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It is still considered the biggest party of the 20th Century. In any case, it is certainly the biggest ever held in Ibiza, and some people still celebrate it every year. On September 5th, 1987, Queen frontman Freddie Mercury was already aware that he was suffering from a fatal disease, and that encouraged him to celebrate his 41st birthday with an epic party.
The singer had turned the Pikes Hotel into his personal Ibiza haven, so he shared his idea with charismatic hotel owner Tony Pikes. Given the hotelier’s taste for the eccentric, “the party of the century” concept was a definite go.
There were over 500 on the guest list, and this included everyone from dazzling celebrities and swanky jetsetters to friends Mercury had made on the street and who traveled from London for the occasion. Such a group of people obviously generated a torrent of excess and jaw dropping numbers: 350 bottles of Moët Chandon, hundreds of giant helium balloons, 230 broken glasses (which were billed to the “birthday boy”), plus a gigantic cake in the shape of the Sagrada Familia Basilica. Fireworks were so thunderous that, according to legend, they were heard more than a hundred kilometers away.
35 years later, the Pike, a legendary place where you could cross paths with Mick Jagger, George Michael or Julio Iglesias, among others, celebrates every September 5 the Freddie rocks, a massive party with music, dancing and a great feast in tribute to the Tanzanian singer. Mercury died just four years later of bronchopneumonia caused by HIV. But he left taking with him the biggest party in history.
Illustration: n.ZO Estudio