government sanctions
A villa in Son Vida became the center of a major health and safety scare when a party drew attention for the sheer scale of attendance and the risk it posed to local health. The event, attended by more than a hundred young people from Mallorcan society, led to a punitive fine of 60,000 euros for each of the 114 identified participants by Palma Local Police that night. The individuals spanned notable surnames across business, hospitality, and the island’s aristocracy, underscoring how even high-profile guests can face consequences in the pursuit of public health compliance.
All those involved faced exemplary fines of up to 6.8 million euros for what authorities labeled very serious violations of anticovid regulations, a figure reported by Diario de Mallorca on that Tuesday. The episode dates back to August 2021, a period when rising infections and hospital admissions prompted the Government to tighten restrictions on nightlife and social gatherings in an effort to curb transmission.
As reported recently, given the magnitude of the sanction proposal, several participants sought legal representation to test whether the penalties aligned with the principle of proportionality. Some questions arose about the constitutionality of the fines, both in their amount and the stated grounds for imposing them.
The sanction proposal is documented in a decree law approved by the Government in July 2020, a framework that originally permitted fines up to 600,000 euros for breaches of anticovid health rules. The decree was later adjusted to reflect the changing stages of the pandemic and covered matters including capacity limits at entertainment venues, private parties, and the operation of vacation rentals, among others.
government sanctions
Enforcement under this framework is overseen by the Ministry of the Presidency, and as such, these penalties were not included in the general set of first-alert penalties. The mechanism faced a pause when the Constitutional Court examined its validity. In the Balearic Islands, nearly 800 of these sanctions were subsequently dropped, many due to violations of movement restrictions during the months of confinement.
The Son Vida festival also prompted complaints from the Ministry of Tourism, which identified regulatory breaches tied to Covid rules at a house being marketed as a rental cottage. Neighbors had reported loud music in the early hours of the morning on August 21, 2021, prompting Palma Local Police to arrive at the scene. Officers identified 114 attendees, though they noted in the complaint log that they could not verify every participant’s links because some were at home at the time.
Means
Those affected now have the option to file claims to reduce or eliminate the sanctions. The process includes a hearing so the parties can review all documents in the file, and it also affords the chance to lodge an administrative appeal. As a last resort, disputes may proceed to ordinary courts. Mallorca in the summer of 2021 witnessed a wave of gatherings and illegal drinking events as many nightlife venues remained closed to curb infection risk. It has not been disclosed whether the mass gathering at Son Vida sparked a local outbreak, though other cases at the time did raise concerns about the relationship between large events and transmission.