Magaluf: a year after one Irish teen performed a public sex act there…
It was the video that shocked the nation: a 18-year-old Irish woman performing a sex act on 24 men in order to win a free cocktail.
The footage went viral, sparking debate about what really goes on during cheap, package holidays to the likes to Magaluf – a resort on the otherwise genteel island of Majorca in Spain.
At the time, one young holiday-maker explained what goes on in the town, which is nicknamed 'Shagaluf': "The girls and guys are all as bad as each other… I've walked into Burger King and seen people having sex in the toilets."
"People think they can let loose out there because they can leave it all behind when they go home."
Still, the actions of the Co. Armagh teenager shone a spotlight on Magaluf drinking regulations.
And in the aftermath, authorities there introduced harsher restrictions as well as steep fines for anyone caught flouting the laws: for example, the likes of balconing – where tourists jump from hotel balconies into swimming pools – is now liable to a €1,500 fine.
VIDEO: Magaluf Uncovered – Special report on the sun, sex and sangria in the party resort: http://t.co/osMCHHwNDk pic.twitter.com/61typ8mdDt
— Sunday Life (@TheSundayLife) August 9, 2015
Recently, the Sunday Life spent a weekend on Magaluf’s notorious strip to see if anything has changed… and seemingly it hasn't.
The Belfast-based publication observed hundreds of revellers in a seriously intoxicated state, while one young man is spotted sporting a bloodied nose.
wey I woke up with a black eye, sore heed and next to a little blondie. I like magaluf
— leam (@liaamburns) August 5, 2015
Just this week is was furthermore announced that British police officers have been flown into the Spanish town to patrol its streets as part of a two-week trial to help Spanish authorities deal with victims and offenders from the UK.
Spain already carries out international patrols in tourist areas in cooperation with police from Germany, France, Italy, Portugal and Morocco.
Hundreds of thousands of revellers from Britain and Ireland holiday in Magaluf annually (85 percent of vacationers are from our island or Britain), with the spot being particularly popular with those off on a Sixth Year, post Leaving Cert jaunt.
Hotels evict a relatively modest 250-odd guests a year for unruly behaviour – like thrashing their rooms – and about one in six of those evictees is Irish.
However, most holidaymakers are more eager to head out than cause trouble at their hotels: Magaluf's giant BCM nightclub, which holds 6,000 people, is particularly popular. It charges €50 at the door, but alcohol flows freely once you're inside.
One Dutch volunteer, Simone, is part of The Street Angels – a charitable organisation which has for two years carried out work on the streets of Magaluf.
They help drunk party-goers find their friends and their hotels, and hand out bandages, tissues, and bottles of water.
She believes that this year, the authorities have indeed been stricter, and there is "less glass" strewn about the place.
She furthermore said that the beaches are now better lit up with "enormous spotlights," similar to those used during footballer matches.
€5 for a litre of vodka In maga
— Lauren Bell (@laurenbell_X) August 5, 2015
"But you see the girls still lying passed out in the gutter with their underwear around their knees," Simone added in conversation with NOS, a public broadcaster in The Netherlands .
Still, she explained that as a mother herself, she's happy to lend a hand – giving up her vacation time to volunteer. "I myself have teenage daughters. And that is someone's daughter," she states.
In 2011, MTV's popular Geordie Shore filmed part of series one on the island.
