Interview: Martin Orbea from Corona Save the Beach Campaign

So Martin, what’s the Corona Extra Save The Beach campaign?
The campaign has been launched with the mission of preserving Europe’s endangered beaches. Its aim is to recover at least one European beach each year. The campaign was launched in 2008 and we work in partnership with the Foundation for Environmental Education and its world-recognised Blue Flag programme.

How are you raising public awareness?
Through a number of pioneering initiatives. It ranges from calling for volunteers to join us in beach clean-ups, to projects such as our Beach Hotel built from rubbish, which was created by famed German artist HA Shult.

A hotel made from rubbish? Tell us a little more about that...
The hotel was built using litter collected on beaches from across Europe to raise awareness of the need for conservation. It acted as a representation of how we can expect our shorelines to look unless actions are taken now to protect them. Supermodel Helena Christensen was the first guest, spending a night at the hotel sleeping on a bed made from rubbish.

What beach is the campaign saving this year and how was it chosen?
This year’s beach is Bahia De Portman in Murcia, Spain. Our volunteers will shortly be involved in the big clean-up. The beach was chosen in an internet poll we set up on our website:

www.coronasavethebeach.org