Marbella gears up for a Star-spangled Summer

From July 23rd to August 23rd Marbella will once again be hosting one of Europe’s premier events, when the Starlite Festival comes to the Costa del Sol for the third year running. Delighting residents and those with a Marbella holiday home alike, the Starlite Festival 2014 promises to be once again the highlight in Spain’s social calendar.

Some of the biggest names in show business will take to the stage, but there will also be fun-packed disco nights with some of Europe’s best DJs, fashion catwalks, blockbuster movie events, gourmet gatherings and partying galore.

A little Samba can cure the Spanish Blues

The line-up for the music part of the festival is certainly impressive. Latin pop sensation Ricky Martin will sing to thousands of adoring fans on 25th July. For the lucky few who are going to enjoy the show from the restricted seating up in the VIP box high above the quarry stage the views are going to be spectacular – and they need to be, for VIP tickets cost up to EUR 450 per person. There’s no danger such wallet-crushing tickets won’t sell – they are in fact selling like the proverbial hot cakes.

Already dubbed the “Formula 1” of the entertainment world last year, this year’s event promises to be even grander and more exciting than 2013’s Starlite Festival. It appears combining art, film, fashion, cuisine and music is a winning formula nobody can resist. One in three festival goers last year was a non-resident, which means that the month of festivities will bring enormous economic benefits to the Cost del Sol via a massive increase in tourism.
 
La Vie en Rose

Hotels, restaurants, bars, souvenir shops, fashion boutiques, even car rental operators and estate agents are going to benefit as the Great European Migration to the Starlite Festival in Marbella gathers momentum. Local hoteliers can look forward to a prosperous summer. While the rest of Spain continues to sing the credit-crunch Blues, in Marbella shop owners will be bobbing along to Latin rhythms and Hip Hop beats, and their cash registers will be ringing in tune.

Last year the festival generated 270 local jobs, after an investment of ca. EUR 3.1 million transformed the quarry into a massive stage and set up the production surrounding the festival. In economic terms, this was money wisely spent, for the Starlite Festival brought an estimated EUR 40 million in return to the Costa del Sol’s economy.
 
We will rock you

The outdoor arena is certainly a stunning setting for a cultural event of this magnitude. The enormous quarry is flanked by 60 metre high rock walls which act as a natural amplifier.

With an acoustic that could rival any Roman amphitheatre, the Starlite stage will welcome music legends like Tom Jones, the Pet Shop Boys and Julio Iglesias this year, but there is also room in the events calendar for artists like Kool and the Gang, Dani Martin and Alejandro Sanz among many other less well known artists.

New to the festival this year is the battle of the bands, where newcomers to the music scene get their 15 minutes of fame and can showcase their music against fierce competition from other bands.
 
A Night to remember

The highlight of the summer will undoubtedly be the Starlite Gala on 9th August, which will be hosted by Hollywood actor Antonio Banderas. The gala night is the single largest charity event in Spain and is set to raise money for philanthropic causes.
 
Among the world-wide stars that have performed in this extraordinary quarry are legendary Supertramp and Paco de Lucia, Tony Bennett and rocker Bryan Adams, crooner Enrique Iglesias and Jazz pianist Jamie Cullum. From Paul Anka to Miguel Bosé and Rosario to Sara Baras, everybody wants to perform at Marbella’s quarry!

Such a prestigious event is often the first spark that kindles the desire to return to Marbella to buy a holiday home or permanent residence at the Costa del Sol. The long-term economic impact of this year’s Starlite Festival may well exceed the EUR 40 million expectations.