of foreign travellers arriving (10.4%) and in terms of overnight stays (9.6%), in both cases higher than the Spanish average. The highest growth figures were registered for tourists from Germany (30.89%), Holland (13.44%), France (11.5%), Italy (11.01%) and the UK (6.64%).

via Travelturisme. Region of Valencia tourism news.

Death defying diver David Calvo has just pulled off a Jaws-dropping stunt – solving two Rubik´s cubes sharing a tank with six sharks.

David, 24, completed the puzzles in just 76 seconds as he sat on the bottom of the tank at the Terra Natura Park in Benidorm, Spain.

The former national Rubik cube champ for Spain, he solved both puzzles one-handed at the same time. “He was fast – but he did have a bit of an incentive from our sharks. They´ve never eaten a man – yet – but you certainly wouldn´t want to linger,” said one keeper.

The 24-year-old has managed to beat his own record set last April on an Italian TV show where he solved two cubes in the water, but without the sharks. He added: “I found I was very focused on getting it done as quickly as possible – I wasn´t very keen on hanging around.”

via Croatian Times.

A Benidorm hotel chain has announced it will offer its guests 200 euros each if Spain does not win the World Cup.

Magic Costa Blanca says anyone who books a stay in one of its establishments will be entitled to the pay-out if ´La Roja´ – or ´The Reds´ – fail to take home the coveted trophy from South Africa.

The qualifying hotels are Magic Cristal Park, Magic Fenicia and Magic Villa, all in Benidorm.

Company vice-president, Javier García, says football fans in Spain are ´very pleased´ with the team´s performance up to now, since ´they have returned the confidence´ in Spain which has been largely diluted internationally as a result of the recession.

via Hotels to pay guests 200 euros if Spain loses World Cup.

Benidorm star Geoffrey Hutchings, a familiar face from stage, TV and film for four decades, has died, aged 71.

The Rada-trained star saw his career stretch from Shakespearean theatre to a string of popular dramas, and he was most recently seen in ITV1?s Benidorm.

Hutchings’s celebrated TV dramas have also included the acclaimed saga Our Friends In The North, as well as Heart Of Darkness and Made In Britain.

But his work took him through a diverse range of roles, including daytime TV dramas, popular series such as Bad Girls and last year he had a brief spell in EastEnders.

The actor, who lived in central London, died suddenly in hospital at around 8am yesterday (Thursday).

His agent Roger Charteris said: “He is thought to have died from a sudden viral infection. He was fine at lunchtime on Wednesday but he had died by Thursday morning.”

Hutchings’s latest series, the sitcom Grandma’s House written by comic Simon Amstell, is due to be screened by BBC2 this summer.

And he was due to begin filming the next series of Benidorm shortly.

The Dorchester-born actor studied French and PE at Birmingham University, later attending Rada and becoming a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1968.

His stagecraft won him an Olivier Award for best comedy performance in 1982 for his role in Poppy.

via Benidorm’s Geoffrey Hutchings dies | Mad Black Cat.

The Lugano Tower was intended as a symbol of Spain´s frenzied tourism-and-concrete building boom, soaring 148 metres (450ft) above the eastern resort town of Benidorm and offering those who bought apartments a birds-eye view of the Mediterranean.

Two years later, however, angry apartment owners are taking the builders to court, saying Spain´s tallest residential building is already beginning to crumble.

The builders of the white concrete monster – which with 48 storeys towers over all but one of Benidorm´s 386 skyscrapers – are being asked to pay €22m (£18.2m) in compensation.

“At first sight it looked fine, but it pretty soon became clear that this was a botched job,” apartment owner Alberto Saiz told the local Informacion newspaper.

Leaky drains, flooded basements, roped-off and dangerous staircases and external damage caused by high winds and rain are all on the list of complaints of the owners, who say they have already been forced to pay out some €600,000 (£498,000) to fix problems. The sprinkler system for putting out fires had gone off 50 times in a single day, they said.

“They sold me a luxury flat but it ended up as a disaster because almost nothing is up to standard,” Vicente Villalba told El País newspaper.

The tower block was finished in 2008, just as Spain´s housing market imploded, hitting crowded Benidorm and other resorts that had built relentlessly for a decade.

“We haven´t received the complaint yet, but I imagine it will go straight to our legal team,” a spokeswoman for developers Bancaja Habitat said.

Benidorm now boasts more skyscrapers than Berlin and, though it has a permanent population of just 70,000, comes 14th in the ranking of European cities with most high-rises, according to the emporis.com website.

At least a quarter of the Lugano Tower´s 204 apartments are up for sale, with prices ranging from €192,000 (£160,000) to €720,000 (£598,000) for a three-bedroom apartment on the 42nd floor.

The building boasts its own swimming pool and gymnasium, as well as an unspoilt view across the neighbouring Serra Gelada natural park.

The tallest building in Benidorm remains the 186-metre Bali hotel. Benidorm´s planning regulations encourage builders to build high, with planners preferring tall, slim buildings that leave space below at street level.

via Benidorm skyscraper residents take builders to court | World news | The Guardian.

Spain was celebrating last Wednesday when it was announced that a total of 521 of its beaches and 84 of its ports have been awarded the blue flag for the high quality and cleanliness of their waters and services.  This is 34 more than last year and means that one in every six beaches in Spain is classified as amongst the best in the world.  The region of Valencia has been awarded no less than 108 of the flags, just behind Galicia, which won 122 flags.

For the first time ever an interior beach in Badajoz has been awarded a flag. Altogether this year 3,511 blue flags were awarded to the 33 countries taking part in Europe, Canada and Morocco.  With 605 going to Spain, our adopted country is top of the list for good quality beaches.The blue flag ensures beachgoers that the beach is clean, safe, and accessible, with life guard services, an information board, and suitable for disabled people. Of the 800 Spanish beaches which put themselves forward for the award, 250 were rejected for a variety of reasons.  The judges are made up of representatives from the United Nations Environment committee, the World Tourism Organisation, and Nature Conservation Organisations.

A total of 108 blue flags for quality will fly over Valencian Community beaches and ports this summer, seven more than last year. Once again, Alicante is the lead province with 48 flags, an increase of eight but equally the beaches of Vorador, Tamarit and Levant in Santa Pola and the beach at Pilar de la Horadada have lost their flags.  Valencia Province has 25 blue flags, six more than last year, but here again, the beaches of Daimus and Aigua Morta in Oliva as well as the Cabanyal and Malvarrosa beaches of Valencia were excluded.  In Castellon four blue flags were lost; El Forti in Vinaros, Les Manyetes in Alcala de Xivert, The Gurugu in Castellon and the Pedra Rotja in Moncofa.

Alicante’s 48 beaches and 11 ports waving the blue flag make the Costa Blanca the second province in Spain with the highest number of flags.

In Alicante city the blue flags have been awarded to the beaches of  Sant Joan, la Albufereta, Postiguet and Saladar.  In Elche they have gone to El Altet, Carabassí, Les Pesqueres-El Rebollo and La Marina.  In Santa Pola, Calas del Este, and in Guardamar del Segura, La Roqueta, Centre y El Moncaio.  In Torrevieja, Los Náufragos and Cala Piteras.  In Orihuela, Flamenca Beach, Cala Capitán, Cabo Roig, Campoamor, Barranco Rubio and Mil Palmeras.  In Pilar de la Horadada, Jesuitas, Puerto, Mil Palmeras y Playa Conde.  In Dénia, Les Bovetes and Marineta Casiana.  In Xàbia, La Grava, L'Arenal and La Granadella.  In Teulada, El Portet, L'Ampolla and Les Platgetes.  In Benissa, Cala Fustera.  In Calp, La Fossa, Cantal Roig y Arenal Bol.  In Altea, La Roda and Cap Blanc.  In L'Alfàs del Pi, Racó de L'Albir.  In Benidorm, Llevant, Mal Pas and  Ponent.  In Finestrat, La Cala.  In La Vila Joiosa, Varadero, Paradís, Bon Nou and La Caleta.  In El Campello, Carrer de la Mar.

The ports which have received the flags are Dénia, “Les Bassetes” de Benissa, Calpe, Altea, Villajoiosa, El Campello, Marina Deportiva de Alicante, Santa Pola, R.C.N. de Torrevieja, P. D. Marina Internacional de Torrevieja, and the Marina Cabo Roig in Orihuela Costa.

In Murcia fifteen beaches and two ports have received the award, which is two more than last year.

via SPAIN FLIES FLAG FOR GREAT BEACHES | Spain | Leader Newspaper – News, Sport, Advertising, Property, Classifieds – Costa Blanca, Costa del Sol, Costa Calida, Costa de Almeria, Spain.

Sisters Mildred Bowman and Alice Wardle lay trapped for nearly five days under fold down beds in their Benidorm apartment before dying of suffocation four years ago.

Both women’s families were offered out of court settlements by tour operator My Travel – now Thomas Cook.

And wile Alice’s family accepted, Mildred’s refused, choosing to fight on.

Earlier this year an inquest finally took place into their deaths – and Gateshead Coroner Terence Carney ruled their horrific end “could and should have been avoided”.

Mildred’s children Paul, John and Carol, finally hoped this would give them the clout to take legal action against Thomas Cook – who they believe should have done more to ensure the beds were safe.

But now they have been told by he company they are too late as applications for civil proceedings must be made within three years of the death.

“What’s the point of having an inquest if you can’t do anything about it?” said Paul, 46, of Low Fell.

“It’s as if the last four years have all been a waste of time.

“It is not about the money.

“My mum and auntie lay inside those beds suffering for almost five days and still no-one is taking responsibility for it.”

Their bid to bring a charge of manslaughter due to negligence against the hotel management was thrown out by a Spanish judge. The family are now taking civil action in Spain.

A Thomas Cook Spokesperson said: “The thoughts of us all will always be with the family of Mrs Bowman. Despite doing our utmost to try to resolve matters directly with the family and their legal representatives over a long period of time, this wasn’t possible.”

Two Thomas Cook staff were cleared of negligent manslaughter earlier this month following the death of two children in Corfu from carbon monoxide poisoning caused by a faulty boiler. But now they face a retrial.

Three hotel staff were jailed for seven years.

via ChronicleLive.

A British woman is being questioned by Spanish police after two of her children were found dead in a holiday resort in Spain.

Police said the children, a boy and a girl both under the age of six, were discovered in a hotel room in the coastal town of Lloret de Mar.

The British Embassy in Madrid said an inquiry had been launched into the deaths.

A Foreign Office spokeswoman said it was investigating the reports.

A spokesman said: “We are in contact with the Spanish police but because the children are minors we cannot say much.

“We believe the mother has been arrested. There is an ongoing investigation.”

Police were called to the four-star Hotel Miramar, located on the Costa Brava coast 47 miles (75km) north of Barcelona, at about 2pm local time.

A Girona police spokesman said: “At around 3.53pm, the mossos de la comissaria de Blanes (local police) received a note from the local police of Lloret de Mar that the bodies of two minors had been found at a hotel.

“When the officers arrived at the scene they found two children inside a room at a hotel.

“Girona Police are investigating the death of the two children. The police have detained the mother of the minors to find out what happened.”

Spanish newspaper El Mundo reported that the children's mother phoned police, who were unable to revive them.

Embassy staff said they were trying to establish whether the family was on holiday in Spain or living in the country.

Lloret de Mar is a popular destination for British holidaymakers.

A spokesman for travel association Abta said: “It's very popular with the British. It's a very traditional Spanish resort, similar to Benidorm and Torremolinos.”

via BBC News – Two British children found dead in Spain.

Janet Kerrigan´s 28-year-old lad David tripped in his hotel and hit his head in the tumble after a night out in Spanish resort Benidorm.

The security guard was rushed to hospital in Alicante – where medics found he had suffered a brain haemorrhage.

Last night devastated Janet, 47, revealed he´d spent just one night in the Costa Blanca town when the freak accident happened. And she sobbed as she recalled her last words to David before he set off on the two-week break with a pal were “be careful”.

She said: “It´s every mother´s worst nightmare.

“David was such a wonderful, joking, playful son. I can´t believe he´s gone.

“The last time I spoke to him I told him, ´You look after yourself, you be careful.´

“We never expected this to happen. I couldn´t believe it when we got the call to say there had been an accident.”

David´s grieving sister Tracey – who called her brother her “soulmate” – caught the next available flight to Spain after the accident last month.

But Janet, who had never been abroad, suffered an agonising wait before she could travel while her passport application was processed.

She said: “When I arrived at the hospital, I was shocked to see David. He was full of tubes, he looked so helpless.”

David, of Hamilton, spent two weeks in a coma before he lost his fight for life earlier this month. And grieving Janet and Tracey had to borrow money to fly out to bring David´s body home as he did not have any travel insurance. His funeral was held last Friday.

Tracey, 26, said: “David was my soulmate. We had the same group of friends so we hung out together all the time. I feel like I´ve lost my best friend.

“We also had to borrow money to pay for our flights out there to bring him home. It´s been terrible.”

Janet added: “David had his whole life in front of him. I feel so lost without him.

“His best friend had asked him to be a godfather to their wee baby. He was proud of that.”

scottish-sun@the-sun.co.uk

via Hols Scot killed in fall at hotel | The Sun |Home Scotland|Scottish News.