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CLOTHES fly across the room as girls rush to rip off their bra and boys ditch their boxers.
Not a single person bats an eyelid when the underwear is thrown on to the bar and a winning team is announced.
Stewart Williams
Stewart WilliamsIt’s not because they are having sex — although that would probably be ignored too. It is simply part of a raunchy bar-crawl game.
Earlier in the evening, girls danced suggestively on the counter while lads came dressed in their best crop tops.
Welcome to Sunny Beach, Bulgaria — the only place you can cavort on a bar naked, according to the reps.
The Black Sea resort was recently declared the cheapest in Europe by the annual Post Office Travel Money Family Holiday report.
And the locals are grateful to the Balearic Islands for their attempts to throw out British revellers — as Bulgaria will have them and their money in a, ahem, flash.
‘Walk down street naked’
Matt Branch, 28, who has worked nine seasons in the party destination, knows first hand just how much Brits are loved in the resort.
The manager of events organiser Party Crew said: “They’re very welcome. I’m always told by locals that they want more Brits.
“There are no limits here. They just laugh at you if you act like an idiot.
“You could walk down the street naked after a certain time of night and people would just egg you on. Or they’d tell you to do another shot.
“It’s much freer than other party destinations. We tell people that it’s the only place you can get away with dancing naked on the bar.”
In the Balearic and Canary Islands, as well as parts of mainland Spain, angry locals have staged huge demonstrations against mass tourism, while the authorities in Magaluf, Ayia Napa and Ibiza have tried to crack down on boisterous revellers.
In Barcelona, locals squirted foreigners with water pistols while they had lunch in protest at rising rents, which they blame on tourism.
Meanwhile, in Mallorca and Ibiza, mayors have banned the sale of booze from 9.30pm to 8am.
Yet Matt reckons other countries taking a tough line on tourists will simply make the Bulgarians even happier.
They will absolutely take advantage of other countries not wanting British tourists
Matt BranchHe said: “When Spain limited the amount of free booze Bulgaria brought in premium all-inclusive deals, so Brits could get the same spirits as back home for free.
“They will absolutely take advantage of other countries not wanting British tourists.
“They’re passionate about their country, and as long as visitors from the UK love it, they love us.”
Matt and his team provide boat parties, bar crawls and even a Thailand-themed full moon party.
In the height of summer they have up to 200 people at one of their bar crawls, where punters play games including swapping clothes, taking off underwear and having shots poured straight into their mouths.
Stewart Williams
Stewart WilliamsBulgaria boasts a coastline of 234 miles, meaning surrendering just five miles — the length of Sunny Beach — to English, Irish, Welsh and Scottish tourists is worth it for locals.
The resort has been welcoming us since the 1990s, when the country established a buzzing nightlife, and now has more than 300,000 beds on offer in accommodation.
The owner of Mania Bar said: “British tourists are better than everybody. They are very good tourists who spend a lot of money. For them, it is very cheap here.
“We like to party as much as the English, so they are very welcome.”
Even workers who have put up with us for years are still happy for Brits to keep coming every summer.
Veteran resort worker Tsvetan Florov, the manager of Jack’s Bar, said: “British tourists will always be welcome in Sunny Beach.
“We like British people because they spend, although less this year than before, but I think that is due to the financial crisis back home.
‘Everyone is crazy here’
“Young tourists are crazy and badly behaved. It’s always crazy here. We just need to keep it all in one place, and then it is fine.”
Over his 20 years working in the resort’s bars and nightclubs, he has seen all possible bad behaviour.
He recalls: “I once saw a man getting a sexual favour at the bar, and he saw me and went ‘cheers’ with his drink.
“I looked down and saw the woman, and she raised her glass to me while she was doing it. A few years ago I saw girls dancing naked on the bar, which went down well with everyone.
“Later on it was lots of boys doing it — which was less welcome by everyone.”
Employees in bars and clubs say they trust that young people will keep coming and spending money.
One former Sunny Beach worker, who would only give his name as Chris, said: “We have to trust that the Brits will keep coming, which is why the resort expanded. British tourists spend much more than Eastern Europeans, especially on alcohol. We let them get away with more than other places would.”
One English reveller told me: “Everyone is crazy here. Anything goes — except weeing in the street.”
Bars have neon signs, boasting “save water, drink vodka” and “we want you to play beer pong”.
Miguel Vicens
Stewart WilliamsPints are around £2, shots £1.50 and ten tequila slammers just £11.60 — but it’s not just booze on offer.
Dangerous hippy crack is being touted on the street, with eight people trying to flog the balloons in a 100-yard stretch.
In one club, five sellers of the gas are walking around the dance floor trying to tempt customers.
One balloon of the killer gas is just £3, but British tourists don’t seem to be interested in buying.
We heard it was a party place and it really is
Sydney from DevonInstead, they are focused on drinking as much as they can.
One Irish lad said: “It’s cheap as chips here. I love it.”
Devonshire girls Sydney, 19, and Bethany, 21, booked the resort after one of their dads recommended it.
Sydney said: “We heard it was a party place and it really is. It’s been amazing. We had two Sex On The Beaches earlier and Bethany already felt drunk, so we had to go get some water.”
A standard spirit measure in Bulgaria is between 50ml and 100ml, while in Britain it is 25ml — meaning there is more booze AND it is still cheaper than home.
‘Making the most of it’
Pals Ethan and Tom, both 25, from Wolverhampton, happily parade around the resort in lewd tops, one saying “I’ll eat your ass” and “Two seater” with arrows pointing up and down.
They were stopped by laughing locals who wanted a photo of them.
Ethan said: “Everyone here is making the most of it.
“Tom bought me this top and everyone seems to find it funny.”
One of the most popular beach bars is Viking, which has a show in the evening featuring dancing pirates who pour straight tequila into eager punters’ mouths.
They also offer a traffic light party, where revellers have a coloured neon band indicating if they are single, taken or simply hard to get.
In Beach Bar Mexo, punters are encouraged to dance on the bar, while in Central, on the main strip, trays of shots are frequently handed out, and they also pour booze directly into customers’ mouths.
Even the taxi drivers who work into the small hours don’t mind the boozing antics.
One said: “English tourists are good.”
When asked if we were badly behaved, he laughed and said: “It’s no problem.”
Stewart Williams
Stewart Williams
Stewart Williams
Stewart Williams
English (US)