Manu Chao at Las Dalias 1st May, San Carlos

Having seen the concert advertised a few weeks before I was determined to get there and join the thousands of fans who descended upon Las Dalias to hear one of music's most famous artists. Armed with our tickets we arrived early to an already half-full car park and joined the throngs of people making their way to the outdoor stage area. The advert had suggested a food market, kids activities and face painting would be offer but sadly I think a last minute change of plans due to the shear volume of people wanting to attend seemed to have scuppered these plans. In the field, with a huge stage set-up at one end, were just a few beer stalls with the odd sandwich and packet of crisps on offer.

It was initially quite disappointing as we knew we were going to have a good 2 hour wait until Manu Chao himself appeared on stage. But to be honest the time flew past. They had a DJ on the stage and a few graffiti artists creating works to entertain the crowd, plus the crowd itself offered a lot of entertainment with locals and holiday makers mixing and creating a great atmosphere.

The sun had just disappeared on the horizon as the man himself took to the stage along with his band, Radio Bemba. His energy is contagious and soon the several thousand strong audience were dancing and bouncing along to some firm Manu Chao favourites such as Clandestino and Bongo Bong. I managed to get pretty close to the front of the stage, but without being in the crushing first few rows, and was surprised at how much shorter he was than I had imagined! He does however make up for any lack of height with a huge amount exuberance and excitement in his performance. He truly is King of the Bongo!

Somehow he managed to continue for a little over two straight hours, with no lull in the performance. His band were equally as enthusiastic and continued to delight the crowds with their jumping around and on-stage antics.

It seemed that most of the island had turned out to see the concert with young kids, families, couples, groups of friends of all ages and from all corners of the globe mixing together. I think the spirit of the evening really embodied what it is that people love about Ibiza and the lifestyle there. Manu Chao, although French-born, is of Spanish origin and has always been at the forefront of world music. He sings not only in French, Spanish and English but also in Italian, Arabic, Galician, and Portuguese. He is very well suited to the Ibiza that we know and love!

As the concert came to a close there was a huge roar from the crowd for an encore and after ten straight minutes of cheering and clapping, Manu bounced back on to the stage to complete the evening. The encore seemed to last almost as long as the concert and we left satisfied that we had not only gotten our money's worth, but that we had also seen the legend that is Manu Chao perform at his very best!