A group of Britons appeared to dress up in Hamas-inspired outfits and waved ‘Stop the Boats’ flags as they paraded through the streets of Benidorm.
In a video posted to social media, several of the men could be seen covering their faces using black balaclavas as they took part in the city’s annual fancy dress parade.
Their clothing appeared to be a nod to Hamas soldiers, including military style T-shirts, green strips of fabric across their foreheads and keffiyehs around their necks.
Two of the parade goers were walking in a rubber dinghy, as Union Jack flags featuring messages including “stop the boats” and “enough is enough” waved in the background.
Participants appeared to be wearing Hamas-inspired clothing and walked in a rubber dinghy
|
X/SUTTON1MR
One large flag, held up by two people, showed a picture of an English Bulldog with the words “coming to a town near you” written above it.
Set up in the 1990s by a bar called The Sports Mans Retreat, Benidorm’s fancy dress event attracts thousands of people each year.
Dressed in wacky costumes, participants walk through the streets and stop off at bars along the way to enjoy drinks and live music.
Last year, organisers said around 35,000 were in attendance.
The parade goers carried Union Jack flags featuring messages including ‘enough is enough’ and ‘stop the boats’
|
X/SUTTON1MR
Benidorm has long proven a popular holiday destination for Britons, with hundreds of thousands of people flocking there each year.
According to data from Travel Republic, which looked at the trending destinations for 2025, Benidorm made top of the list with 589,910 holiday-related online searches made and an 3,900 per cent increase in searches year-on-year.
A number of Britons have also chosen to move to the holiday spot permanently.
Speaking to GB News this summer, one expat explained their reasons for making the move, saying: “There’s too many foreigners in the UK. We lost our rights, freedom of speech went.
“I had enough. Britain lost the plot 20 years ago sorry.”
Another told the People’s Channel: “It’s a more relaxed lifestyle, you have got the weather, the utility bills are a lot lower so the cost of living here is a lot lower than England and the lifestyle is more relaxed.”
A number of popular resort towns saw the biggest drop in visitors since the end of the Covid pandemic this summer following a wave of anti-tourist protests.
Images from the Rockstar Bar in Benidorm showed empty chairs and tables in the summer sun, while others showed just a handful of guests dining beneath umbrellas at the height of the summer season.
A wave of anti-tourist protests took place across Spain this summer
|
GETTYZoe Harris, chief customer officer at holiday company On the Beach, said: “The message from Spain is loud and clear, Spain needs tourists, Spain wants tourists.
“Those taking part in the tourism protests are in the minority, and our posters are there to show Brits they’re not just welcome, they’re vital to the communities and businesses that rely on tourism.”
