Saloufest - billed as 'the biggest student festival in the world'

Thousands of British students rampaged through a Spanish seaside resort in a drunken annual festival outraging local residents.

The students were taking part in Saloufest - billed as 'the biggest student festival in the world' - in the Costa Dorada resort of Salou.

Around 5,000 18 to 23-year-olds descended on the town in north east Spain and by midnight many of them were already drunk.


Carnage: The students were taking part in Saloufest - billed as 'the biggest student festival in the world' - in the Costa Dorada resort of Salou

TV footage showed students swigging from beer bottles on the beach, dancing nude in the sea and stumbling through the streets half-naked or in fancy dress.

Undergraduates openly bragged of the drinking and sexual exploits during the festival - which includes sporting events during the day.

Daniel, a 19-year-old studying business, said: 'I’ve had 25 drinks including beer, shots and rum. This is going to be a marathon of alcohol.

'Sport? No thanks, I want parties, girls and alcohol.'


Debauched: Thousands of British students spark outrage in the Spanish seaside resort of Salou

Out drinking in his underpants having lost his Hawaiian skirt and barely able to stand, he added: 'The hotel’s the best, we play drinking games all day the new ones have to drink the most as a question of honour.'

Robbie, a 22-year-old from the University of East London, said: 'Last year I went with five girls. I’m sharing a room but I can still pull because we have a  rule: if anyone comes in with a girl, the other one pretends to be asleep so he can enjoy it as well.'

Leading Spanish daily newspaper El Mundo wrote of the students’ antics: 'Before midnight the scene was indescribable. Hundreds of students in a whirlwind that would shame any parent.'

A report on Antena 3, a national television channel, said the festival was about 'partying, drunkenness and sex'.

One male student told a reporter: 'We’re going to have a good time. We’re going to drink a lot. It’s going to be fantastic.'


And how it looks the rest of the year: Tamarit Castle in Salou

One girl said: 'We’re definitely going to be drinking, but only sensibly. We’re 20 years old and we want to have a good time.'

Police and local authorities turned a blind eye as students broke strict bylaws banning drinking in the street or being inappropriately dressed.

The laws were introduced after the drunken antics of the British students at Saloufest last year made headlines around the world.

A TV report showed two men pulling down their shorts, exposing their buttocks and their silver 'thong' underpants, and slapping each other on the bottoms.

Further footage showed four boys completely naked, during daylight hours, dancing in the sea.

At night one boy was shown being stretchered away by paramedics, another was slumped semi-conscious in the street, while a student dressed as a cave girl rolled around on the pavement.

The TV journalist said: 'Some of them barely bother to get dressed to leave their hotel.'

And a middle aged Spanish woman said. 'I’ve seen people completely naked, and I don’t see this as normal'.

Four students were treated for alcohol problems but there were no major incidents and no official complaints from neighbours, the local town hall said.

Around 5,000 students arrived in 90 coaches on Sunday for the first leg of Saloufest, which has been running since 2002.

Another 3,000 will arrive for a second leg next Sunday. They are staying in seven hotels in Salou reserved for the event, and each leg lasts four nights.

Organisers insist it is a sporting event and deny promoting drunkenness and bad behaviour. There are 22 sporting events on offer during the day for the students.

Doreen Straatman, spokeswoman for the event, insisted the students had behaved themselves on Sunday night.

And the managing director of the event, Ian Kaye, told El Mundo: 'They know how to behave with respect and to dress adequately.'

But the newspaper wrote: 'The reality is very different, and Saloufest at night oozes with the aesthetics of a stag party.'

The head of the local police in Salou, Jose Luis Gargallo, said there are an extra 15 officers on duty to patrol the event.

Salou, 70 miles south of Barcelona, is a popular family holiday resort during the summer months.

At last year’s festival a British undergraduate told police she had been raped on a beach by a fellow reveller after a private party for the students at the Pacha nightclub.

A British student was arrested and released on bail and allowed home to the UK. That judicial investigation is still ongoing.

Scores of undergraduates were also treated for alcohol poisoning at last year’s event.

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