Europe’s eclipse draws crowds
In the United Kingdom, millions of Britons watched as the moon obscured more than 90 per cent of the sun, with crowds gathering at the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, London, and Calton Hill, Edinburgh, as the world grew darker.
In Spain, Reuters described spectators rising to their feet in unison as the eclipse plunged the north of the country into darkness, with Baily’s beads glistening on the horizon just after 8:30 p.m. (1830 GMT) for barely a minute.
The same Reuters report said Spain deployed a massive police contingent and set up special viewing spots across rural areas under the eclipse’s path, while in Iceland the darkness of totality was still evident even though central Reykjavik was hidden behind clouds.
Tourism boom and safety
Tourism demand surged around the eclipse, with The i Paper saying demand for hotel rooms along the path of totality soared in recent weeks as many tourists flooded to ideal viewpoints in Spain.
Reuters reported Spain was expecting up to 6 million visitors in mostly rural areas under the eclipse’s path across the north of Spain and the Balearic Islands, while also describing a large-scale police operation and public safety campaign to prevent crowds from setting off wildfires.
In the United Kingdom, The Independent said the Royal Greenwich Observatory sold 15,000 pairs of eclipse glasses a month and that shops, national parks and the Royal Greenwich Observatory all sold out of the special glasses.
The Independent also quoted Veronica Orozco in Greenwich Park saying, “I am sitting here with my neighbours and we have been telling each other ‘Happy Eclipse Day’,” as she watched the eclipse.
Power-grid planning for eclipse
Business Insider España quoted a NESO spokesperson saying, “The notice has been issued as a precautionary market measure due to the solar eclipse, and there is no risk to customers’ electricity supply,” while describing how the eclipse would block sunlight during Europe’s current heatwave.
In Spain, Reuters said the event was a chance to showcase less-travelled regions and draw tourists from overcrowded beach resorts, but it also noted the eclipse took place in a high-risk period for wildfires with emergency crews fighting fires on Wednesday.
The HuffPost reported that The Guardian warned that “the merciless heat and the lack of rain have created the ideal conditions for wildfires that have devastated large swaths of Spain in recent weeks,” and it added that the police estimate about 1.5 million additional car journeys would be made on Wednesday.