The China Mail - England's World Cup opener puts Spanish resort on beer alert

The Spanish Mediterranean resort, one of Britain's favourite holiday destinations, could serve up to 80,000 litres (141,000 pints) of beer on Wednesday as England begin their World Cup campaign, according to estimates from the local hospitality industry.

"The estimate of 50,000 litres of beer for an England match day in Benidorm is a reasonable figure," Abreca, the town's hospitality association, said in a statement sent to AFP.

"In some cases, especially when it is a decisive match with a large turnout of supporters, consumption could be even higher, of 60,000- 80,000 litres in a single day."

The late 10 pm (2000 GMT) local kick-off time for England's match is expected to help boost sales across the resort's more than 1,000 bars, restaurants and entertainment venues.

Few places outside of Britain are as closely associated with British holidaymakers as Benidorm, a city of sandy beaches and towering hotels on Spain's southeastern coast.

For decades, visitors have flocked there in search of sunshine, sea views and all-inclusive deals, transforming parts of the resort into a curious blend of Mediterranean scenery and British pub culture.

More than three million tourists visited Benidorm in 2025, with Britons making up the largest group of foreign visitors.

The city has around 50,000 hotel rooms with many more Airbnb listings.

The resort's unique character inspired some of the best-known work of British photographer Martin Parr, who frequently documented British tourists there.

It also served as the setting for ITV's long-running comedy series "Benidorm", which followed the misadventures of British holidaymakers under the Spanish sun.

Match days involving England, Germany and other countries that send large numbers of tourists to Spain often bring a noticeable increase in business for bars and restaurants.

They can also create headaches for local authorities.

In Calvia, on the island of Mallorca, officials have imposed special restrictions on bars during matches involving Spain, England, Germany and Scotland.

The municipality, which includes the nightlife resort of Magaluf, has ruled that bars cannot extend their opening hours because of football matches.

Audio from outdoor television screens must be switched off after midnight, and screens must face towards the interior of establishments.

The measures are aimed at preventing football celebrations from becoming an all-night affair.

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