Spain’s Eclipse Party Is Just Getting Started
Spain is preparing for a rare series of three solar eclipses occurring over the next 500 days. The event is expected to draw significant tourism and offers a unique astronomical spectacle due to the timing of the first eclipse at sunset.
Why it matters
Rare celestial events provide significant economic boosts through astrotourism and offer unique opportunities for scientific observation.
Tomorrow’s eclipse will be the country’s first in a century. Next year’s will be even more dramatic.
Jordan Pettitt / PA Images / Getty August 11, 2026, 7 AM ET Share Save Normal days in Spain can suddenly turn otherworldly. On a trip to Málaga in April, for instance, during Semana Santa, my friends and I happened upon a midnight procession of about 50 men in hoods who were carrying a 1,000-pound sculpture of a crucified Jesus Christ on their shoulders, lit by hundreds of candles that swayed with every step they took. But starting tomorrow, Spain’s regular drumbeat of fairs, street parties, and patron-saint festivals will be accompanied by improbable astrological luck.
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