The Ministry of Culture makes the decision to eliminate the award
The Ministry of Culture has decided to eliminate bullfighting from the catalog of national awards given annually. This measure has been taken by the department directed by Ernest Urtasun, from Sumar, who has confirmed that the call for entries will not be made for this year and the procedures will begin for the definitive exclusion of the bulls from these awards.
Creation and financial allocation of the prize
The national bullfighting award was created in 2011 to complement the existing awards in Fine Arts, Theatre, Music and other artistic disciplines. A financial award of 30,000 euros was established, which is 10,000 euros more than the national Literature awards.
History of the award and its completion
The national bullfighting awards were awarded for the first time in 2013 and for a decade have recognized the extraordinary merits of bullfighting professionals in all its manifestations. However, the prize awarded in 2023 to the bullfighter Julián López ‘El Juli’ will be the last.
Exclusion of bullfighting from the list of national awards
The Ministry of Culture, which is currently carrying out the calls for the thirty national awards that are awarded each year, has decided to exclude bullfighting from this list. In addition, a public consultation will be launched to gather opinions and subsequently a ministerial order will be issued regulating the national awards.
Reasons for the decision
Sources from the Ministry of Culture point out that this decision reflects the assessments and feelings of society, which is increasingly showing greater concern for animal welfare. Furthermore, they indicate that attendance at bullfighting shows is only 1.9% of the population, according to data from the 2021-2022 period.
Critical stance of the Ministry of Culture towards bullfighting
Both the Urtasun department and the minister himself have shown a critical stance towards bullfighting in recent months. During a debate in the Senate, Urtasun defended that there is a majority of Spaniards with increasing sensitivity to animal rights and who do not share animal abuse. Furthermore, in 2023, Urtasun decided not to award any Medal of Fine Arts to people linked to the bullfighting sector.
Decrease in bullfighting in recent years
Bullfighting has experienced a decline in the last two decades, despite the efforts of administrations to promote it with public financing. In 2007, 3,651 bullfighting celebrations were held in Spain, while in 2022 this figure was reduced to 1,546. Of these, only 412 were bullfights, and the rest were rejoneos, bullfights or other celebrations.
