Brits warned as Spanish resort vows to slap £1.2k fines on revellers flouting one rule
The Costa Brava has implemented drastic measures to stop high-spirited hen and stag dos from donning certain costumes in public.
Authorities in a popular Costa Brava resort are cracking down on rowdy stag and hen dos, threatening to slap fines of more than £1,000 on anyone going against the strict new rules.
Spain is a popular destination for stag and hen parties, with some 300,000 held in the country every year. However the high-spirited behaviour of some party-goers has started to annoy local residents, prompting officials to intervene.
Malaga, Cordoba and Granda have already introduced restrictions on wild partying in an attempt to improve behaviour in public places.
Now they are set to be joined by Platja d’Aro on the Costa Brava, which can attract hundreds of thousands of visitors on any one summer weekend. Officials in the resort of 12,500 people have decided to ban inflatable penis costumes and sex dolls.
The new rules especially forbid people from appearing “on the public thoroughfare without clothing or only in their underwear or with clothing or accessories representing human genitals or with dolls or other accessories of a sexual nature”.
Anyone found flouting the regulations will face fines of between €300-€1,500 (£255-£1,275). Mayor Maurici Jiménez said the community's patience with revellers was fast running out.
“These attitudes have an impact on the community’s coexistence and we need to fight against them,” he said. He added that he would ban the parties altogether if he had the power to do so.
David Puertas, the local chief of police, recalled a recent incident of antisocial behaviour by party goers that resulted in many complaints from locals.
A groom was strapped to a lamp-post with gaffer tape while his fellow revellers kept neighbours awake playing loud music and singing into the early hours.
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According to specialist stag-and-hen-do websites StagWeb and GoHen, a quarter of all British bachelors and bachelorettes choose Spain or Portugal for their wild getaways.
The resort of Benidorm was the most popular for stag parties in 2023, while Barcelona came in eighth on the list.
Marbella was the favourite for hen dos, with Benidorm, Barcelona and Ibiza also in the top 10.
