El Gordo winning numbers: Who won the world’s BIGGEST lottery today?

The El Gordo lottery, which translates as The Fat One, is giving away €2.4bn (£2.15bn) in prize money. The top prize is a winning ticket of €400,000 (£359,725.11). Earlier today, people dressed up in costumes, including bishops and clowns, as they waited for the numbers to be drawn. El Gordo is held every year on December 22 and is considered the biggest lottery in the world in terms of total prize money.

Who won the El Gordo lottery today? 

The number 03347 was drawn as the top prize winner, after the balls were called out three hours after the gala started.

The second winning numbers were 21015, followed by 04211, 42206 and 67774. 

However, the names of winners have not yet been revealed.

Individuals or groups of friends or colleagues buy the El Gordo lottery tickets, which cost 20 euros (£17.99) each, months in advance.

What is the El Gordo lottery? 

The Spanish lottery began in 1811 and has grown in popularity so much it is now the world’s biggest draw. 

The draw always take place just before Christmas and news outlets will prioritise stories showing people celebrating – as long as there is no other major disaster happening in the world. 

The draws can sometimes last up to six hours and the numbers are picked out by young boys and girls from the San Ildefonso school.

The school is the oldest in Madrid, as it was founded in the 16th century.

The number reveal starts at 9am and begins with two dome-shaped lottery machines spinning with numbered balls.

One of the golden domes contains the 100,000 numbers that have been put up for sale and the smaller one has 1,807 balls numbered with prizes.

There are 13 are big prizes overall, which range from €6,000 to €400,000 for El Gordo. 

The prizes are not massive but there are a lot of winners, as there are lots of different winning numbers.

People often share the same numbers with their neighbours or work colleagues.

This is to share the cost of the ticket or have a double celebration together if they win. 

Even if people do not manage to win any prizes, they are still congratulated.

This is because the whole point of the draw is about the taking part and having fun.