The Island That Sold Its Emptiness

It was farmland. Salt, figs and fishing boats. Now about twenty visitors come for every resident. Ibiza became the party island because it was poor, empty and cheap at the exact moment the jet put it within reach of Europe. From the salt pans of Ses Salines and the families who emigrated for generations, to Walter Benjamin and the outsiders of the 1930s and 1960s, the runway of 1966 and the charter flights, Pacha, Amnesia, Ku and Space, the summer of 1987, and the bill the island pays today in water, housing, waste and seagrass. This is the case of Ibiza. Chapters 0:00 The Case 1:35 The Salt Island 4:15 The Island People Left 6:43 The First Outsiders 9:22 The Jet 12:04 The Clubs 14:58 The Full Island 18:45 The Bill 22:06 The Verdict Every city is a case. Sources UNESCO, Ibiza, Biodiversity and Culture: https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/417 Kelosa, Ses Salines: Salt, Trade and the Ancient Landscape: https://www.kelosa.com/blog/en/landsc... Observatorio Ibiza de Edificación, Population 1900 to 2023: https://ibizaobservatorio.com/estadis... Moto Luis, Walter Benjamin, Sant Antoni and the 1930s: https://www.motoluis.co.uk/walter-ben... Aena, Ibiza Airport passengers in 2025: https://www.aena.es/es/prensa/el-aero... Britannica, Stabilization Plan of 1959: https://www.britannica.com/topic/Stab... DJ Mag, Celebrating 50 years of Amnesia: https://djmag.com/features/celebratin... Guinness World Records, Largest nightclub: https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/... Red Bull Music Academy, Danny Rampling interview: https://daily.redbullmusicacademy.com... IbizaPreservation, tourist arrivals in 2024 (IBESTAT data): https://ibizapreservation.org/en/ibiz... Reuters via The Globe and Mail, Housing crisis in Ibiza: https://www.theglobeandmail.com/world... Consell d'Eivissa, Vehicle regulation law: https://www.conselldeivissa.es/es/act... ArA Balears, The Balearics are left with no margin: https://en.arabalears.cat/society/the... Water (MDPI), Cost of Water Supply Linked to Tourism: Ibiza: https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/12/7/2006 Atlas Posidonia, Balearic decree: https://atlasposidonia.com/en/baleari... IbizaPreservation, Waste in Ibiza's landfill in 2024: https://ibizapreservation.org/en/the-... More sources in the pinned comment. Credits Photos, maps and footage under Creative Commons, via Wikimedia Commons: "MTN25-0798c4-1986-Eivissa", "MTN25-0798c4-2012-Eivissa", "MTN25-0772c4-1987-San Miguel" and "MTN25-0772c4-2011-Sant Miquel de Balansat" by Centro Nacional de Información Geográfica, CC BY 4.0 "MTN50-0798-1964-nnn-Ibiza" by Instituto Geográfico Nacional / CNIG, CC BY 4.0 "Pacha Ibiza Main Room" by pravin.premkumar, CC BY 2.0 "Pacha Ibiza Party" by BOMBMAN, CC BY 2.0 "Pacha Ibiza Balloon 1" by Jose A., CC BY 2.0 "Advance ticket sales for Ibiza nightclubs at a shop" and "Advance ticket sales for Ibiza nightclubs in front of Es Paradis" by Angel Abril Ruiz, CC BY 2.0 "Ibiza Rocks Bar Flags" by CaBLe27, CC BY 2.0 "Bathing amongst posidonia seaweed on Bossa beach, Ibiza - 2006" by Peter Drier, CC BY 2.0 "Port de Porroig, Eivissa - 6056401971" by Jorge Cancela, CC BY 2.0 "Amnesia in the airport! (1333613400)" by Alex Harries, CC BY 2.0 "Eivissa Castle - Ibiza (7103045233)" by Michela Simoncini, CC BY 2.0 "Dalt Vila (28782551727)" and "Sa Penya (Eivissa) (53908194620)" by steve p2008, CC BY 2.0 "Ibiza Town (33251050078)" by Mark from Brighton, CC BY 2.0 "Los Molinos Beach - Ibiza (250693087)" by Andy Flatman, CC BY 2.0 "Safehouse Management & Carl Cox- MUSIC IS REVOLUTION Opening Party" by Carl Cox @ Space Ibiza, CC BY 3.0 "Can Frara-Ibiza-13.04.2016" by JanManu, CC BY 4.0 CC0 photos and footage by Joselodos, Joan Gené, Gerda Arendt, Nicolas Vigier and UnFUG-Fabi, via Wikimedia Commons. Footage via Pexels (Pexels License): Aaron Hairston, ACkats Films, Steven HAuse, Boris Ivas, Juan Carlos Navalon Sanchez. Public domain: NASA (ISS crew Earth observations, Johnson Space Center; MODIS, NASA GSFC); United Kingdom Hydrographic Office, Admiralty Chart No 3276 (1902), via Wikimedia Commons. Music: "Tension" by Komiku, CC0. Sound effects: Map Noir, CC0. Maps: Natural Earth (public domain). Graphics: Map Noir.