{"id":137810,"date":"2025-09-15T00:52:13","date_gmt":"2025-09-15T00:52:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/137810\/"},"modified":"2025-09-15T00:52:13","modified_gmt":"2025-09-15T00:52:13","slug":"vuelta-a-espana-cancelled-as-pro-palestinian-protests-engulf-madrid","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/137810\/","title":{"rendered":"Vuelta a Espa\u00f1a cancelled as pro-Palestinian protests engulf Madrid"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Vuelta a Espa\u00f1a, Spain\u2019s most important cycling race, was cancelled as it reached its climax on Sunday when thousands of pro-Palestinian demonstrators invaded the finish point in central Madrid during clashes with police.<\/p>\n

Earlier Pedro S\u00e1nchez, the Spanish prime minister, said the protests which have taken place in every city through which the Vuelta has passed filled him with \u201cpride\u201d, as Spain\u2019s relations with Israel reached a new low.<\/p>\n

Organisers decided they had no choice but to call off the grand finale as the capital was filled with Palestinian flag-waving demonstrators, some of whom broke through security cordons to occupy the capital\u2019s landmark streets in order to prevent competitors from reaching the finish line.<\/p>\n

\"Police<\/p>\n

Police clash with pro-Palestinians protesters near Madrid\u2019s Cibeles Fountain<\/p>\n

THOMAS COEX\/GETTY IMAGES<\/p>\n

\"Pro-Palestinian<\/p>\n

OSCAR DEL POZO\/GETTY IMAGES<\/p>\n

More than 1,500 police officers were deployed in the Spanish capital\u2019s biggest security operation since the 2022 Nato summit, as demonstrators protested over the participation of an Israeli cycle team<\/a> in the Vuelta a Espa\u00f1a.<\/p>\n

On Gran Via, where cyclists were due to pass multiple times, protesters knocked down barriers and marched into the road, some chanting for a boycott of Israel as green and red smoke filled the air.<\/p>\n

Near Atocha, Madrid\u2019s central train station, police charged demonstrators and fired tear gas, before letting them walk into the road.<\/p>\n

Riders, about 56km from the finish line, came to a halt before the Vuelta was abandoned.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

A commissioner informs the overall leader, Danish rider Jonas Vingegaard, left, of Visma team, and the rest of the riders about the cancellation of the Vuelta<\/p>\n

JAVIER LIZON\/EPA<\/p>\n

\"Jonas<\/p>\n

Vingegaard at a standstill due to the pro-Palestinian protests<\/p>\n

DARIO BELINGHERI\/GETTY IMAGES<\/p>\n

Tension between the socialist-led government and Israel has escalated after S\u00e1nchez\u2019s repeated calls to stop the \u201cgenocide\u201d in Gaza.<\/p>\n

Last week while announcing another arms embargo<\/a> and the recall of Spain\u2019s ambassador, S\u00e1nchez said: \u201cSpain, as you know, doesn\u2019t have nuclear bombs, nor aircraft carriers, nor large oil reserves. We alone can\u2019t stop the Israeli offensive. But that doesn\u2019t mean we won\u2019t stop trying. Because there are causes worth fighting for, even if winning them isn\u2019t in our sole power.\u201d<\/p>\n

Binyamin Netanyahu, Israel\u2019s prime minister, responded by calling the remark \u201cirresponsible and inflammatory\u201d and \u201ca blatant genocidal threat\u201d against Israel.<\/p>\n

\"Pro-Palestinian<\/p>\n

Protesters facing off with police in Madrid<\/p>\n

OSCAR DEL POZO\/GETTY IMAGES<\/p>\n

The diplomatic rift deepened on Sunday, before the last leg of the Vuelta commenced, when S\u00e1nchez told a socialist rally: \u201cSpain today shines as an example and as a source of pride, an example to an international community where it sees Spain taking a step forward in the defence of human rights.\u201d<\/p>\n

Alberto N\u00fa\u00f1ez Feij\u00f3o, the leader of the conservative opposition People\u2019s Party, lashed out on X at the protest, which he said \u201cgave such a shameful image\u201d. \u201cInstead of ministers encouraging it, the government should condemn, denounce and prevent it,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

Feij\u00f3o blamed the country\u2019s left-wing government for an \u201cinternational embarrassment\u201d, adding: \u201cThe government has allowed and induced the non-completion of the Vuelta and, in this way, an international embarrassment televised worldwide.\u201d<\/p>\n

Barriers lined the race route to the finishing line along the Paseo de la Castellana, while helicopters patrolled overhead to deter disruption.<\/p>\n

Earlier stages in the tour had to be shortened<\/a> after protests blocked the course in several cities. Left-wing politicians called on supporters to join the demonstrations. M\u00f3nica Garc\u00eda, the health minister, urged a \u201cmassive and peaceful\u201d protest, asking the public to express \u201crejection of genocide\u201d in Gaza.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Vuelta a Espa\u00f1a, Spain\u2019s most important cycling race, was cancelled as it reached its climax on Sunday…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":137811,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[4985,101,56,54,55],"class_list":{"0":"post-137810","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-cycling","8":"tag-cycling","9":"tag-sports","10":"tag-uk","11":"tag-united-kingdom","12":"tag-unitedkingdom"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/137810","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=137810"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/137810\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/137811"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=137810"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=137810"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=137810"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}