An army of toy soldiers march down the streets, closely followed by two angels, a pirate and a dog...
No, this is not a dream. This is the main drag in Benidorm as I join the 25th annual British Fancy Dress Day.
A record 45,000 revellers took part, 10,000 more than in 2019, with a bizarre foam party involving “police officers”, Vikings, snails and pot plants.
Gleeful Brits in their barmy array of costumes jumped from bar to bar in the resort’s Rincon de Loix streets.
Although many started early, it was at 4pm that a parade of 16 floats and troupes of dancers made their merry way through the streets.
Tourists wanting to catch the last of the summer sunshine were not disappointed as temperatures hit 26C, although for those in heavy costumes, such as a man I saw dressed as a dinosaur, that may not have been welcome.
Deborah and Michael Ryan travelled to Benidorm especially for the party, planning their outfits two weeks before.
Deborah, 60, who lives in Redhill, Surrey, said: “He was the pope and I was a nun.
“We got down at about one o’clock and everyone was walking down in their fancy dress. It’s such good fun.”
As well as dancing in the street, people were offered paellas and barbecues on the nearby Levante Beach.
Deborah said: “Don’t think it’s just for youngsters. It’s an age group from 70s to 20s. In fact, an 18-year old girl we met said it was one of the best days of her life.”
And 75-year-old Coral Stimsom agreed. She said: “There is no age group.” She went with her daughter Josie Evans, 43, and the pair had a brilliant time in fancy dress making new friends.
Josie said: “We were flamingos and we thought there was only going to be two flamingos but we found two more flamingos. We made a flock. The atmosphere was amazing, everyone had such a good vibe coming to the party.
“There is no animosity, you can just be yourself and do what you want to do and everyone is just on board. It’s brilliant. There’s no pretentiousness.
“It was our first time and we will definitely be doing it again.”
John Gregory, 50, from Haywards Heath, West Sussex, did not know the party was happening when he arrived in town on Thursday with some friends.
He said: “We were actually disappointed we didn’t dress up, because we weren’t aware. We felt out of place not being dressed up.
“We were quite shocked how lively it was, but it was brilliant. Everyone was friendly and in good spirits. Everyone was dancing. It was a really good night.”
