The total eclipse plunged a vast swathe of Spain from broad daylight into darkness Wednesday, drawing awed gasps and applause from spectators gathered in parks and cities across the country.
As impressive as it was fleeting — barely two minutes at most — the extremely rare astronomical event delighted Spaniards and tourists alike across a band of territory stretching from Galicia to the Mediterranean coast and the Balearic Islands.
As the light slowly faded in Tarragona, on the Mediterranean coast, a crowd looked on in almost reverent silence as the orange, late-afternoon glow gave way to almost complete darkness.
“It’s crazy!” uttered a woman as the crowd beside her suddenly burst into enthusiastic applause.
Many had travelled from across Catalonia to witness the spectacle, swept up in the fervour that gripped Spain in recent days with the approach of the eclipse, the first of its kind in the country in over a century.
The Baily’s beads effect appears as the Sun begins to emerge from behind the Moon following totality of the solar eclipse as seen from Buspol in northern Spain, on August 12, 2026. (Photo by Paul Hanna / AFP)
“Very exciting,” said Laura Alarcon, 53, an accountant from Tarragona.
“I wasn’t expecting that. I thought it wasn’t going to be as good. But the atmosphere, the situation, the way they prepared everything. I loved it!” she said. “And the glasses work too!”
Nearby, Alejandro Cuesta, a 30-year-old nanoscience researcher who had travelled from Barcelona with his mother, struggled to contain his emotions.
“I almost started crying. A shiver ran through my whole body. It was beautiful,” he said.
People react as they observe the total solar eclipse from the sea port of Tarragona, northeastern Spain, on August 12, 2026. (Photo by Josep LAGO / AFP)
About 500 kilometres (310 miles) to the west, the town of Lodoso was likewise swept up in the collective excitement.
Cheers rang out as hundreds of people gathered in a heat-scorched field looked skyward as darkness fell.
But as the Moon completely covered the Sun, the cheers gave way to a spellbound silence as spectators fixed their eyes on the solar corona.
“I got goosebumps. I wasn’t expecting that light,” said Marta Miguel Tobrar, a 48-year-old illustrator visiting with her family from nearby Burgos.
The Moon uncovers the Sun behind Torrespaña TV tower, nicknamed “El Piruli”, in the last moments of the solar eclipse in Madrid. (Photo by JAVIER SORIANO / AFP)
Some had waited all afternoon in sweltering heat beneath the scant shade of umbrellas, while others, the best prepared, had set up their telescopes.
On site, instructions were posted in several languages — French, Korean, Polish, German, English — to help the crowd get organised.
Some people aboard a boat get ready to observe the total solar eclipse at La Albufera coastal lagoon in Valencia, on August 12, 2026. (Photo by JOSE JORDAN / AFP)
At the start of the partial eclipse, when the Moon began to cover the Sun at around 17:30 GMT, some people shouted “Wow!” eager to see what would unfold.
A group of South Korean tourists burst into enthusiastic applause.
It was a moving atmosphere, immortalised by the countless phones raised to capture photos and videos of that precise instant.
‘A Unique Moment’
In the seaside resort of Palma de Majorca in the Balearic Islands, tourists, many in swimsuits, some standing in the water, watched the eclipse closely, protective glasses perched on noses.
Elsewhere in Spain, the same fervour could be seen almost everywhere shadowed by the eclipse, such as the town of Colmenar Viejo, near Madrid.
“Spectacular, very beautiful, really, a unique moment,” said Rosa María Zamora, a 72-year-old retiree who had come from Madrid.
A girl observes the total solar eclipse as seen from the sea port of Tarragona, east of Spain,, on August 12, 2026. (Photo by Josep LAGO / AFP)
“It’s not very good for your eyes to look for so long, but it was amazing. Very beautiful!” she said.
Earlier, from the first minutes of the partial eclipse, a group of young boys cried out: “It’s starting! It’s starting!”
“How wonderful,” exclaimed a woman in the crowd.
NASA composite image shows the progression of a total solar eclipse over San Millán de los Caballeros, Spain, on, August 12, 2026. Photo by Bill INGALLS / NASA / AFP)
In Madrid, the eclipse was not total but reached more than 99 percent coverage of the sun, plunging the Spanish capital into near-total darkness for a few moments.
In the park of the Temple of Amun, near the centre, hundreds of onlookers had gathered despite the stifling August heat.
The same scenes of excitement played out on Barcelona’s iconic Montjuic hill, where hundreds of people had arranged to meet to enjoy the event.
By tomorrow, in communion with millions of others, they will be able to say: “I saw it!”
