Brum beach opens to a Spanish twist

MONARCH Beach in Birmingham launched last week with a full Spanish fiesta, as the full schedule of themed destinations for its 12 week stay was announced.

Astro, who sings and plays the trumpet in Birmingham band UB40, officially opened the beach with the Lord Mayor Coun Michael Wilkes and managing director of Monarch Flights and Holidays, Liz Savage. They were accompanied by the sizzling sounds of flamenco dancers, guitars and castanets, and further Spanish entertainment is planned throughout the rest of the week. Typical Spanish refreshments such as paella and sangria will be available from the BRMB Beach Bar and Café throughout the weekend.

After the first week of Spanish-themed activities, the beach will then transport people to the Greek Islands - the Land of the Gods. Visitors to the Monarch Beach will be treated to typical Greek music and dancing courtesy of Onirama, who will be flying over from Athens especially for the occasion. Over the weekend the beach will also be graced with Greek human statues, Mamma Mia will be shown as the Sunday afternoon matinee and the food served will be reflective of a typical Greek menu, including lamb stifado, feta cheese and black olive salad.

Hot on the heels of Greece, the beach will move onto the Canary Islands, then onto Egypt and Menorca with more exciting destination inspired events and activity planned.

Details of all the activities will be available on the new Monarch Beach website www.monarch.co.uk/beach, as well as more information on the featured destinations and opportunities to share your own photos and videos from the beach – with the best photo and video uploaded each week winning a pair of free flights.

The Monarch Beach is located in Chamberlain Square, Birmingham city centre and is free to visit. Standard opening times are Sunday to Thursday 11am-6pm, Friday and Saturday 11am-9m. For more information please call 0121 303 3008 or visit www.birmingham.gov.uk/beach.