Riot cops deployed to Benidorm as World Cup security operation ramps up in holiday hotspot
The Spanish coastal region is already a favourite among Brits, and the World Cup is likely to send visitor numbers to soar even higher
Riot police will patrol the streets of Benidorm this summer as the security operation ramps up ahead of the World Cup.
Listen to this article
Hordes of Brits are expected to flock to the Costa Blanca resort this summer, and local authorities have begun putting in place preparations for the influx of football fans.
The Spanish coastal region is already a favourite among Brits, and the World Cup is likely to send visitor numbers to soar even higher.
A spokesman for Benidorm Town Council confirmed: “Both local police employed by the town hall and National Police will reinforce afternoon and night-time shifts from the competition’s start and end dates.”
They confirmed the National Police ’s Alicante UIP unit, a branch of the force responsible for policing protests and large-scale sporting events, would also be present in Benidorm.
Read more: Fans banned from bringing water bottles into World Cup stadiums in sudden rule U-Turn
Read more: England announce squad numbers for World Cup
The World Cup runs from June 11 to July 19, and officials said airlines have expanded capacity by a quarter during the first phase of the football tournament .
Jesus Carrobles, Benidorm’s Councillor for Citizen Security and Public Service, said airline capacity had increased by 16.4% between June 11 to June 27.
Numbers are likely to further surge because of the eyewatering price of World Cup tickets, with some fetching as much as £8.5 million, leading many Brits to ditch plans to attend the tournament in person .
Benidorm flights had already spiked last summer as Brits abandoned US travel in protest against massive price hikes.
The Spanish coastal resort by contrast has always been favoured as a low-cost chance sunny break.
It comes amid mounting controversy over the huge cost of World Cup tickets, with Sir Keir Starmer calling on FIFA to intervene to stop fans from being ripped off.
Tickets for the World Cup final on July 19 are already for sale with a whopping $2.3million (£1.7m) price tag on the resale website.
The Prime Minister’s intervention came after the attorneys general of New York and New Jersey insisted Fifa must answer questions after allegations of “artificially inflating prices” and “misleading fans” over the sale of match tickets earlier this week.