Ibiza is an island in the Mediterranean Sea, 79 kilometres (49 miles) off the coast of the city of Valencia, in eastern Spain. It is the third largest of the Balearic Islands, an autonomous community of Spain. Its largest cities are Ibiza Town (Catalan: Vila d'Eivissa, or simply Vila), Santa Eulària des Riu, and Sant Antoni de Portmany. Its highest point, called Sa Talaiassa (or Sa Talaia), is 475 metres (1,558 feet) above sea level. While it is one-sixth the size of nearby Majorca, Ibiza is over five times the size of Mykonos (Greece), or ten times the size of Manhattan Island. Ibiza has become famous for the association with nightlife and the electronic music that originated on the island. It is well known for its summer club scene which attracts very large numbers of tourists, though the island's government and the Spanish Tourist Office have controversially been working to promote more family-oriented tourism. Noted clubs include Space, Privilege, Amnesia, Ushuaïa Ibiza Beach Hotel, Pacha, DC10, Eden, and Es Paradis. Ibiza is the home of the noted "port" in Ibiza Town, a popular stop for many tourists and now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Ibiza and the nearby island of Formentera to its south are called the Pine Islands, or "Pityuses". The official name of the island is in Catalan "Eivissa". Its name in Spanish is Ibiza. In British English, the name is usually pronounced in an approximation of the Spanish, whereas in American English the pronunciation is more anglicized, or closer to Latin American Spanish. The origin of the name of the island is in the Phoenician language: יִבּוֹסִים Yibosim. Ibiza is a rock island covering an area of 572.56 square kilometres (221.07 sq mi), almost six times smaller than Majorca, but over five larger than Mykonos (in the Greek Isles) or 10 times larger than Manhattan in New York City. Ibiza is the larger of a group of the western Balearic archipelago called the "Pityuses" or "Pine Islands" composed of itself and Formentera. The Balearic island chain includes over 50 islands, many of which are uninhabited. The highest point of the island is Sa Talaiassa, at 475 metres (1,558 ft). Eivissenc is the native dialect of Catalan that is spoken on Ibiza and nearby Formentera. Catalan shares co-official status with Spanish. Additionally, because of the influence of tourism and expatriates living in or maintaining residences on the island, other languages like German, English and Italian, are widely spoken. Polylinguality is the norm, not the exception. Ibiza is considered to be a popular tourist destination, especially due to its legendary and at times riotous nightlife centred around two areas: Ibiza Town, the island's capital on the southern shore and Sant Antoni to the West. Well-known nightclubs are Privilege, Amnesia, Space, Pacha, Eden, Es Paradís, Underground and DC10. During the summer, the top producers and DJs in dance come to the island and play at the various clubs, in between touring to other international destinations. Some of the most famous DJs run their own weekly nights around the island. Many of these DJs use Ibiza as an outlet for presenting new songs within the house, trance and techno genres of electronic dance music. The city has achieved renown worldwide fame as a cultural center for house and trance in particular, with its name often being used as a partial metonym for the particular flavor of electronic music originating there, much like Goa in India. Since 2005, the live music event, Ibiza Rocks, has helped to redefine the Ibiza party landscape. Bands such as Arctic Monkeys, Kasabian, The Prodigy, and the Kaiser Chiefs have played in the courtyard of the Ibiza Rocks Hotel. And from 2013 Ushuaïa Ibiza "will be turned into a giant ant colony to coincide with the new ANTS dance music events every Saturday".

• published: 24 Nov 2013
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