The rides are working, it’s in perfect condition and the staff still turn up every day – but no guests ever come to this theme park.
What’s going on?
Tivoli World has been bizarrely frozen in time since it was forced to shut when the coronavirus pandemic hit in early 2020.
After 50 years in operation and welcoming 35 million visitors to one of the best attractions on the Costa Del Sol in Spain, business ground to a halt.
It reopened for a brief two-month spell when Covid restrictions were eased that summer, but was forced to shut again after the owners filed for bankruptcy.
Since then, one of Europe’s most iconic theme parks has been boarded up.
Three years on, and still no one has been able to enjoy the roller coasters, log flumes and bumper cars.
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But because of a strange clause in their contracts, workers at the park in the town of Benalmádena, near Málaga, remained employed.
And even though they were no longer being paid, staff also weren’t allowed to look for a new job elsewhere.
So, what did they do? Well, they kept coming to work anyway.
Instead of serving customers and operating rides, they made sure the amusement park didn’t go to rack and ruin.
As many as 87 members of staff were still attending the site on a daily basis in the hope that it would eventually reopen.
Workers cleared rubbish, weeds and overgrown shrubbery, as well as pruning the trees, according to andalucia.com.
Because of their efforts, which reportedly amounted to over 100 lorry loads of waste being removed, Tivoli World has been kept in an excellent condition.
They have also been regularly contacting the courts to try and resolve their contracts, reports the Daily Star.
Last year, three men attempted to break in to steal equipment last year, but they were stopped by local officials.
Speaking after the incident, Juan Ramon Delgado, president of the Salvemos Tivoli group, said: ‘The attractions are still there, many metres of electric cable, as well as machinery in the bars and ice cream parlours.
‘Above all, they are looking for aluminium and copper. We haven’t been paid for 10 months, but we can’t work on anything else either because we’re discharged.
‘The situation is unsustainable.’
Mr Delgado, who continued going to the park every week after it closed, added: ‘Despite the fact that we have no income, we do what we can to the best of our ability.’
Guzman Ahumada, a local member of parliament, told local media that the owner’s ‘excuses are running out’ for not reopening the park because they are ‘clearly’ able to generate an income from it.
He said: ‘The argument that it was not economically viable has been dismantled.’
Benalmádena Town Council said last year: ‘The strategy and position of this government team are aligned with that of the unions and company committee, all working together to achieve the reopening of the park.
‘We are going to continue to protect Tivoli because we believe that it is vital for tourism and the economy of the Costa del Sol, and there is no other way to do it than to reopen the park.’
Earlier this year, an eerie ghost town that sat abandoned for 40 years was sold to a mystery buyer for £18,000,000.
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