Spain’s Melody comes third last at Eurovision, Spanish police continue to expel foreign criminals, proposal to ban kids from bullfighting and more news on Monday May 19th.
Spain’s Melody comes third last at Eurovision
Spain had another poor performance at the 2025 Eurovision contest in Basel (Swtizeland) on Saturday, coming third last in 24th position.
Melody’s song “Esa Diva” didn’t convince the juries or televoters, with just 37 points in total.
But it was perhaps Spain’s outspokenness about Israel’s participation in Eurovision – especially on the part of public broadcaster RTVE – that has made more headlines at home, given that many feel this had an impact on the number of votes Spain received.
READ MORE: Spanish TV defies Eurovision organisers to air support message for Palestine
Austria’s JJ won the contest with his operatic song “Wasted Love” triumphing at the world’s biggest live music television event.
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Political party wants to ban kids from going to bullfighting spectacles
Left-wing Más Madrid has proposed a new law which would prevent people under the age of 18 from being allowed into bullrings to watch bullfighting and similar bull-themed activities.
Citing the “explicit violence” of the bullfighting world and the “growing social awareness” regarding violence against both children and animals, Más Madrid’s argued that most of Spanish society is now against bullfighting and called for a “stop to torturing animals with or without public money”.
Study finds foreign workers responsible for Spain’s economic growth
A study by the European Central Bank (ECB) has found that 80 percent of Spain’s economic growth over the past five years can be explained due to the increase in foreign workers.
Spain’s economy has been lauded by The Financial Times and other publications as the biggest growing in the eurozone.
“In Spain, the influx of immigrants has contributed significantly to economic growth, complementing the positive but modest contribution of the national working-age population,” the ECB document tackling the issue of Europe’s ageing population explains.
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Spain continues to expel foreign criminals
Spain’s National Police have expelled 13 reoffending criminals from the country, all of whom had numerous prior convictions related to robbery with violence and other types of theft.
They were active primarily in Catalonia and according to reports will be repatriated to two different countries.
Despite a more lenient approach to migration on Spain’ part than the trend in Europe recently – a measure which has brought great economic benefits – there are an increasing number of reports suggesting the country is getting tougher on foreigners who come to Spain to commit crimes.
In 2024, 3,301 foreigners were expelled from the country for reasons of national security.
