The Spanish Academy of Bullfighting has announced an ambitious project to construct a monumental bull statue over 300 meters tall, which would surpass the Eiffel Tower in height. The project, called "El Toro de España" (The Bull of Spain), aims to create a national icon that could help Spain overtake France as the world's most visited tourist destination.
According to the World Tourism Organization, France currently leads global tourism with 90 million visitors annually, while Spain holds second place with 85 million. The Spanish Academy of Bullfighting argues that Spain has all the elements needed to be the top tourist destination: pleasant climate, excellent cuisine, rich culture, magnificent mountain landscapes, beaches, and famous festivals. However, they believe the country lacks one crucial element that France possesses.
The academy contends that Spain's main disadvantage is the absence of an emblematic national monument. The Eiffel Tower, one of the world's most frequently visited historic sites, attracted 6.3 million people in 2024 and generates approximately 100 million euros annually. The tower alone evokes French identity and serves as a symbol of the entire country.
"Spain could be at the top of the international tourism rankings, forever surpassing France, if all Spaniards, with the support of public authorities, firmly believe in the construction of our long-awaited icon, so that, finally, the Eiffel Tower ceases to be the most visited monument in the world," the Academy declared when announcing the El Toro de España project.
The academy emphasizes the importance of iconic monuments in international tourism marketing. They note that the Eiffel Tower is commonly used to evoke travel to Europe, just as the Statue of Liberty represents North America, the Pyramid of the Sun represents Central America, Machu Picchu represents South America, the Egyptian Pyramids represent Africa, the Great Wall of China represents Asia, and the Easter Island statues represent Oceania. The goal would be to dazzle Spanish visitors with El Toro so much that they would forget the Parisian tower and prefer this new emblem to commemorate their European travels.
The ambitious project faces significant practical challenges, requiring acceptance by a Spanish municipality before it can become reality. The statue would take the form of a metal bull erected at over 300 meters high, representing an engineering feat never before achieved, and would require a sufficiently vast site to accommodate it. Jorge Alvarez, president and founder of the Spanish Academy of Bullfighting, expressed his vision on Radio España, stating that El Toro would need a city with high tourist traffic to guarantee its economic viability and promote commercial growth and job creation throughout the area.
The choice of a bull as Spain's cultural standard-bearer stems from the academy's defense of bullfighting, a practice they have championed since their establishment in 2023. According to the organization, this ancestral practice is rooted in the country's history and even enjoys cultural heritage status thanks to a law enacted in 2013. "Spain does not possess a major material icon to represent it," Jorge Alvarez emphasizes. "So what could be better than the bull? All tourists bring home a bull statue when they come to Spain. The National Festival is known worldwide, even in Hollywood, and great international artists have performed in our arenas. Even the Beatles, during their time in Spain, performed at Las Ventas in Madrid and at the Monumental in Barcelona. Whether we like it or not, the bull represents us, especially abroad."
The proposed structure would offer additional attractions beyond its symbolic value. The animal's horns would provide an exceptional panoramic view for visitors who ascend to them. The structure would create numerous jobs, businesses, and dining establishments around the area, all without drawing from state coffers since the project would be financed by private investors.
However, the project faces significant opposition from bullfighting critics, who represent 77% of Spanish citizens. Art critic Fernando Castro Florez expressed strong disapproval in an interview with Le Figaro about El Toro, calling it "a case of colossal idiocy, in the classic definition of the idiot as one who believes himself alone in the world." He sarcastically suggested that "if we really want to create a tourist icon, we might as well erect a giant paella pan or a monumental sangria carafe."
So far, El Toro has been rejected by Madrid without stated reasons. The Spanish Academy of Bullfighting is now working to attract other municipalities to carry out this colossal project, targeting cities of various sizes, including small towns with populations of just 10,000 inhabitants, according to reports from Le Point magazine. The academy continues its efforts to find a suitable location for what they hope will become Spain's answer to the Eiffel Tower and a new symbol for European tourism.
