People have been filmed sprinting around hotel pools to snag a prime sunbed. Photo / 123rf
Brits may have a reputation for being non-confrontational and orderly but this meekness is all but forgotten when it comes to sunbeds at a summer resort.
Euro Summer is in full swing and for English travellers, this means one thing - a sunny escape to
For most, it also means yet another year of battling fellow visitors for sunbeds, a phenomenon that has become a trope on TikTok, with dozens sharing comical videos.
One TikTok recently shared by @kirstyp890, shows the moment the drama unfolds at Villa Romana in Salou, Spain.
In the clip, more than 50 people crowd around a lobby, towels in hand, waiting for the moment staff open the glass sliding doors to the pool and, more importantly, the sunbeds.
Staff wave at the group, ordering them to step away from the doors before they open, at which point people sprint outside to claim their spots while others speed walk.
@kirstyp890 Crazy people 🤣 #villaromana #salou #bedwars #sunworshippers
♬ original sound - kirstyp89
“Morning run to grab a sunbed,” read the text over the video, which Kirsty captioned as “crazy people”.
The video has gained more than 1.2 million views since it was posted on August 7 and dozens commented their disbelief. “Is this real,” one person asked. “Words fail me,” another wrote.
Another clip, shared by the Indy100 also shows holidaymakers literally running across a pool area in Salou, Spain, armed with multiple towels they toss over sunbeds to “claim” them.
@theindy100 Holidaymakers in Salou, Spain have been spotted racing to secure their sunbed as soon as the pool gates opened at 8am. Should sun bed saving be allowed? #spain #britsabroad #pool #salou #viral #fyp #trending
♬ original sound - Indy100
The phenomenon has trended on TikTok with people typically filming the moment a European resort pool is opened to guests and adding hype music to mimic the atmosphere of a sports match or fight.
One TikTok, which has more than 3.3 million views, reveals people queuing at 6.30 in the morning at Sunset Beach Club in Malaga, Spain. Other clips describe the event as a “stampede” or “carnage”.
As comical as it looks, the “sunbed wars” have been known to turn violent. In 2023, a British couple were filmed having a tug-of-war with a French couple over a sunbed and guards were summoned to a hotel in the Canary Islands after two British men tipped a Spanish woman out of her beach chair.
This year, police have become involved in certain regions, to ensure no one reserves a bed for more than three hours.
@pappashango4 Sun bed wars parts 2 #fyp #foryou #foryoupage #sunsetbeach #benalmadena #malaga #costadelsol #sunbeds #summer #summervibes @Sunset Beach Club #benalmádena
♬ Get Ready - Steve Aoki Instrumental Radio Edit - 2 Unlimited
The act of “saving” sunbeds with towels or other items so people can enjoy other activities has also attracted outrage as fellow travellers are forced to sit on the ground.
As a result, some European resorts have reportedly forced guests to “rotate” sunbeds after a certain amount of time or remove belongings if a person has been gone long enough.
Some resorts now allocate guests specific sunbeds to avoid battles altogether.