Finnish communities on the Costa del Sol are planning to celebrate Midsummer with familiar customs despite distance from home. Many residents in Fuengirola (aka ‘Little Finland’) and nearby towns are preparing for Juhannus Eve on June 19 and the holiday on June 20, just like the Spanish, and welcoming the longest days of the year. Warm conditions promise ideal settings for outdoor gatherings, beach bonfires and plenty of revelry.

Customs cross borders

Festivalgoers will be lighting bonfires near beaches or villas and enjoy saunas followed by swims in the Mediterranean. Tables will feature new potatoes, grilled sausages, herring, and fresh strawberries. Finnish flags will fly from evening on Midsummer Eve until the next day. These rituals connect expats to roots while they enjoy longer daylight hours and milder nights than in northern latitudes. No doubt, Hook in Fuengirola will be packed out.

Fuengirola serves as focal point

Local Finnish associations and businesses are organising events that draw crowds from the established community of thousands. Gatherings include folk music, dancing, and shared meals in parks or private spaces. Families and friends, some who have flown back to Finland especially and others who have come to Spain for the celebration, recreate cottage experiences with barbecues and games under clear skies. Numbers are due to swell as seasonal visitors join permanent residents for the weekend.

Practical celebrations meet Spanish setting

Road traffic in Finland remains busy with people heading to country cottages for family get-togethers, yet those in Spain face no such rush. Police monitor safety at popular spots. Expats appreciate how Spanish culture supports relaxed cultural festivities. Many say it contrasts with Finnish weather patterns while preserving core elements of the solstice holiday. That said, just like Southern Spain is expecting a heatwave, Finland too is forecast to reach 25ºC, the hottest so far in 2026.

Organisers encourage participation through social channels. Events encourage social connections among generations and help maintain cultural identity far from Finland. This year’s timing aligns perfectly with peak summer energy on the coast. Celebrations go to show how culturally similar we all are and how different traditions adapt without losing essence across borders.

The longest day of the year arrives this Sunday as astronomical summer officially begins in Spain at 9.24am. But this year’s season is about far more than late sunsets and beach weather. A solar eclipse visible from parts of Spain, the return of the Perseid meteor shower and three full moons are all set to light up the skies over the coming months.

For many people, summer starts when the schools close, the suitcases come out and the first trip to the beach appears on the calendar.

Astronomically speaking, it starts on Sunday morning. At exactly 9.24am Spanish mainland time on June 21, the summer solstice will take place, marking the official start of the season in the Northern Hemisphere.

Most of us won’t notice the precise moment it happens. What we will notice is the amount of daylight.

Sunday brings the longest day of the year, the point when the Sun spends more time above the horizon than on any other date on the calendar.

In Madrid, there will be just over 15 hours of daylight. Compare that with the depths of winter, when daylight drops below ten hours, and it becomes easy to understand why summer evenings in Spain seem to last forever.

The season itself will continue until September 23, giving Spain more than three months of late sunsets, warm nights and plenty of opportunities to spend time outdoors.

And if you enjoy looking at the sky, this summer has a little more to offer than usual.

A solar eclipse will be visible from parts of Spain

The event attracting the most attention is undoubtedly the solar eclipse scheduled for August 12. Eclipses always generate excitement because they remain one of the few astronomical events that people actively plan to watch.

On that afternoon, the Moon will pass between Earth and the Sun.

The path of totality will cross parts of Greenland, Iceland, the Arctic and the North Atlantic.

Spain won’t experience a total eclipse, but parts of the country are expected to see the phenomenon shortly before sunset.

For many people, it may be the first solar eclipse they have ever witnessed.

Astronomers are already encouraging skywatchers to prepare well in advance and to use proper eye protection when observing the Sun.

The timing is likely to make the event even more attractive, with the eclipse occurring as the Sun sits low in the sky.

The Perseids are back

If eclipses require planning, meteor showers are often much simpler.

Find a dark spot, look up and wait. That is largely why the Perseids remain one of the most popular astronomical events every year.

Around August 13, the meteor shower is expected to reach its peak. Under favourable conditions, observers may see dozens of shooting stars each hour.

For many families holidaying in rural Spain, the Perseids have become a summer tradition.

People head to beaches, mountains or countryside viewpoints after dark and simply watch the sky.

The Delta Aquariids will arrive first, reaching peak activity around July 31.

They may not receive the same attention as the Perseids, but they can still produce impressive displays for those lucky enough to be away from city lights.

Three full moons and some of the clearest skies of the year

Summer also happens to be one of the easiest times of year to enjoy stargazing.

Warm nights encourage people to stay outdoors longer and holidaymakers often find themselves far away from the bright lights of large cities.

This year will feature full moons on June 29, July 29 and August 28.

Meanwhile, keen observers will be able to spot some of the best known sights in the night sky.

The Summer Triangle, formed by the stars Vega, Deneb and Altair, will dominate many evenings.

The constellations Scorpius and Sagittarius will also be visible, pointing roughly towards the centre of our galaxy.

In locations with very little light pollution, the Milky Way can often be seen stretching across the sky as a pale band of light.

There is also an interesting astronomical curiosity arriving on July 6. That is when Earth reaches aphelion, the point in its orbit furthest from the Sun.

At that moment, our planet will be more than 152 million kilometres away from it.

The fact often surprises people because it happens during summer rather than winter. The seasons are controlled by the tilt of Earth’s axis, not how close we are to the Sun.

For most people, however, the science is probably not the main attraction.

What matters is that the season beginning this weekend comes with longer days, warmer nights and a sky that will have plenty to offer for anyone willing to take a moment to look up.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has, for the first time, suggested he could bring forward a general election if his government fails to secure parliamentary approval for the 2027 State Budget. The comments come after months of insisting that the legislature would run until 2027 regardless of whether a Budget was approved.

Speaking in Brussels on June 18, Sánchez linked the future of the legislature to the success of the 2027 budget process, although he stressed that any election would still take place in 2027 rather than this year.

A change from Sánchez’s previous position

For months, Sánchez had maintained that the government would continue governing even if it failed to secure parliamentary backing for a budget.

Spain is currently operating under extended budgets after the government was unable to approve new spending plans in recent years. Under Spanish law, existing budgets can remain in force if a replacement fails to pass Parliament, allowing the government to continue functioning without immediately triggering an election.

Until now, Sánchez had argued that extending existing budgets was a viable option and did not justify dissolving Parliament. His latest remarks suggest that position may be changing if support for the 2027 accounts cannot be secured.

Why the Budget matters

Passing a State Budget is one of the most important tests for any government because it determines public spending priorities, taxation plans and investment commitments.

For Sánchez, securing approval is difficult because his minority government depends on support from a range of regional and smaller political parties to pass legislation. Negotiations often require agreements between groups with differing political priorities, making budget votes especially challenging.

The government recently announced that work on the 2027 General State Budget is beginning, with Sánchez publicly committing to presenting new accounts to Parliament. Approval remains uncertain given the fragmented political landscape in Madrid.

Could Spain really face an early election?

At this stage, no election has been called and Sánchez has not confirmed that one will happen.

Instead, he has indicated that the outcome of the budget process could influence future decisions. If Parliament rejects the government’s spending plans and negotiations fail to produce an alternative agreement, pressure could grow on the Prime Minister to seek a fresh mandate from voters.

Spain has seen a similar situation before. In 2019, Sánchez called an early general election after his government’s budget was voted down in Parliament, arguing that voters should decide the country’s political direction.

While the Prime Minister stopped short of announcing any concrete plans, he has now publicly acknowledged a scenario that he had previously dismissed.

What it means for Spain

Any move towards an early election would shift Spain into a pre-election period, with political parties focusing on campaigning and negotiations rather than new legislative activity.

However, uncertainty over the Budget could affect decisions on public spending, infrastructure projects, taxation and investment programmes. Businesses, local authorities and public services often rely on clarity over government spending plans when preparing for future years.

For foreign residents and British expats living in Spain, any election campaign would likely bring renewed debate around housing, healthcare, taxation, tourism and regional investment.

What happens next?

The government’s next challenge will be securing enough parliamentary support to pass the 2027 Budget.

Negotiations are expected to continue over the coming months as Sánchez seeks backing from the parties needed to secure a majority. If the Budget is approved, the government is likely to continue towards the scheduled end of the legislature in 2027.

If it fails, the possibility of an early election is now on the table for the first time since the current legislature began.