Costa News Spain Breaking News | English News in Spain.
In an evening filled with music, laughter and unwavering generosity, the Hannam family’s Save a Life (S.A.L.) campaign has delivered another resounding success. On Saturday, February 21, at the Millennium Cocktail Bar, the community fundraiser raised a magnificent €2,024, every cent of which is destined for life-saving defibrillators across the Costa del Sol.
Just months after launching in late July 2025, the grassroots initiative, born from personal alarm, has already transformed local safety. Gerry Hannam, who survived a massive cardiac arrest on London’s Waterloo Bridge in December 2024 thanks to swift CPR and a bystander with a defibrillator, returned to Calahonda determined to ensure no one here faces the same odds. “We couldn’t thank the strangers who saved me,” Gerry explained, “so we decided to give back by making sure defibrillators are where they’re needed most.”
A very personal campaign
Together with wife Jenny and the wider Hannam family, they set about filling dangerous gaps that local authorities have left unaddressed. Each AED costs around €2,000, yet it can boost survival rates from out-of-hospital cardiac arrest from just 10 per cent to as high as 70 per cent when used within minutes.
The results speak for themselves. Since October 2025 the campaign has installed various registered, publicly accessible defibrillators in key locations: Pals Bar (El Zoco), El Campanario Plaza, Millennium Bar itself, JJ’s Bar and Bridges Bar in Riviera del Sol, and Supermercado Miraflores. All are fully maintained, registered with Andalusian emergency services, and ready to save lives.
The defibrillator campaign growing across the Costa del Sol
Demand has now exploded beyond Calahonda. Communities across the Costa del Sol – from La Cala de Mijas to Benalmadena and Torremolinos – are calling for support, with the Hannams offering advice, supplier contacts and free CPR training where they cannot fund devices directly. Local authorities won’t do it, so the community is taking this into its own hands!
Saturday’s star-studded event, co-organised with Steve and Sandie Hughes, featured an outstanding lineup of local talent, including Ben Nelmes, The Soulmates, The 2319 Duo, Steve Owen, Lucy Pardoe, Paige Lefley and headliner Dave Lewis. With €10 entry fees and generous raffle support, the packed Millennium Cocktail Bar buzzed with purpose.
“If we save just one life, it’s worth every hour we’ve put in.”
Gerry and Jenny remain humble. “If we save just one life, it’s worth every hour we’ve put in.”
From a single personal mission to a region-wide movement, Save a Life proves what determined expats can achieve. With more fundraisers already in the pipeline and enquiries flooding in, the campaign shows no signs of slowing.
The Costa del Sol is safer today, and thanks to the Hannams and their incredible community, it will keep getting safer Costa del Sol tomorrow.
