Newsletter Archive

The Benidorm Bulletin — Issue 56 | 19 April 2026

updated on
Archived issue. This is Issue 56 of The Benidorm Bulletin, sent on Sunday 19 April 2026. Events, prices and opening times were right when it went out, but will have moved on since. For what is happening now, see What’s On or subscribe for the current issue.
The Benidorm Bulletin — Issue 56 | 19 April 2026
The
Benidorm
Bulletin
Your weekly dose of sun & sangria
Issue 56  ·  19 April 2026  ·  Est. 2020
✉ From the Editor
Right then — this is the one we’ve been building toward. Elvis weekend is finally here, and Benidorm is doing what Benidorm does best: going all in. The hotels are full, the tribute acts have landed, and if you walk down the Levante strip on Friday evening without spotting at least three rhinestone-studded collars, I’ll be genuinely surprised. Alongside the King’s arrival, the Tuna Festival runs to its final Sunday — last chance for the fixed-price menus that have been getting very good write-ups across the community groups this fortnight. Speaking of which: we’ve had a lot of entertainment tips come in from the Benidorm Facebook crowd this week, and some of them are genuinely worth acting on. There’s a new Community Noticeboard section below pulling together the best of it. All that, plus the weather outlook for Elvis weekend, where to eat without spending a fortune, and a Did You Know that made me check twice whether it was actually true. It is.
— Glyn
⭐ Lead Story
Elvis is in the building — and the building is Benidorm
The 16th Benidorm Elvis Festival arrives this Friday, and for three days the resort becomes the most concentrated celebration of the King anywhere outside Memphis.

Sixteen years is a long time for any event to survive, let alone grow. The Benidorm Elvis Festival has done both — what began as a tribute weekend for dedicated fans has become Europe’s largest Elvis celebration, drawing performers and audiences from across the UK, Ireland, Scandinavia, and beyond. The Hotel Meliá is booked out, the Levante strip is ready, and whatever your feelings about sequinned jumpsuits at noon, the atmosphere this weekend is going to be something.

The festival runs Friday 24 to Sunday 26 April, with Hotel Meliá Benidorm as its main stage. Poolside shows begin on Friday afternoon — informal, sunshine-soaked performances where tribute acts warm up the crowd and the crowd warm up the tribute acts in return. These poolside sessions are often the surprise highlight for first-timers: intimate in the way that a crowd of several hundred somehow still manages to feel, with a standard of performance that tends to be higher than expected.

Saturday brings the competition heats and gala performances — more structured, higher stakes, and well worth attending if you want to understand why experienced Elvis fans travel from Sheffield and Stoke and beyond to be here every April. The commitment on stage is something to see.

And then there’s Sunday. The Grand Finale at Benidorm Palace on Sunday 26 April is what people come back for year after year: full production values, the festival’s top performers, and a crowd that has been building to this moment since Friday afternoon. Last issue we mentioned that tickets were running short — they still are. If you haven’t booked, go directly to the Benidorm Palace website today. Not this evening.

Even if none of that is your scene, the festival atmosphere spreads well beyond the Meliá. Bars along the strip run their own Elvis nights, restaurants lean into the theme, and the general sense of communal enjoyment that Benidorm does so well is amplified considerably. It’s a good weekend to be here regardless.

Your Elvis weekend at a glance
  • Friday 24 April — poolside shows begin at Hotel Meliá from mid-afternoon. Free to attend for visitors; no booking needed for the outdoor festival events
  • Saturday 25 April — competition heats and gala performances all day at the Meliá. The full festival experience
  • Sunday 26 April, 10pm — Grand Finale at Benidorm Palace. Book directly via the Palace website; very limited availability remaining
  • All weekend — the Levante strip runs its own parallel programme of Elvis nights. See the Entertainment section and Community Noticeboard below for specifics
📅 What’s On This Week
Sunday 19 April
Sunday Mercadillo Free
Benidorm town centre
The weekly Sunday market — clothes, leather goods, local produce, sunglasses you don’t need and a hat you probably do. Worth an hour on a warm morning before the week gets going properly. Back again on Sunday 26 April too, if you miss this one.
Sunday 19 – Sunday 26 April
VI Tuna Festival — Final Week Fixed-price menus
Participating restaurants across Benidorm
The Tuna Festival closes on Sunday 26 April, making this the final week for the fixed-price menus that twenty-odd Benidorm restaurants have been offering since 17 April. Bluefin tuna prepared with real care, at prices designed to bring in new diners. If you’ve been meaning to go and haven’t yet, this is the last push. The full list of participating venues is on the official Benidorm tourism website. See also the Eat & Drink section below.
Tuesday 21 & Thursday 23 April
ELEMENTS — Benidorm Palace Dinner Show Ticketed
Benidorm Palace · Doors 8pm, Show 10pm
Two chances this week to see the Palace show before Sunday night is handed over to Elvis. ELEMENTS is world-class cabaret — acrobatics, live music, comedy and spectacle, with dinner included. If you haven’t been to Benidorm Palace and you’re here this week, Tuesday is a very good evening. Book via the Benidorm Palace website.
Friday 24 – Sunday 26 April
Benidorm Elvis Festival — 16th Edition Grand Finale nearly sold out
Hotel Meliá Benidorm (Fri–Sat) · Benidorm Palace (Sun 26 April, 10pm)
Full detail in the lead story above. Poolside shows Friday, competition heats and gala Saturday, Grand Finale at Benidorm Palace on Sunday night. The Palace show is very close to sold out. Book today via the Palace website.
Thursday 30 April – Sunday 3 May
Festa de la Creu — Festival of the Holy Cross Free Coming up
Benidorm neighbourhoods, including Foietes
One of the most beautiful events in the Benidorm calendar — and one that almost every package tourist walks straight past. Neighbourhoods compete to build the most intricate flower-decorated cross, with the Vestida de la Creu ceremony on the evening of 30 April and church bells at dawn on 1 May for the main parade and blessing. Authentic, free, and entirely overlooked by most visitors. If you’re staying into early May, plan around it.
🎭 Tonight’s Entertainment
🎪 The big shows — Benidorm Palace
ELEMENTS — Dinner Show
Tue 21 & Thu 23 April  ·  Doors 8pm, Show 10pm  ·  Benidorm Palace
The benchmark for a big night out in Benidorm. World-class cabaret, acrobatics, comedy and live music, dinner included. Two chances this week before Sunday night belongs to Elvis. Book via the Benidorm Palace website — don’t leave it to the night before.
Book via the Benidorm Palace website
Elvis Festival Grand Finale Last tickets
Sun 26 April  ·  10pm  ·  Benidorm Palace
The show the whole festival builds toward. Top tribute performers, full production staging, a crowd that has been warming up since Friday. If you have tickets, you’re set. If you don’t, check availability via the Benidorm Palace website today — not this evening, now.
Check the Benidorm Palace website for remaining availability
🏨 Hotel Meliá Benidorm — Elvis Festival hub
Elvis Festival Poolside Shows Free
Fri 24 & Sat 25 April  ·  From early afternoon  ·  Hotel Meliá Benidorm
The part of the festival that catches first-timers off guard — these poolside performances draw enormous crowds, the tribute acts are genuinely impressive, and the atmosphere is unlike anything else on the Spanish coast. Free to attend for visitors. Check the Elvis Festival Facebook page for the running order on the day, as act times shift.
Free — no booking needed for outdoor festival events
Competition heats & gala performances
Sat 25 April  ·  All day  ·  Hotel Meliá Benidorm
The structured heart of the festival — competition heats where tribute acts perform for judging, followed by gala evening performances. If you want to understand why serious Elvis fans travel from across Europe for this weekend every year, Saturday at the Meliá is where it makes sense.
Check the Elvis Festival Facebook page for schedule and access details
🎸 Levante strip — Elvis weekend bar circuit
Elvis tribute nights — strip-wide
Fri 24 – Sun 26 April  ·  From 9pm  ·  Levante strip, various venues
Every bar on the Levante strip with a stage has something on this weekend. Jokers Bar, the International Bar and the Red Lion are the ones most recommended by regulars for atmosphere and act quality — but honestly, walking the strip from 9pm on Friday or Saturday and following the noise works perfectly well. The community Facebook groups are posting real-time updates on who’s playing where; well worth checking before you head out.
Walk-in — no booking needed for strip bar entertainment
The Horseshoe Bar — extended Elvis programme
Fri 24 – Sun 26 April  ·  From 8:30pm  ·  Levante strip
Flagged specifically by multiple community group members this week as one of the better strip venues for atmosphere during Elvis weekend. Arrives early — it fills. House sangria made properly, around €4. Good terrace with a view of the strip action.
Walk-in
🌿 Old Town — quieter evenings
Live acoustic music — Old Town terrace bars
Every evening this week  ·  From 8pm  ·  Benidorm Old Town
If the Elvis volume on the Levante side isn’t for you, the Old Town is a genuinely good alternative this week. Acoustic acts play the terrace bars around the central square most evenings — warm air, narrow streets, music drifting out of every doorway. Chaplins Bar and several of the square’s terrace venues are the ones to head for. Check the boards outside each venue for the evening’s act.
Walk-in
Bar La Plaza — live Spanish guitar
Fri 24 & Sat 25 April  ·  From 9pm  ·  Old Town
A community recommendation this week for a genuinely local atmosphere. Small terrace, good house wine, live Spanish guitar Friday and Saturday evenings. Very different from the strip — which is precisely the point. Recommended for long-stay visitors and anyone wanting to see a slightly different side of Benidorm during the busiest weekend of the month.
Walk-in
🎤 Poniente — the calmer side
Karaoke nights — Poniente venues
Nightly  ·  From 9:30pm  ·  Poniente strip, various venues
The Poniente side is notably quieter during Elvis weekend than Levante, which makes it a reasonable choice if the tribute band density gets too much. Paddy’s Point and the Blarney Stone are both running proper karaoke nights this week — full setup, good hosts, the right atmosphere. Walk-in both.
Walk-in
Bay City Rollers — Live 13 May
Wed 13 May  ·  8:30pm  ·  Benidorm Palace
Not this week, but worth noting now before it sells. The Rollers at Benidorm Palace — for anyone with a May booking, worth building a night around it. Book via the Benidorm Palace website.
Book via the Benidorm Palace website
👥 Community Noticeboard
What the Benidorm community is saying this week
The Benidorm Facebook groups are a genuinely useful resource — there are some very experienced visitors in there, and when it comes to what’s on, what’s worth the money, and what to avoid, the community tends to know before anyone else. Here’s what’s been flagged this week across the groups.
Entertainment pick · From the community groups
The Horseshoe Bar on the Levante strip is running an extended Elvis programme across the whole weekend — reportedly one of the better strip options for atmosphere if the Meliá poolside feels too crowded. Walk-in only, no booking, and several people have specifically mentioned the sangria as worth having. From the reports, it fills up quickly on Friday evening so arriving before 9pm is sensible.
Tuna Festival pick · From the community groups
Restaurant Tiffany’s has come up repeatedly across discussion threads as a strong festival participant this year — specifically the seared tuna tartare as a starter and the loin with miso glaze as a main. Fixed-price festival menus running until Sunday. Call ahead to check availability this week; walk-ins during the final few days are apparently difficult to accommodate.
Practical heads-up · From the community groups
Taxis get scarce on the Levante side from around 11pm on Friday and Saturday during Elvis weekend — this comes up every year and catches people out every year. If you’re heading anywhere late, pre-book your taxi or plan to walk. The resort is small; even the further hotels are manageable on foot in warm weather, and the walk back along the promenade at midnight is one of the better parts of a Benidorm evening.
Hidden gem · From the community groups
For anyone not doing Elvis and looking for something quieter: Bar La Plaza in the Old Town has been recommended by several long-stay visitors as the best spot for a genuinely local atmosphere this week. Small terrace, good house wine, and live Spanish guitar on Friday and Saturday evenings from around 9pm. Very different from the strip — deliberately so.
☀ Weather Watch
Late April 2026
The last week of April is when Benidorm’s weather makes its intentions clear for the season ahead. Highs are nudging 21°C, daily sunshine stretches toward nine hours, and even the evenings are finally warm enough to sit outside without a jacket until well after midnight. The sea is a degree warmer than last week. It’s not summer yet — but it’s very much the direction of travel, and it’s a considerably better week to be here than to be anywhere in Britain.
21°C
Day high
12°C
Night low
~9 hrs
Sun / day
~5
Rain days
17°C
Sea temp
Elvis weekend forecast
Friday looks clear and warm — ideal for the Meliá poolside shows. A band of cloud is possible Saturday morning, but forecasts have it clearing before midday, which is all you need. Sunday night for the Grand Finale is looking settled. Pack a light jacket for after midnight — the evenings are warm but there’s still a drop once the sun has been gone a few hours. Sun cream at SPF 30 or higher; the UV at 21°C in late April is more significant than it feels. The sea is 17°C, which most Spanish locals regard as off-season and most British visitors regard as acceptable. Take that as you will.
🍽 Eat & Drink Guide
Last chance — Tuna Festival dining
Book now Festival closes Sunday 26 April. The VI Tuna Festival’s fixed-price menus typically run €25–35 per head including house wine — genuinely good value for what’s being served. If you haven’t booked, do it today. The community groups have been recommending Tiffany’s and El Pulpo in the Old Town as particularly strong this year. The full list of participating restaurants is on the official Benidorm tourism website.
Cheap pint of the week
Budget pick Paddy’s Point Bar, Levante strip — Estrella on draught at around €2.50 during happy hour (4–7pm daily). Gets lively in the evenings with live acts most nights this week, including its own Elvis tribute on Friday and Saturday. The terrace fills fast on Elvis weekend; arrive before 8pm if you want a table outside.
Cocktail pick
Worth trying The Horseshoe Bar, Levante — their house sangria is made properly: fruit, brandy, red wine, left overnight. Large glass, around €4. Community groups have flagged it specifically this week. A good pre-show drink before heading to the Meliá or the Palace. The terrace catches the evening sun well.
Old Town dinner pick
Our pick La Cava, Old Town — for a quieter evening away from the Elvis weekend volume. Solid Spanish cooking, good grilled fish, reasonable house wine. The terrace is pleasant and the location in the Old Town means you can wander after dinner. Book ahead for Friday and Saturday evenings — Old Town restaurants fill up when the strip is noisy, and they’re a genuinely attractive alternative.
If you’re on a tight budget
Tip The Mercadona supermarket on Avenida Martínez Alejos stocks a very serviceable selection of local cheeses, cured meats, bread and wine at prices that make UK supermarkets look like Harrods. A picnic on Levante Beach at 7pm with a cold bottle of Tempranillo costs about €12 for two people. We’re not suggesting this as a replacement for a restaurant evening — we’re suggesting it as a reason to have two restaurant evenings.
❓ You Asked…
“We’re not Elvis fans — should we avoid Benidorm this weekend entirely?”

Genuinely, no. The Elvis Festival is one of those events that improves Benidorm even for people who have no interest in tribute acts. The resort fills with a crowd that is specifically there to have a good time, and that energy is palpable everywhere you go — the bars, the restaurants, the beach. You’re never forced to watch anything you don’t want to see.

The one practical note: taxi availability drops sharply on Friday and Saturday evenings, particularly on the Levante side. Pre-book if you’re heading anywhere after 10pm. Other than that, come. The weather’s good, the restaurants are excellent right now with the Tuna Festival in its final days, and the general atmosphere is one of the best of the Benidorm year. You’ll be fine.

🔥 Hot Topic
🔥 Hot Topic
Has Benidorm’s live entertainment scene genuinely improved — or does it just feel that way?

It’s a question that comes up in the community groups every few months, and it’s worth engaging with properly. The argument for improvement is strong: the Elvis Festival is in its sixteenth year and draws bigger audiences than ever. Benidorm Palace has been running a dinner show at world-class production level for decades and shows no sign of slowing down. The Old Town has developed a genuine live music circuit that didn’t exist ten years ago. And the Facebook communities — which now share real-time entertainment tips, set times, and venue recommendations — have made it significantly easier to find the good stuff and avoid the mediocre.

The counterargument is equally honest: much of the strip entertainment remains formulaic. The same tribute acts cycle through the same venues. Karaoke nights are karaoke nights. And the sheer volume of options can obscure the fact that a lot of it is interchangeable.

Our take: Both things are true, and neither cancels the other out. What has genuinely changed is information. The community groups, the Facebook event pages, the word-of-mouth that now travels faster and further than it ever did — all of that means a visitor who does five minutes of research before heading out will consistently have a better evening than one who just walks into the first bar with a sign outside. Benidorm’s entertainment is exactly as good as your willingness to find the right part of it.

🤔 Did You Know?
Benidorm has more hotel beds per square kilometre than New York City. The resort packs approximately 40,000 hotel beds into roughly five square kilometres — a statistic that sounds invented but absolutely isn’t. It explains the skyline, the fact that it can absorb an entire international Elvis festival without the infrastructure visibly straining, and the next time someone raises an eyebrow at your holiday destination, you have your opening line ready.
💡 Tip of the Week
How to get the best table in the Old Town
It sounds simple but very few people do it: visit the restaurant at lunchtime and book your evening table in person. Spanish restaurant staff respond warmly to the direct approach, you get to check the terrace and the menu before you commit, and you guarantee a decent seat instead of whatever’s left when walk-ins arrive at 8pm. During Elvis weekend especially — when the Levante strip is at its loudest — this is the difference between a lovely, unhurried Old Town evening and standing in a queue wondering what went wrong.

That’s Issue 56. Elvis is in town, the Tuna Festival closes its kitchen on Sunday, and somewhere in the Old Town there’s a terrace table with your name on it — if you’ve followed the tip above and booked it in person at lunchtime, that is.

Next week: a full report from the Grand Finale weekend, first look at the Festa de la Creu flower cross festival starting 30 April, and the first proper summer weather check as May comes into view. The season is well and truly underway.

Until next time — keep the sun on your face and the sangria cold. ☀️
— Glyn & The Benidorm Bulletin Team

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