https://feeds.thelocal.com/ Read the latest news and views from Spain in English en-us news@thelocal.com (TheLocal) webmaster@thelocal.com (TheLocal) TheLocal RSS Feed The Eurovision Song Contest is famous for celebrating everything from cross-dressing ballad singers to heavy metal bands in monster masks, but geopolitics is threatening its 70th anniversary edition. https://www.thelocal.es/20260426/geopolitics-threatens-70th-anniversary-of-eurovision Sun, 26 Apr 2026 13:03:11 +0200 geopolitics-threatens-70th-anniversary-of-eurovision Spain’s public broadcaster defied Eurovision Song Contest organisers on Saturday to air a message in support of Palestinians – despite being warned to avoid references to the Gaza offensive. https://www.thelocal.es/20250518/spanish-tv-defies-eurovision-organisers-to-air-support-message-for-palestine Sun, 18 May 2025 11:06:03 +0200 spanish-tv-defies-eurovision-organisers-to-air-support-message-for-palestine Austria's JJ won the 2025 Eurovision Song Contest on Sunday, with his operatic song "Wasted Love" triumphing at the world's biggest live music television event. https://www.thelocal.es/20250518/austrias-jj-wins-eurovision-2025-with-opera-techno-fusion Sun, 18 May 2025 09:56:32 +0200 austrias-jj-wins-eurovision-2025-with-opera-techno-fusion Groans and giggles typically greet votes at the annual Eurovision Song Contest, loved and mocked for its kitsch music and seemingly partisan outcomes. But what are the voting patterns, and what external factors help explain them? https://www.thelocal.es/20250515/what-eurovisions-voting-patterns-can-teach-you-about-european-politics Thu, 15 May 2025 13:40:51 +0200 what-eurovisions-voting-patterns-can-teach-you-about-european-politics Spain's public broadcaster said on Friday it had called for a "debate" over Israel's participation in this year's Eurovision Song Contest in Switzerland due to "concerns" over the situation in war-torn Gaza. https://www.thelocal.es/20250412/spanish-public-broadcaster-calls-for-debate-over-israels-eurovision-participation Sat, 12 Apr 2025 10:02:12 +0200 spanish-public-broadcaster-calls-for-debate-over-israels-eurovision-participation The far-left Sumar party, a junior member of Spain's coalition government, on Friday launched a petition demanding Israel be excluded from the Eurovision final on Saturday over its Gaza war. https://www.thelocal.es/20240511/far-left-party-in-spain-govt-urges-eurovision-israel-boycott Sat, 11 May 2024 10:56:15 +0200 far-left-party-in-spain-govt-urges-eurovision-israel-boycott Spain's Prime Minister has come under fire from feminist groups for defending the country's Eurovision song 'Zorra', meaning "bitch" or "slut" in English. Other women claim it's the perfect chance to reshape the word's derogatory meaning. https://www.thelocal.es/20240208/why-spains-eurovision-entry-zorra-is-confusing-spains-feminist-movement Thu, 08 Feb 2024 13:30:52 +0100 why-spains-eurovision-entry-zorra-is-confusing-spains-feminist-movement As the Eurovision final approaches it's time to swot up on some facts about Spain's history in the most celebrated singing contest in the world. From false starts to Franco, here is The Local's list: https://www.thelocal.es/20180511/fantastic-facts-about-spain-in-eurovision Fri, 11 May 2018 16:59:31 +0200 fantastic-facts-about-spain-in-eurovision Spain is hoping to improve on its laughable result last year in the Eurovision Song Contest with a romantic ballad between a Catalan boy and a girl from Pamplona. https://www.thelocal.es/20180510/meet-alfred-and-amaia-spains-2018-eurovision-hopefuls Thu, 10 May 2018 12:52:46 +0200 meet-alfred-and-amaia-spains-2018-eurovision-hopefuls Poor Manel Navarro. Spain’s Eurovision hopeful not only managed to come last in Saturday’s final but he has become the laughing stock of the nation after failing to reach the high notes during his performance. https://www.thelocal.es/20170515/the-best-memes-after-spains-eurovision-disaster Mon, 15 May 2017 14:05:05 +0200 the-best-memes-after-spains-eurovision-disaster Spain is hoping for a score above nul points in this year’s Eurovision Song Contest by presenting a youthful surfer dude who writes his own music and plays guitar. https://www.thelocal.es/20170504/meet-manel-navarro-spains-eurovision-hopeful-for-2017 Thu, 04 May 2017 15:11:30 +0200 meet-manel-navarro-spains-eurovision-hopeful-for-2017 The Royal Spanish Academy is fighting against the anglicization of Spanish with a new campaign. https://www.thelocal.es/20160524/spain-launches-campaign-to-stop-invasion-of-english-words-languages Tue, 24 May 2016 16:14:37 +0200 spain-launches-campaign-to-stop-invasion-of-english-words-languages Just who is this year's Spanish entry and does she stand a chance of winning? The Local investigates... https://www.thelocal.es/20160512/who-is-spains-eurovision-song-contest-entry Thu, 12 May 2016 08:59:50 +0200 who-is-spains-eurovision-song-contest-entry The popular singing contest has banned the flag of the Basque Country, angering politicians who have demanded the "boycott" be lifted. https://www.thelocal.es/20160429/furore-as-eurovision-bans-basque-flag-alongside-isis Fri, 29 Apr 2016 14:04:59 +0200 furore-as-eurovision-bans-basque-flag-alongside-isis Spain will make history at this year's Eurovision Song Contest by, for the first time ever, sending a song entirely sung in English to represent the country. https://www.thelocal.es/20160225/nul-points-spanish-academics-slam-countrys-eurovision-song-for-english-lyrics Thu, 25 Feb 2016 15:03:16 +0100 nul-points-spanish-academics-slam-countrys-eurovision-song-for-english-lyrics Could 2016 be the year Spain wins the famous singing competition? https://www.thelocal.es/20160202/spain-to-send-first-ever-english-language-song-to-eurovision Tue, 02 Feb 2016 12:01:29 +0100 spain-to-send-first-ever-english-language-song-to-eurovision This year’s Spanish Eurovision hopefuls have been told they must include Spanish in their songs - but would embracing English give the country a better chance of Eurovision glory? https://www.thelocal.es/20160115/ditch-spanish-sing-in-english-spain-win-eurovision Fri, 15 Jan 2016 13:35:39 +0100 ditch-spanish-sing-in-english-spain-win-eurovision With only a day to go before the Eurovision final in Vienna, The Local caught up with Peter Huber, the Austrian ambassador to Madrid to hear his views on the world’s most prestigious singing competition. https://www.thelocal.es/20150522/eurovision-song-contest-interview Fri, 22 May 2015 12:56:47 +0200 eurovision-song-contest-interview She is hoping to take the Eurovision crown for Spain this Saturday but who is the sultry pop star representing Spain in this year’s competition? Let us introduce you to Edurne. https://www.thelocal.es/20150519/can-edurne-bring-eurovision-home-to-spain Tue, 19 May 2015 12:43:34 +0200 can-edurne-bring-eurovision-home-to-spain The Spanish entry in this year’s Eurovision Song Contest has been urged to cut scenes that include live tigers from the video for her single, Daybreak. https://www.thelocal.es/20150512/eurovision-entry-slammed-for-using-real-tiger-in-video Tue, 12 May 2015 18:21:02 +0200 eurovision-entry-slammed-for-using-real-tiger-in-video