Interviews for the Costa del Sol’s biggest annual music event were held from 1st to 3rd June at Palacio de Congresos, offering local applicants some 300 temporary jobs in this year’s Starlite extravaganza, which is to take place at the Nagüeles Quarry in Marbella between 14th July and 20th August 2016.
Now in its fifth year, Starlite Festival attracts some of the biggest names in international show business and has certainly become one of the most important music events in Spain, drawing thousands of spectators to Marbella each year. For many holiday home owners it is a welcome opportunity to make some extra money by renting out rooms or even the entire home to music lovers.
Lasting for 38 consecutive days, Starlite Festival is now recruiting the staff needed to keep entertainers happy and the show running smoothly. Already confirmed for this year’s stage are Irish band The Corrs, veteran entertainer Tom Jones, guitarist Carlos Santana and Malú and Alejandro Sanz. Impresarios Sandra García-Sanjuán and Ignacio Maluquer, the organisers of the festival, have once again pulled out all the stops to make the Costa del Sol’s premier music festival a show to remember.
There will be gourmet activities, fashion shows, cinema screenings and discos in addition to the concerts, with something exciting and interesting scheduled to happen every day during the 38-day run of the festival. The 300 people recruited for the summer event will certainly have their work cut out!
Twelve Months of Preparation are finally coming to fruition
Interviewing for staff is just a small portion of the year-round preparations though – so important has the festival become that the team of organisers has to work all year round in Barcelona and Madrid to make it happen. In addition, the organisers are now also preparing for a similar event, a Latin version, which will be hosted in Mexico in March 2017.
Organisers stated that they received around 6,000 applications for Starlite Festival jobs in the 12 month period building up to the festival. Vacancies range from dancers, drivers, cleaners, carpenters and plumbers to public relations officers, ushers and runners, storeroom workers, bar staff and waiters. All applicants must be at least 18 years old. Remuneration for the temporary contracts varies from 1,480 to 4,860 Euros, depending on the nature and importance of the job, although a large part of the jobs pertain to the preparation of the stage and seating for the audience, which will take at least a month and a half to complete and another month to dismantle at the end of the festival.
Costa del Sol’s cultural Hot Spot
Marbella’s multiple cultural events in spring, summer and autumn are part of the reason why so many foreigners decide to buy a second or holiday home in the town. While there are certainly areas nearby offering cheaper Costa del Sol property, life in Marbella is simply unbeatable with regard to amenities, rivalled only by Malaga in terms of what’s on offer. From the International Film Festival in Spring to the Starlite Festival in summer and the various small religious processions, saints’ days and food- and wine-related ferias offered along the coast in autumn, life in Marbella is simply never dull, offering residents nearly all the cultural entertainment and excitement of large cities like London, Paris or Rome, but with 300+ days of sunshine thrown in.
With 2-bed resale apartments starting at around 200,000 Euros, Marbella is a sure-bet for families and couples who want to spend their holidays in a place that will provide high-profile entertainment, golden sandy beaches, great nightlife and fabulous choice of world-class cuisine year after year. Not to mention a huge selection of golf courses, tennis courts, swimming pools and water sports facilities!
As this year’s Starlite event gets under way, a new crop of Marbella potential holiday home owners are exploring their options at local estate agents’ offices. Are you going to be one of them?