Magaluf celebrated the opening of its redeveloped seafront promenade with a large-scale show combining a symphony orchestra and hundreds of drones, watched by around 10,000 people.
A new name
The promenade has been renamed Passeig Marítim Gabriel Escarrer Juliá, after the founder of Meliá Hotels International, the hotel group that has invested heavily in the transformation of Magaluf in recent years.
The speeches
The mayor of Calvià, Juan Antonio Amengual, opened the evening by welcoming the crowd to what he described as a historic weekend for Magaluf.
Balearic president Marga Prohens said the transformation was about more than tourism. Magaluf, she said, was becoming once again a place designed for the people who live there, after being known for too long only through stereotypes. She described the resort as an example of transformation, sustainability and quality, with residents at the heart of the project.
The show
The Balearic Islands Symphony Orchestra performed a concert of film music, while 400 drones formed cinematic images in the night sky above the bay.
The redevelopment
The new promenade is intended to give residents and visitors better public space along the seafront, with:
- wider walking areas;
- more greenery and shade;
- improved lighting and street furniture;
- a more pleasant connection between the beach and the town.
Changing Magaluf’s image
For decades, Magaluf has been associated with cheap package holidays, binge drinking and “balconing”, and has featured in British tabloids and reality TV for the wrong reasons. Calvià council, the Balearic government and hotel companies have tried to change that image through regulation of the party scene, investment in hotel renovations and public projects such as the new promenade.
Critics point out that the problems associated with the resort have not disappeared and that some have simply moved elsewhere. But supporters say the transformation of the seafront is a visible sign of a resort trying to reinvent itself, both for tourists and for the thousands of people who live there all year.
