‘The Fat One’ sings: Spain’s Christmas lottery rolls out millions in prizes
Al Jazeera
Known as ‘El Gordo’, the world’s richest lottery is set to pay out close to $3bn in prizes.
People across Spain have been tuning in to watch the televised draw of the Christmas lottery known as “El Gordo” (‘The Fat One’), as pupils from Madrid’s San Ildefonso school began singing out the prize-winning numbers.
A total of 2.6 billion euros ($2.86bn) in prizes will be distributed this year, most in small amounts, as Friday’s announcements were sung out, as is the tradition.
Most people buy fractions of full tickets, with the most common purchase a 20-euro ($22) share, offering a top prize of 400,000 euros ($440,000).
The two-centuries-old tradition kicks off the festive season and is televised from Madrid’s Teatro Real opera house, with tens of thousands of people tuning in to radio stations and watching online.
Purchasing and sharing tickets in the run-up to Christmas is a much-loved tradition among families and friends, and is celebrated in bars, sports clubs and on the streets.
