Cesar Gonzalez, an astronomer and science spokesperson at Madrid's Planetarium, said the event will be extraordinary. "A total solar eclipse is one of the most spectacular sights that nature can offer," he said according to The Guardian.
Officials estimate that up to 6 million people may travel on Wednesday to the eclipse path, which extends approximately 200 kilometres from La Coruña in north-west Spain to the island of Mallorca in the Mediterranean Sea. A small area of Portugal as well as parts of Greenland and Iceland will also experience this rare total eclipse.
Spain is expected to offer some of the best eclipse views on mainland Europe. Gonzalez explained that the region where a total eclipse can be observed is very narrow, and although the phenomenon will be visible in parts of Greenland and Iceland, weather conditions there are far worse for observation. "Therefore, Spain is the only country in the world where a total eclipse can be observed under good conditions," he said.
Around 460,000 people have directed their travel to Spain to follow this celestial event, whilst hotels report receiving bookings months in advance from distant regions such as Japan and the United States. More than 300,000 of them are expected to head to towns and villages across rural Spain to find the best locations to observe the phenomenon, which will last no more than two minutes as the moon covers the sun and projects its shadow onto the earth.
Officials throughout Spain have been preparing for the event for some time, with an anticipated 1.5 million additional vehicle journeys. Facing warnings of temperatures reaching 40 degrees Celsius and the risk of forest fires, authorities have deployed more than 24,000 police officers.
