Eerie abandoned theme park still has staff working there with loophole making it hard for them to leave

There's something quite fascinating about abandoned places that were once beaming with life isn't there?

One great example of this is a a former Spanish theme park that remains in tip-top condition despite being closed down for years, due to staff still turning up and looking after the place.

The once-popular Tivoli World in Benalmadena first opened up back in the 1970s and attracted tourists from all over the world.

However, all that changed when the Covid-19 pandemic swept through and forced non-essential businesses to close in an attempt to slow the spread of infection.

This included Tivoli World, which shut up during the lockdown, but was hopeful it would be back up and running in the future.

David Benito/Getty Images

But this turned out not to be the case - although Tivoli World did manage to reopen again, it only lasted a couple of months before finally closing its doors for good in 2021, leaving behind a perfectly operational theme park that couldn't afford to run.

While you might have expected this place to be bulldozed in order to make way for something else or to become slowly more derelict over time, Tivoli World is instead looking surprisingly good for an abandoned site.

That was because even after it closed down - staff were still coming in to look after the place and make sure it was in good condition, and it's all thanks to a weird clause in their contract which meant they could not look for other work.

According to Euro Weekly News, 87 workers ended up stuck in limbo as their contract banned them from seeking work elsewhere, despite the park being closed down.

These workers were never properly let go, meaning if they walked away they would be entitled to no compensation or unemployment insurance, but if they were still working for Tivoli then they weren’t allowed to go and work somewhere else.

So some of these workers decided to carry on turning up and working and carrying out their various duties.

David Benito/Getty Images

President of the Salvemos Tivoli group, Juan Ramon Delgado, said: “The attractions are still there, many metres of electric cable, as well as machinery in the bars and ice cream parlours.

“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.”

And while some of us in that situation might turn and do sweet FA all day, that wasn't the case for these guys.

“Despite the fact that we have no income, we do what we can to the best of our ability," Delgado added.

Topics: Travel, World News, Weird

Claire Reid

Claire is a journalist at LADbible who, after dossing around for a few years, went to Liverpool John Moores University. She graduated with a degree in Journalism and a whole load of debt. When not writing words in exchange for money she is usually at home watching serial killer documentaries surrounded by cats. You can contact Claire at [email protected]