Christmas Eve National Speech


The King's Christmas Speech, formally known as His Majesty The King's Christmas Message is a broadcast by the reigning King of Spain to Spanish people every Christmas Eve since 1975. The speech is aired on all Spanish TV channels.

Broadcast

The message typically combines a chronicle of that year's major events, with specific focus on politics, economy, culture and social affairs, and also the sovereign's own personal feelings on Christmas.
In Spain and on the Internet, the King's Christmas Speech is not broadcast until 21:00 on 24 December.

Recurrent topics

During his reign, King Juan Carlos I usually covered the main problems of the nation, such as ETA. In 2004, the speech was highly related to the 11 March 2004 Madrid train bombings; in 2006 the King discussed the need to become a united nation against terrorism and he mentioned the increasing force of immigrants in Spain and appreciated their contribution to the economy.

Special speeches

MonarchNumberDateTheme
Juan Carlos I1February 24, 19811981 Spanish coup d'état attempt
Juan Carlos I2March 11, 200411 March 2004 Madrid train bombings
Juan Carlos I3March 23, 2014Adolfo Suárez's death
Juan Carlos I4June 2, 2014Juan Carlos I's Abdication
Felipe VI1October 3, 20172017 Catalan independence referendum
Felipe VI2March 18, 2020COVID-19 pandemic in Spain

In popular culture