Benidorm Pride 2026: a week of rainbow ends with a parade for tens of thousands

Benidorm spent the past week painted in every shade of the rainbow. From Tuesday 1 to Sunday 6 September the city celebrated Benidorm Pride, with parties in the Old Town, an open-air White Party and, as the highlight, Saturday afternoon’s grand parade: eighteen floats rolling from Levante beach along the seafront, cheered on by tens of thousands of spectators. The organisers expected more than 20,000 visitors from Spain and abroad, and anyone who stood among them on Saturday will understand why this festival keeps growing.

Six days of partying, one grand finale

The festival week started gently on Tuesday, with parties and performances in the Old Town bars, building up via a Pink Party on Wednesday and a pool party on Thursday to the main event. At 4:30 pm on Saturday the parade set off from Levante beach: eighteen floats loaded with music, feathers and glitter, turning the promenade into one long dance floor by the sea. In the front row stood not just festivalgoers but Spanish families with children on their shoulders and beachgoers clapping along in happy surprise. That mix is exactly what makes Benidorm’s parade so infectious.

From White Party to drag icons on the Main Stage

Anyone who thought the parade was the party still had the evenings to come. On Friday, thousands of visitors dressed head to toe in white gathered in the open-air Julio Iglesias auditorium in l’Aigüera Park for the White Party, with international DJs and live acts into the small hours. On Saturday night the same auditorium hosted the free Main Stage, headlined by Spanish drag icons Kika Lorace and La Prohibida. And on Sunday the closing party moved to the lanes and squares of the Old Town, where the bars saw the week out with open-air celebrations and performances.

More than a party: Benidorm as an inclusive destination

As of this year, Benidorm Pride is affiliated with InterPride, the international network of Pride organisations, joining Spanish heavyweights such as Barcelona and Sevilla. That is more than a label: it confirms what visitors have noticed for years, namely that Benidorm is one of the most relaxed places in Spain to walk hand in hand along the seafront. For travellers looking for a destination where you can simply be yourself, the city is a safe bet, with a lively scene that runs all year round and is at its most colourful during Pride week.

Put it in the diary for next year

Benidorm Pride traditionally falls in the first week of September, just as high season fades, hotel prices drop and the sea is still summer-warm. The parade and the Main Stage are free to attend; for parties such as the Pink Party and the pool party you buy tickets through the organisers at benidormpride.com. If you want to be there next year, book your stay early, because the hotels around Levante beach fill up first during Pride week. Combine it with a day trip in the area and you have a long weekend that feels like nowhere else in Europe.

About the authorMilo Schuijt

Milo Schuijt is an entrepreneur and DJ on the Costa Blanca. He writes about the places where he lives, works and plays: from beach bars to the housing market.