High hopes and eccentric costumes set the tone for Spain's Christmas lottery draw
Record ID:
1449646
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: MADRID, SPAIN (DECEMBER 22, 2019) (REUTERS) TICKETS HOLDERS OUTSIDE THE ROYAL THEATRE, VENUE OF THE CHRISTMAS LOTTERY DRAW, WEARING COSTUMES AND SIGNING TICKET HOLDER WITH SIGN ONE HIS BACK READING IN SPANISH, "EL GORDO PRIZE 00000 EMISSIONS ON THE ENVIRONMENT" GROUP OF TICKET HOLDERS WEARING COSTUMES / MAN IN COSTUME HOLDING HIS TICKET WITH THE NUMBER "00000" LOTTERY TICKET WITH NUMBER "0000" TICKET HOLDER DRESSED AS A FLAMENCO DANCER, DANCING
- 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: LVA001BB24CW7
- 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
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