23 Dec, 2024 @ 15:28
1 min read

Spain’s ‘El Gordo’ Christmas lottery gives away BILLIONS of euros in prizes

What is El Gordo? Spain’s national Christmas lottery takes place this weekend
EL GORDO WINNERS, BARCELONA, 2023

CHRISTMAS has arrived in Spain as ‘EL Gordo’ lottery sees billions of euros given out to lucky winners. 

Spain drew the winners of the 2024’s Christmas lottery yesterday, December 22, marking the start of the festive season.

The total prize pot of the state-run lottery reached €2.71bn this year, exceeding 2023’s €2.59bn.

Valencia flood victims are among winners of Spain’s El Gordo Christmas lottery

‘El Gordo’, or the ‘Fat One’ is the main €400.000 prize and was snagged by tickets bought in Logroño, the capital of La Rioja. 

However, the money will not remain up north as most of the tickets were bought by Club Deportivo Distrito Olimpico, a basketball club in Madrid’s working class neighbourhood, San Blas-Canillejas. 

Many prizes have also gone to areas hard hit by recent DANA storms, with locals in Catarroja, Paiporta, Aldaia, Alfafar and Requena taking home their share of the €50,000 prize. 

But most of the winning tickets were purchased in Bilbao, with four winners taking home €20,000. 

The lottery dates back over 200 years, after it was established in 1812 to fund Spain in the Napoleonic war.

Today, it is the second-longest continuously running lottery in the world and takes place every year on December 22.

It is televised nationally from Madrid’s Teatro Real and pupils from San Ildefonso school pick the winners. 

Spaniards watch the draw with bated breath, clutching their ‘lucky’ numbers in the hope of snatching a life changing sum.

Yzabelle Bostyn

Yzabelle Bostyn is an NCTJ trained journalist who started her journalistic career at the Olive Press in 2023.
Before moving to Spain, she studied for a BA in English Literature and Hispanic Studies at the University of Sheffield.
After graduating she moved to the university’s journalism department, one of the best in the UK.
Throughout the past few years, she has taken on many roles including social media marketing, copywriting and radio presenting.
She then took a year out to travel Latin America, scaling volcanoes in Guatemala and swimming with sharks in Belize.
Then, she came to the Olive Press last year where she has honed her travel writing skills and reported on many fantastic experiences such as the Al Andalus luxury train.
She has also undertaken many investigations, looking into complex issues like Spain’s rental crisis and rising cancer rates.
Always willing to help, she has exposed many frauds and scams, working alongside victims to achieve justice.
She is most proud of her work on Nolotil, a drug linked to the deaths of many Brits in Spain.
A campaign launched by Yzabelle has received considerable support and her coverage has been by the UK and Spanish media alike.
Her writing has featured on many UK news outlets from the Sun to the Mail Online, who contracted her to report for them in Tenerife on growing tourism issues.
Recently, she has appeared on Times Radio covering deadly flooding in Valencia.

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