Benidorm Pride Week

Spanish Sunshine Meets Rainbow Celebration

A Surprising Haven: Benidorm’s LGBTQ+ Roots

The story of Benidorm’s relationship with the LGBTQ+ community is far more historic and profound than many realize.

In 1962, Benidorm witnessed the opening of Pretex, considered the first gay bar in the city. This venue challenged the norms of Franco’s dictatorship, marking the beginning of a space of freedom for the LGBTQ+ community in a still conservative Spain.

This act of quiet rebellion during one of Spain’s most oppressive periods speaks volumes about Benidorm’s character. While other Spanish destinations were firmly closed to LGBTQ+ expression, this Mediterranean resort town was already carving out safe spaces for those seeking authenticity and acceptance.

The courage of those early pioneers laid the groundwork for what would eventually become one of Europe’s most welcoming LGBTQ+ destinations.

Pride Celebration

The gay community has its heart in the historic Old Town where you will be received with a warm smile and open arms.

This really isn’t Tourism Board marketing speak – it’s a lived reality that thousands of LGBTQ+ visitors experience every year. The narrow, winding streets of the Old Town have become a genuine gaybourhood where rainbow flags flutter year-round and acceptance isn’t just tolerated but celebrated.

Calle de Santa Faz

The Birth and Evolution of Benidorm Pride

Benidorm Pride began as a small gathering in 2011, but has quickly become a huge success, with guys and gals flocking from across Europe.

From its humble beginning attended by just a few hundred regulars, the event has gained momentum with thousands of happy revellers taking part and is now recognised as the European Summer Closing Pride.

Party Time, Benidorm Pride

Pride 2025 will be edition 15 of the festival, with 30,000+ expected.

This remarkable growth trajectory tells the story of a community-driven event that has organically evolved into something truly special.

Unlike some Pride events that can feel overly commercialized or sanitized, Benidorm Pride maintains its grassroots authenticity while offering world-class entertainment and experiences.

The timing of Benidorm Pride is particularly significant.

Held late in the year, Benidorm Pride quite rightly names itself as the ‘European Summer Closing Pride’ event!

This positioning allows the festival to serve as both a final summer celebration and a bridge to the upcoming season, drawing visitors who want to extend their Pride season or experience something different from the typical June celebrations.

Pride Week: A Total Celebration

Benidorm Pride is a weeklong series of flamboyant events including the famous Pride parade and popular after-party on Benidorm’s famous Levante Beach.

Commencing in the 1st week of September, this year the festival runs from September 1-7, with each day offering a carefully curated mix of entertainment, community events, and spontaneous celebration.

The week typically kicks off with welcome parties across the Old Town’s gay venues, allowing visitors to familiarize themselves with the area and meet fellow attendees. Mid-week events often include pool parties, drag competitions, and themed nights that showcase both local and international talent.

Pride Parade

The PRIDE ARENA is staged at the town’s well know landmark, the auditorium Julio Iglesias.

This central venue hosts major performances, speeches, and ceremonial events that form the festival’s official program – the choice of this iconic location testimony to the city’s full embrace of the Pride celebration.

The famous Pride parade, typically held on Saturday, transforms Benidorm’s streets into a river of rainbow colours, with participants and spectators creating an atmosphere of pure joy. The parade route winds through the Old Town before culminating at Levante Beach for the legendary after-party that can stretch well into the night.

Prior to this, however, must-attend events inlcude the Pink Party on Wednesday and the White Party on the Friday – a splash of each colour, if not your whole outfit, is obligatory!

However, for us, the true meaning of the Pride Festival will always be found in the local gay bars; they are the folks who give 100% 365 days of the year and every bar will have it’s own fabulous 100% FREE events to keep the party going.

This community-centric approach ensures the celebration isn’t confined to official events but permeates the entire resort.

The Gay Village: Benidorm’s LGBTQ+ Heart

Benidorm has an extensive gay night life scene. Almost all places are located very close to each other, in only a few streets in the Old Town.

You will find an eclectic group of bars and music venues around Calles Santa Faz, Alicante, Quatre Cantons, Palma and San Miguel.

Gay-Friendly Bar 69

Approximately 30 bars/clubs and another 20 gay-friendly venues operate in the Gay Village in Benidorm Old Town.

This concentration creates an incredibly vibrant and walkable LGBTQ+ district where every corner offers new discoveries and friendly faces.

Must-Visit Bars & Clubs

Almirante Disco Pub – Calle de la Palma

Diva City at Almirante with the likes of Alexia Rivero superbly entertaining the crowd with one of Benidorm’s best Drag Shows.

Owner Fernando has created a welcoming venue, offering a chilled night out and a quality place to meet up and enjoy a fabulous holiday evening.

Almirante Disco Pub

DD’s  – Calle de Santa Faz

Real friendly bar offering a genuinely warm welcome.

Dino keeps the show on the road serving up a stellar cup of coffee and free shots with the stronger stuff.

Just across the street from the Casa Don Juan hotel, you won’t go too far wrong popping your head into DD’s.

DD’s Bar

Gspot – Calle de San Vicent

Took us a while to locate the Gspot but once we did it was worth the effort.

Small and cosy, let’s call it petite, and a gentle way to begin your evening.

Saying that, however, we also found it to be a pretty good place to end the night, too!

Gspot

Brief Encounter – Calle de Santa Faz

Top little bar located just around the corner from Benidorm’s Tapas Alley.

Like many gay bars in the Old Town, open to all and always a nice welcome from the guys behind the bar.

Brief Encounter

STAY: LGBTQ+ Friendly Accommodation

For Pride Week visitors, location is everything, and staying within or near the Old Town provides the best experience.

You can view accommodation options in and around the Old Town via the STAY section of our website, however, here’s two of our favourites:

Casa Don Juan

Love this place.

Central location in the heart of Benidorm’s Casco Antiguo, Casa Don Juan hits a lot of the high notes you’re looking for when staying not only for Pride Week but at any time of the year.

Air con, daily maid service and Free Wifi.

And the ground floor Shine Bar is the icing on top.

Casa Don Juan, Old Town

Hotel Queens

Overlooking Plaza de la Constitución and the entrance to Tapas Alley, so word of warning when staying at the budget-friendly Queens – pack some ear plugs!

There is a buzz around this whole area with the six-storey hotel nestled in beteen Bar 69 and Oliver’s Bar but the perfect stay if being in the centre of it all is at the top of your must-have list.

A lovely roof terrace and a few minutes to the beach, we can see how Queens has over the years become a small part of the Benidorm Pride story.

Hotel Queens, Old Town

Benidorm Pride & The Resort

What makes Benidorm Pride special isn’t simply its size or its week long parties – it’s the genuine sense of community and acceptance that permeates every aspect of the celebration.

The streets are alive with the sound of music as Benidorm Pride takes centre stage in the Old Town and throughout Benidorm’s bars and clubs.

For the local LGBTQ+ community, Pride Week represents validation and celebration of their year-round presence in the resort.

It’s a time when their neighbourhood becomes the centre of international attention, showcasing the welcoming spirit that exists throughout the year.

Benidorm Old Town

For the resort itself, Pride Week has become an economic and cultural highlight that extends the tourist season and reinforces Benidorm’s reputation as an inclusive destination.

The event demonstrates how authenticity and commercial success can coexist when a community embraces diversity genuinely rather than superficially.

And we think that will only ever be a good thing!

Looking Forward

As Benidorm Pride approaches its 15th edition in 2025, the festival stands as a testament to how grassroots LGBTQ+ organizing can create something truly magical.

From the brave souls who opened Pretex in 1962 to the thousands who will dance on Levante Beach this September, the Benidorm LGBTQ+ narrative continues to evolve.

The festival’s success lies not in trying to replicate the mega-Prides of major capitals, but in staying true to its Mediterranean roots while providing world-class entertainment and genuine community connection.

And as Europe’s Summer Closing Pride, Benidorm offers something unique – a chance to experience a LGBTQ+ celebration imbued with Spanish warmth, stunning coastal beauty, and the kind of authentic acceptance that money can’t buy.

For LGBTQ+ travellers seeking more than just a party destination, Benidorm provides a glimpse into a community where diversity isn’t just something that happens during a fun week in September – it’s celebrated year-round.

And that, perhaps, is the most beautiful thing about Benidorm Pride: it’s not just an event, it’s a way of life.

FIND OUT MORE IN THE LGBTQ+ SECTION OF OUR WEBSITE!