'Venice in Benidorm' wins first prize in the Carnival parade in which 63 groups and 10 individual participants performed

The Carnival party was shown yesterday, Saturday, in all its splendour in Benidorm with some parades, children and adults, of great merit, great participation and a huge desire to have a good time with many touches of originality in the designs.

Around a thousand people participated last Saturday night in the adult parade, organized by the Associació de Penyes Verge del Sofratge. They toured the streets of the city centre to end at Plaza de sus Majestades los Reyes de España with a party until dawn. A parade followed by a large crowd of people along its route ended in a tent of the Association, completely packed.

Starting after nine at night, 63 groups and 10 individual participants starred in a massive parade that filled the route with colour, great work behind in making the costumes and, above all, a great sense of humour. The parade began with the appearance of Queen Valentina Almodóbar and her court of honour and behind them the members of the Comissió de Festes Majors Patronals 2024.

The mayor of Benidorm, Toni Pérez; the councillor of Fiestas, Mariló Cebreros; and numerous members of the government team came to watch the parade, dressed as American football players. Later they were in charge of awarding the prizes to the winners with the Queen, the president of the Festival Committee, María Dolores Cano, the president of the Penyes Association, Jaume Cortés and members of the jury.

In the group category, the winner was 'Venice in Benidorm', which won the first prize of 1,000 euros, thanks to its staging of the Italian town's carnival. The second prize went to 'The Revenant of the Phoenix' with a prize of €800 and the third prize went to 'Queens of Ice and Kings of Fire' who achieved €600. The rest of the awards were in the following order: 'Secret of the Pyramids' (€400), 'Swahili Warriors' (€300), 'Papallones Fest' (€100), 'Nature on' (€100) and 'Queen of hearts' (€100).

The winners in the individual category were 'Sweet Carnaval' with a prize of €300, second place went to 'Ecofantasia' with €200 and the third prize went to 'Dios del InTempo' who won 100 euros.

At the end of the parade, a party presented and entertained by Aitor Belda, from Los 40 and Radio Benidorm, took place in the Associació de Penyes tent, where, throughout the day, there was also a bar at popular prices. In addition, the Penyes Association held an 'afternoon' in the same Plaza de SSMM Reyes de España.
Benidorm will say goodbye to the Carnival on Tuesday, February 13 with the Burial of the Sardine, which will begin at 9:30 p.m. in the Plaza Mayor.

Children's Carnival

In the morning, the Children's Carnival took place with the participation of 42 groups and a dozen individual costumes, as well as the children's queen Laia Zamora and her children's court of honour, who led the parade.

In the group category, the winner was 'Little invaders', a prize worth €300. The second, of 200 euros, was for 'Discovering the world of wonders' and the third for 'La Barbacoa'  with 100 euros.

In the individual category, the winner was the 'Railway' costume (€100), the second went to 'La Vileda turbo, put an End to Everything Dirty' (€75) and the third prize went to 'Carousel of Dreams' (50 €).