During 14th - 18th March 2002, Fuengirola on the Costa del Sol played host to the 8th International Fair in which 33 countries took part. Last year the event drew a crowd of over 200,000. This year the number was even greater. Despite the odd shower, the town´s feria site (fairground) exploded into colour and culture.

The feria site´s rows of individual bars and function rooms were filled to capacity, each one occupied by a different country or region of Spain. The countries were as far apart as China, Columbia, Galicia and Asturias. Both Andalucia and Malaga were also well represented.

So strange was the experience that within just a couple of metres you could be in China one minute and Murcia or Madrid the next. One particularly nice element to the event was that in the streets you could see very different cultures mixing and enjoying the fair together. Asturian national dancers were dancing to the Cuban band and the Columbians were walking hand in hand with the Mexicans.

Never before had we seen such a diverse display of culture, colour and atmosphere, and, all credit to the local tourist board, once again, the event was free of charge.

11am and we have typical Spanish tapas whilst watching a Flamenco show, 12 noon and we sample the Cuban national dance and gastronomy, 1pm and we take a look at the Madrid stand where we gain insight into their individual culture. 2pm and we get to see the Cuban national dance, closely followed by that of the Columbians, the Irish, the Norwegian and even the English managed to put on a display of line dancing, morris dancing and some of the local childrens groups.

All the participants who flew in especially for the event also paraded through the town in a procession stating at the port. Friday night also featured a massive firework display that would be the envy of any organiser worldwide.

The event can only be described as a huge success and is a credit to the local authorities. We class this as a true example of how easy the Spanish find it to celebrate and have a good time, without spending a fortune.

The 200+ photographs we took now sit firmly within our photograph library, available worldwide. See them here. Sandra even managed to get herself on satellite TV live around the world, her five minute claim to fame !