THE UK ambassador to Spain, Sir Alex Ellis, made his first official visit to Benidorm on Saturday for the official Poppy Appeal launch on the Costa Blanca.
The event was organised by the Royal British Legion with the traditional parade starting on Avenida Castellon and led by the Torrevieja Pipes and Drums.
Hundreds of people lined the Levante promenade to watch the march-past including ex-sailor Ray Barber, 93, who has lived in Benidorm for four decades.
The parade ended on Avenida de l’Atmella de Mar in the Rincon de Loix area of the city, which hosted an act of remembrance.
It started with three minutes of silence in honour and remembrance of the UK service men and women that have fallen in armed conflicts.
The RBL’s district chaplain, the Reverand Richard Seabrook gave a brief address where he paid tribute to all the volunteer fundraisers helping to support veterans.
Sir Alex Ellis thanked Benidorm for opening ‘its doors’ to the RBL every year for the parade and hoped for more collaboration with the city council.
Benidorm’s mayor, Toni Perez, described it as a ‘true honour’ to participate once again to ‘pay tribute to all the people who, with courage and dedication, served in the Armed Forces and defended the values of freedom, justice and peace’.
“Benidorm is proud to maintain a close link with the British community and to welcome them today – and always – with affection, because they are an essential part of our social, cultural and tourist life,” he added.
After the official speeches, the British and Spanish national anthems were played before the event closed.
The RBL’s Poppy Appeal distributes around 25 million annually in its biggest fundraiser.
The organisation has around 4,000 members in Spain- over a quarter of which live in Alicante province.
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