On October 25, Vigo hosted a strange ceremony. Mayor Abel Caballero, surrounded by some of his council members in the heart of the city and with a huge screen in the background, activated the countdown to the start of Christmas. Not by turning on the lights as he did in previous years. No. This time the clock showed only the time until Christmas Eve.

The Vigo councilor decided not to announce until the last minute the date when he would press the red button that activates his 11.5 million LEDs because he joked, that was the secret “Best preserved on the planet”. Caballero was so careful not to give clues to other cities that he actually could not solve the mystery until the last moment.

He did this on November 6, just ten days before the lights went on. In time for anyone who wants to visit the city to organize a weekend getaway to Galicia by going to Booking or the Renfe website; but not in a way that takes into account the calendar of other municipalities in the country.

“Everything I said, someone is copying it“, had apologized in some cases.

New appointment on the calendar

It’s no coincidence that Vigo maintains the mystery (and anticipation) until the very end. If the bizarre ‘war of lights’ involving Spanish cities has served any purpose, it is to turn the Christmas lighting night into one of the highlights of the festivities. From a secondary event, almost a formality, it has become an event competing with the New Year’s Eve or Three Kings parade.

It’s hard to believe this with its current rollout, but that wasn’t always the case. There was a time (not so long ago) when the gala of Christmas lights was far from the generosity that city halls show now. There were also people celebrating this, but without going out. In some cities, the facades of department stores such as El Corte Inglés were expected to be more illuminated than the municipal decorations placed by city councils.

This changed as Spanish cities launched their own ‘war of light’. ‘night of illumination’ It no longer just signals the start of Christmas. From their perspective, this is one of their biggest celebrations. And Christmas, an effective way to extend the holidays, literally only lasts two weeks. In some cases, such as Vigo, which decided to activate its 11.5 million LEDs on November 16, the lights serve to extend the LEDs by almost two months.

In Galicia, they not only jealously guard the firing date. There’s little to envy New Year’s Eve, San Silvestre or the Three Kings Parade in the ceremony that accompanies the moment when Caballero presses the red button that lights up his 44-foot tree and the 11.5 million LEDs distributed throughout the town.

Giant screens, artificial snow balls and confetti are set up, music is broadcast, a show is organized on the XXL tree, flow and Caballero acts as master of ceremonies before pressing the giant red button that activates, as he puts it, the following. “The best Christmas in the world”.

“When we press the red button on the Christmas tree in Porta do Sol, Christmas begins on the planet,” says the Galician councillor. Of course, this is part of the exaggerated rhetoric that sometimes marks the strange ‘war of lights’ that other Spanish cities such as Madrid, Badalona, ​​Cádiz or Málaga have also launched, but it expresses something else: the extent to which the lighting ceremony has become an attraction to draw in visitors from outside. came.

The truth is that the numbers seem to support this claim. The “ground zero”, where the Vigo lights were illuminated, had a capacity of 7,000 people, but the square where the ceremony was held was full two hours ago after starting.

The Galicia City Council was quick to point out that by the weekend the lighting was implemented, the city’s hotels had filled more than 80% of their beds. This rate is more specific to the summer months. And it would not even be possible to imagine this without lighting support on a weekend at the end of November in Vigo.

The city of Galicia leaves a clear example, but it is not the only city that has achieved this. Looks like he found a vein In Christmas lighting. Recently, the premiere of the lighting brought together thousands of people in Seville, Barcelona, ​​​​Madrid, Huesca, Toledo, Zaragoza, Malaga… There were big celebrations in all of them. And the list goes on with locations spread across the country.

If there was any doubt about the event’s weight on the advent calendar, the holidays are no longer just about pressing the red button without beating around the bush. This year they paid tribute to those affected by DANA in Valencia. And it is complete with shows and concerts to attract as many visitors as possible.

In Madrid, the countdown was accompanied by a circus show, a concert by Álvaro Luna and the participation of coach Luis de la Fuente. An urban dance, rap and pyrotechnic show was held in Barcelona, ​​among other events. There was Andy and Lucas’ concert in Seville, live music in Malaga… and the list goes on with shows spread across different cities.

The purpose is always the same and confirms that ignition has been fired. far from being a procedure. Why this distribution? The million dollar question (LEDs and the Euro).

The answer is the same that explains why Vigo signed a multi-year contract with a lighting company for 9.4 million euros, Madrid increased its million-dollar investment in lighting, Cádiz spent almost 17 euros per capita on decoration, or why cities exist. Like Badalona, ​​who immerse themselves in the ‘war of lights’ rhetoric: Christmas decorations are much more than a way to decorate cities and delight neighbours, businesses and businesses. hoteliers. It also became An effective hook for visitors.

Daily Vigo Lighthouse released a revealing figure this weekend. According to their calculations, Christmas has quadrupled the number of Portuguese tourists coming to the city in the last decade. This is just one of many figures showing that good Christmas lighting could be a way of encouraging trade, hotels and restaurants at a time of year that would be low season in some cities.

Caballero assured Fitur that Christmas would bring “three million visitors” to Vigo. Not necessarily all of them were tourists spending the night in the municipality, but the figure is surprising considering that the festival lasts less than two months, Vigo has not 300,000 inhabitants, and has a hotel park with fewer than 5,300 beds. . Caballero even likens Christmas to the Camino de Santiago in its ability to attract visitors.

The economic return to the city is estimated to be 750 million euros. And he’s not the only one interested in million-dollar figures. In Malaga, the City Council talked a few years ago about a comeback that, although not reaching Olympic figures, was just as striking. 35 million for bars and hotels.

Lights aren’t just for movement large human influxessometimes at the expense of mobility and city dwellers. This also allows them to strengthen their leisure offer for several weeks (in some cases almost months) in an effort that goes well beyond Christmas, leading them to seek other entertainment such as festivals or cultural and gastronomic festivals.

This phenomenon is interesting because of its numbers and how it managed to spread throughout the Spanish geography; But there is another factor that is equally important: the social context. And this is determined not only by the Christmas “war of lights”.

After a summer of increased foreign visitors and neighborhood mobilizations effects of mass tourism An intense debate has begun in the real estate market in Spain about whether there will be limits on housing. tourism. A reflection that in recent years has gone beyond the traditional destinations of the Mediterranean or the islands and reached the north.

Now the phenomenon looks set to spread beyond summer, reaching Christmas as cities introduce New Year’s Eve celebrations in markets as far away as Italy, Britain and the US.

Pictures | Vigo aspired to be crowned in the war for having the best Christmas, but he has a problem: Cádiz knocked him out

in Xataka | Seville City Council (X), Vigo City Council, Madrid City Council (X) and Malaga City Council