BeniCon 2022 – Review
- Curtis
- November 21, 2022
- Reviews
- Benicon, benidorm, Benidorm TV Show
- 0 Comments
As you may know recently I published some content from a convention I attended. Therefore, I’m writing a separate page about the event and what was good and what was bad. If you want to watch the full BeniCon movie I made with all the clips & photos which can be seen by clicking this link (It takes you to YouTube so there terms and privacy policy apply and aren’t in our control).
This review will be split into 3 categories:
- The Good Things
- The Bad Things
- What I’d expect next time
- Photo Gallery of some of the photos I took
The Good Things
There was a lot at the convention like all the activities they arranged like the quizzes hosted by the cast (Crissy Rock, Michael Fenton Stevens etc) and the fact they organised getting pictures with the cast in a quick and efficient manner. Let’s dive into more detail about the things I did and what I’d say about them.
Old Town Location Walk
There were two groups for this, an early one and a later one and I attended the later one and it was outstanding, there wasn’t many of us and Derren and Joanne led the walk and we saw the following locations:
- Where Mateo got arrested
- The internet cafe
- Geoff and Leslie’s date spot
- Crazy Daisy’s apartment
The walk lasted approximately an hour and there wasn’t too much walking which was good but at each stop they would give information about the scenes and the supporting artists would tell their stories too, I thoroughly enjoyed the walk.
Meet and Greets
The meet and greets were all very fun to attend and especially Jake Canuso’s and Sheila Reid’s as Sheila was running late so Jake entertained the audience and starting playing his character a bit and mingled with the VIP’s and I must say it was really good to watch. They were all amazing to be fair, they were all extremely polite and friendly it was an honour to be able to meet some cast from such an amazing TV show.
New Town Location Walk
The new town location walk started at the Morgan Tavern (Neptune’s). This one was organised by Joanne and another one of the supporting artists but I can’t remember what his name was. The walk featured a few locations including:
- Hotel Don Pancho (where they filmed some of the Bel Toro scenes).
- Mateo’s Benidorm (Derren’s bar)
- Sol Pelicanos (where the pool scenes are and where the stairs are where they filmed the “outside” of Neptunes in the first few series).
Overall, I preferred the walk around the old town due to the the fact it was longer and there was more to see because you only really went to about 2-3 places whereas, there was another group that went to the Benidorm Palace and The Pink House and more I believe.
Benidorm Palace Finale Show
The finale show was the closure to Benicon and needless to say it was unforgettable. The show was well planned out and it certainly sent the convention out with a bang!
The “Bad” Things
Overall, most of the things I didn’t really appreciate about this occurred on the first day which is totally fair enough because at first there can be issues. What the main problems were at this convention were: What do the VIP’s get? As they were promised stuff originally but things were subject to change. I attended as VIP and all we received was a lanyard that said VIP, access to the VIP terrace which was an exclusive area that had a bar where you could only go if you had the upgrade and they got the best seats in the Benidorm Palace, we were sat third table back centre to the stage. VIP’s were promised more than what they got however they did their best and it was a manic event as anticipated. On the first day, there was teething issues and there was a lot of miscommunication however the organisers did do their best to sort it out and I think everyone had a very good weekend.
What I’d expect next time
If I were to attend a BeniCon in the future if they held one, I would expect that near the time they’d give a clear indication of everything that needs to be booked and sorted as there was nothing in the one I attended and there was nothing worse than the queues as they were right near the Grand Salon. Also, if I were to attend again, I’d love to see more of the cast, especially the ones that didn’t get to go to the first one.
However, since initially writing this article back in November the official Benicon site says there will not be another one. Therefore, it was quite literally a once in a lifetime event and I’m extremely grateful I got to experience it.
Photo Gallery:
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