Artificial

A NEW attraction with an enormous lagoon and bright white sands is set to open a few hours from the UK.

Called Alovera Beach, it’s set to open in summer 2028 and the catch is that it’s nowhere near the coast.

Instead, the company called Crystal Lagoons is hoping to open Europe’s largest man-made beach just outside of Spain’s capital, Madrid.

The project itself that’s 104,000 square metres is being built at the cost of €29million (£24.3million).

At its centre will be a 21,000-square-metre artificial lagoon which will be surrounded by 16,000 square metres of white sand which makes for the perfect sunbathing spot.

The lagoon will be suitable for swimming as well as watersports like kayaking, paddleboarding and aqua fitness classes.

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There will also be children’s attractions, relaxation spaces, food outlets and cafes.

On the sand will be an adults-only beach club with separate lounges to relax in as well as restaurants.

During the summer it’s hoping to hold seasonal events too including concerts, guest celebrations and even business events.

Looking at the details on its website, it looks like entry will be through memberships and daily passes.

Plans for Alovera Beach started back in 2017 and it has just taken a huge step forward with developers signing a formal construction-start document on October 21, 2026.

If all goes to plan, work is set to complete in March 2028 with it opening to the public a few months later in the summer months.

When it does open, the inland beach will be easy for Brits to reach as Alovera is a 45-minute drive from Madrid.

One-way flights are as little as £20 and Brits can get there in less than two and a half hours.

The company has made 1,000 projects across 60 countries including the Evermore Orlando Resort.

It has a range of accommodation including guest rooms and suites to Walt Disney World around two enormous beach areas where visitors can try out kayaking and paddleboarding.

The lagoon here is larger than 25 Olympic-size swimming pools and has has two beach areas.

Meanwhile, it emerged over the weekend that Bristol director of rugby Pat Lam did not select three of his key players because of the state of the StoneX Stadium pitch.

Pedro Rubiolo, AJ MacGinty and Steven Luatua were rested for the trip to north London.

“They came off big injuries last season so it wasn’t worth putting them on that pitch,” Lam explained.

“If we were playing the game at home or if it was a semi-final, they would have played.”

Saracens have been contacted for comment.

Lam has previously voiced his opposition to artificial pitches being used in the Prem.

Following the Bears’ league win at Newcastle in April, Lam blamed the pitch for causing a number of injuries to his team.

“These pitches are hard – I’m not a big fan of them,” Lam said at the time.

“We always take injuries on them and we’ve taken a few more.”

Newcastle installed a new pitch at Kingston Park this summer before the 2026-27 season and have kept it fully artificial.