High hopes and eccentric costumes set the tone for Spain's Christmas lottery draw
Record ID:
1449642
High hopes and eccentric costumes set the tone for Spain's Christmas lottery draw
- Title: High hopes and eccentric costumes set the tone for Spain's Christmas lottery draw
- Date: 22nd December 2019
- Summary: WOMAN HOLDING SIGN WITH COPY OF HER TICKET TICKET HOLDERS QUEUEING (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) LOTTERY TICKET HOLDER, LUCIANA, 18, SAYING: "I have come to celebrate my 18th birthday because I wanted to come since I was a child and my mum has brought me (to the draw)." (SOUNDBITE)(Spanish) LOTTERY TICKET HOLDER, JOSE ANTONIO TORO, SAYING: "I have come with El Gordo (friend dressed as Sancho), here he is. This year I will go in with El Gordo and come out with El Gordo without a doubt, so I am here happier than in other years. Look we even have El Gordo here (points his friend's back), here it is (shows number). We will win it this year. Spin the drum. I tell you there is more of a drum than a stomach." (SOUNDBITE)(Spanish) LOTTERY TICKET HOLDER, ROSA, 40, SAYING: "This represents the time it will be drawn. I have the second prize. It will be drawn at 11:58, she has the first prize and and she has the third prize." (SOUNDBITE)(Spanish) LOTTERY TICKET HOLDER FROM ARAGON, FRANCISCO MURNTABLA, 74,SAYING: "I am a designer and I have designed this suit for this occasion and I have come here with high hopes and what they have been saying is that number eight will be drawn this year and this (lottery ticket number printed on textile of his suit) is the original number we have in our town." (SOUNDBITE)(Spanish) LOTTERY TICKET HOLDER FROM LEON, JUAN MANUEL LOPEZ, SAYING: "I have come to get together with a group of people, we have been friends for years, and we have come two days ahead of the draw because we are impatient and want to collect El Gordo. I am taking it to Leon." VARIOUS OF POLICE WATCHING OVER PEOPLE IN QUEUE TICKET HOLDERS IN QUEUE WAITING TO ENTER ROYAL THEATRE
- Embargoed: 5th January 2020 07:38
- Keywords: Christmas lottery El Gordo Spain
- Location: MADRID, SPAIN
- City: MADRID, SPAIN
- Country: Spain
- Topics: Human Interest / Brights / Odd News,Society/Social Issues
- Reuters ID: LVA005BB24CW7
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text:Forget Black Friday, twinkling lights or any other Christmas tradition. Spain's Christmas season doesn't properly kick off until Sunday (December 22) when El Gordo, the world's richest lottery, hands out prizes totalling 2.38 billion euros ($2.62 billion).
Across Spain, people come together to buy tickets for El Gordo, which translates as "The Fat One."
Dozens of ticket holders queue overnight and come from different corners of the country to witness the draw live at Madrid's Royal Theatre. Armed with high hopes and festive costumes they make the atmosphere outside the theatre electric.
Once the lottery draw begins, Spaniards will huddle around their televisions to watch as the lucky numbers are drawn, in a more than three-hour broadcast in which school children sing out the winning numbers.
Dating back more than two centuries, the tradition is deeply rooted in Spain, so much so that in the middle of the Civil War (1936-1939), both the Republican and Nationalist side held their own Christmas lotteries in Barcelona and Burgos, respectively.
The first broadcast of the draw was in 1957, one year after live television came to Spain.
The complex rules of the draw - which allow for multiple purchases of the same lottery number - make it almost impossible to decipher how many people have won. In the months leading up to the draw, local bars, companies and associations share their numbers, hoping to celebrate the world's biggest windfall with their patrons.
On Sunday, as the per tradition, the winners will return to where they bought their lucky tickets, uncorking bottles of Cava and revelling in how they will spend their spoils.
El Gordo is run by the Spanish lottery, and after the winners are paid, the proceeds fund the state budget. Last year Spaniards spent 2.82 billion euros, an average of 60.30 euros per person, on tickets.
The most common ticket costs 20 euros, offering up to 400,000 euros in prize money, minus taxes. The jackpot is purposely designed to allow as many people as possible a small win or to at least break even with a free ticket.
(Production: Guillermo Martinez, Julien Hennequin, Catherine Macdonald) - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
- Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2019. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
- Usage Terms/Restrictions: None