Lottery win like a fairy tale Forest fire ravages Spanish village - now residents win 436 million francs
Cheers, tears and parties: Spain's Christmas lottery is a national ritual. This year, a record sum was paid out: The top prize goes to a village ravaged by forest fires.
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- The Spanish Christmas lottery is considered the biggest raffle in the world: this year, record winnings of the equivalent of more than 2.5 billion francs were distributed.
- Just like in a fairy tale, a large part of the main prize "El Gordo" went to a village that was hit by severe forest fires just this summer.
- "It's like a gift from heaven to a place that needs so much help," says the mayor, while the residents of the municipality of La Bañeza celebrate exuberantly.
Champagne corks popped all over Spain, countless people danced, shouted and howled with unrestrained joy, even in front of the TV cameras. Strangers fell into each other's arms. Two days before Christmas Eve, a record sum of 2.77 billion euros (2.58 billion Swiss francs) was paid out in the world-famous Christmas lottery.
The huge windfall went to ticket buyers in Madrid, among others, but above all to several poorer villages in the León region. The villages were hit by severe forest fires as recently as August this year.
Many needy people among the winners
Residents of La Bañeza, around 300 kilometers northwest of Madrid, will receive the lion's share of the main prize: 468 million euros (436 million Swiss francs). The money is sorely needed for most of the people there, because in addition to devastating fires, the community of 10,000 inhabitants also had to cope with the closure of a large sugar factory this year, which cost almost 1,000 jobs.
Javier Carrera, the mayor of La Bañeza, said Monday's win had "triggered a flood of emotions after such a terrible year." In front of the RTVE cameras, four young girls whose families had bought several grand prize tickets cheered. "We've had a really tough time here. But now we're celebrating!" exclaimed one of them, beaming with joy.
"The fat one" has a social streak
"Winning the lottery is not only a cause for joy and excitement, but also something that has come like a gift from heaven to a place that needs so much help," Mayor Carrera is quoted as saying in the Guardian.
Jesús Huerta, the head of the Spanish lottery company Loterias y Apuestas del Estado, agrees. He said that redistribution was being carried out and social inequality was being evened out somewhat, as every year a large number of people in need are among the winners.
Some players have always used their winnings for the common good. Several cases are legendary. Bernardo Cerezo, for example, financed the construction of a theater in Carmona, Andalusia, after winning in 1928, while Ángel Oliván built a hospital and a school in Calahorra in the La Rioja region in 1932.
Schoolgirls become stars
Founded more than 200 years ago, the lottery is considered to be the oldest in the world and is also known as the largest raffle due to the total sum involved. The main prize alone, known as "El Gordo", which awards four million euros (3.7 million Swiss francs) for an entire ticket, will be paid out 198 times this year - five times more than in 2024. The background to this is the special system: each of the 100,000 ticket numbers is being issued and sold more and more frequently due to increasing demand.
During the draw, which is always broadcast live on television, "The Fat Man" had to wait around an hour and a half this year. At 10.44 a.m. sharp, the lucky number 79,432 was drawn in Madrid's historic Teatro Real opera house and announced by two schoolgirls from the San Ildefonso boarding school to loud cheers and applause from the audience: The girls announcing the main prize become real stars in Spain for a moment.
By the way: foreigners can play according to Spanish law. However, they must either be resident there or be in the country during the purchase. And anyone who wins must also open a bank account in Spain in order to receive their winnings.
