The curtain may be coming down on a festival in Spain where some 10,000 British university students revel in getting drunk and partying.
Salou, a resort town on the Costa Dorada, has hosted the Saloufest for the last 15 years but it has come a long way since its inception as a sports festival over the Easter holiday period.
Since 2010 a British company, I Love Tour, has been marketing the event as a “sex and alcohol” summit. The firm says the Saloufest is the “tour to end all tours” and “the fundamental rite of passage for students” as well as being “the biggest in our repertoire”
The money brought in, €5 million last year, was enough to keep Salou council defending the festival, but the town’s reputation has been marred by the antics of semi-naked drunken foreigners to the point where the council decided to withdraw future support.
Students often arrive by coach after a 24-hour journey. The I Love Tour website advises them to “unpack your bits, perk yourself up with a cheeky shower and then get ready to hit it hard! Your first night is always a big one.”
The first group of 4,300 students descended on the town on Thursday, paying €330 for an all-inclusive trip. A similar number are due on Tuesday. The partying goes on until 18 April.
Last week, officials in nearby Reus refused to open its sports facilities for those in the Saloufest, complaining that they use the football pitch only to drink and run around naked.
