SKIP TO MAIN CONTENT

Hearts broken in Majorca

While Spaniards were ecstatic over their World Cup defeat of Germany, tens of thousands of German tourists in a Majorca beach resort were left with broken hearts.

3 min read

Published

Updated

Source: AFP


Skip to article content

While Spaniards were ecstatic over their World Cup defeat of Germany, one corner of the country was in despair, as tens of thousands of German tourists in a Majorcan beach resort were left with broken hearts.

Cries of "Nein!" (No!) erupted throughout Playa de Palma, a traditionally German resort in the Balearic island, as Carles Puyol scored in the 73rd minute, the only goal of the match that took Spain to its first ever World Cup final.

But after the final whistle, glum faces and a few moments of stunned silence were quickly followed by music, including a German version of "Viva Espana!", fireworks and more glasses of beer.

News that makes sense

Your trusted source for staying up-to-date with the world around you. Get free daily news updates and analysis, straight to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

"We lost to Spain in Euro 2008, now we've lost to them in the World Cup, twice in important matches is too much," complained Judith, a 18-year-old German tourist in the Deutsche Eck (German Corner) bar and restaurant.

"Now we have to at least beat Uruguay for third place," she said, a garland in Germany's red, yellow and black colours round her neck.

"If we'd had (suspended player Thomas) Mueller, we wouldn't have lost," said her boyfriend Pierre, also 18, wrapped in a German flag.

Matthias, a 44-year-old male nurse from Frankfurt, thought "Spain was much better.

"In the first 30 minutes Germany didn't know where the ball was. It was almost as if Spain was playing with 12 men. But we'll be back in 2014 in Brazil."

Majorca is nicknamed 'Germany's 17th Land' because of the millions of tourists from that country who visit every year,

And Playa de Palma, a strip several miles (kilometres) long full of high-rise hotels, souvenir shops and German bars and restaurants, is where many of them go for cheap 'sun and beach' holidays.

In sweltering heat, Germans crammed into into overflowing bars and restaurants to watch the match.

Playa de Palma's so-called Bierstrasse (Beer Street) was bedecked with German flags, and tourists wore shirts, hats, garlands and face paint in the national colours.

But the Spanish red and gold colours were also fluttering here and there.

Germans had begun gathering in bars from around midday to the match.

A screen measuring 14 by four metres was set up opposite the beach outside the Mega Park, a massive beer hall which managers said can accomodate more than 7,000 people and which was packed with young Germans, dancing and singing and downing vast amounts of beer.

Majorcan police had stepped up security to avoid incidents.

In the Plaza Mayor, the main square, Spaniards packed into the more traditionally Spanish bars.

"The police won't let us into the Mega Park as they don't want any trouble," said Sebastian, 42 and unemployed, in the Victoria bar.

Some 27,000 German residents on the Mediterreanean island, in a population of around 862,000, are joined every year by nearly four million German tourists -- the largest number of visitors from any single country.

Some 450,000 Germans arrived last May alone, according to the local tourist authority.


Get SBS News straight to your inbox

Sign up now for daily news from Australia and around the world. You can also subscribe to Insight's weekly newsletter for in-depth features and first-person stories.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Follow SBS News

Download our apps

Listen to our podcasts

Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service

Stream now

Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world