Benidorm skyscraper a symbol of Spain crisis

[SPAIN] Stretching into blue skies far above other towers crowding the Spanish resort of Benidorm, the Intempo skyscraper stands as a hard-to-miss beacon of excess from the days of Spain's property bubble.

Floor numbers flash by on a blue screen as a new lift soars up this 180-metre giant on the skyline of the mass tourism resort on eastern Spain's Mediterranean coast.

At the foot of the 54-floor building - touted as the highest residential skyscraper in Europe - a semi-Olympic swimming pool waits to be tiled before welcoming the 1,000 residents who developers hope to lure to its apartments.