Win-win for Torre del Mar's Weekend Beach festival

Culture

David Bisbal gave a bittersweet performance in the eastern Costa del Sol town, trying to balance the joy of Spain’s win in the World Cup quarter-finals with the tragedy of the fire in his native Almeria

Jennie Rhodes

The eleventh Weekend Beach Festival drew to a close in Torre del Mar in the early hours of Sunday 12 July, after three intense days of music in the eastern Costa del Sol town. The lineup spanning rock, pop, fusion, urban sounds and electronic music, attracted thousands of ‘Weekers’ from across Andalucía and beyond.

Big names on the Spanish music scene including La Pegatina who headlined the first night of the festival on Thursday 9 July as well as David Bisbal and Dellafuente attracted the biggest crowds on Saturday hight. The big name of Saturday night was Puerto artist Rican Myke Towers who is known for his collaborations with Bad Bunny.

The Sunrise electronic music stage kept revellers partying until the early hours of Saturday and Sunday mornings with continuous DJ sessions, turning the Poniente beach into a huge outdoor rave.

The highlight of the festival was undoubtedly the perfect timing of David Bisbal’s entrance onto the stage just as Spain confirmed their win against Belgium in the World Cup quarter final. A large screen had been put up by one of the bar areas of the festival ground so that ‘Weekers’ could enjoy the music and the match at the same time. Performing on stage when Spain scored their first goal was pop singer Ana Mena, who stopped mid-performance to celebrate, draped in a Spain flag.

David Bisbal, who was the runner up in Spanish TV’s first ever Operación Triunfo (similar to Pop Idol) in 2002, gave a bittersweet performance, trying to balance the joy of Spain’s win in the World Cup quarter-finals against Belgium with the tragedy of the fire in his native Almeria.

The singer who is from Almeria city paid tribute to the victims of the Bédar fire and the emergency services at the start of what was an outstanding performance. In one of his rare festival appearances, he delivered a full concert packed with hit after hit, first wrapped in the green and white Andalusian flag, followed by the Spanish flag, both of which he threw into the ecstatic crowd afterwards.

The festival continued late into early Saturday morning with Morad and Dellafuente as well as the techno beats of the Sunrise stage, before picking up again for the final night of the summer music event with Myke Towers headlining the main stage.

Organisers have thanked the thousands of festival-goers as well as Vélez-Málaga town hall and others for another successful event and have already promised to return in 2027.