Millions gather across Europe for rare total solar eclipse

By Aurax Radio | August 13, 2026 | 2 min read

Millions of people gathered across Spain, Iceland and other parts of Europe on Wednesday to witness a rare total solar eclipse, as the Moon moved directly between Earth and the Sun and briefly turned day into darkness. The event was particularly significant in Spain, where it marked the country's first total solar eclipse visible from the mainland in more than a century.

A large crowd watches the sky during the total solar eclipse

Spectators gather to watch the first total solar eclipse in more than a century.

The eclipse's path of totality crossed parts of Greenland, Iceland, the Atlantic Ocean, northern Spain and a small area of Portugal, while a partial eclipse was visible across much of Europe, including Britain, as well as parts of North Africa and North America. Totality lasted less than 2½ minutes at its longest point near Iceland and shortened to about a minute in parts of Spain, where the eclipse occurred shortly before sunset. In Britain, more than 90% of the Sun was obscured, producing noticeably darker skies even though the Moon did not completely cover the Sun.

Spain experienced a major influx of eclipse visitors, with authorities expecting at least 500,000 additional tourists along the path of totality. Officials established about 350 designated viewing sites and deployed more than 33,500 law enforcement officers as temperatures exceeded 35 degrees Celsius in many viewing areas and the country remained affected by wildfire risks. Hotels in popular viewing locations, including A Coruña, Bilbao and Santiago de Compostela, reported strong demand, while Iceland also saw a surge in visitors ahead of its first total eclipse visible from Reykjavík since 1433. In Spain, crowds used specially filtered eclipse glasses and gathered in cities, rural communities and open spaces to watch the Moon completely cover the Sun, an alignment that NASA said also produced a partial eclipse across much of Europe and parts of North America.

Sources: Associated Press, BBC, Space.com, NASA and Reuters.

Page updated

Google Sites

Report abuse