At midnight on 31 December Spaniards eat twelve grapes, one on each stroke of the clock on the Casa de Correos in the Puerta del Sol, which is broadcast live and watched by most of the country. Failing to finish is held to cost you the year's luck; the grapes are sold peeled and de-seeded in tins for exactly this reason.
The custom is usually traced to 1909, when Alicante growers had a surplus, though the practice is a little older.
No attendance figure is published for the square, which is access-controlled.
The square is closed off and admission is from early evening through police checkpoints, with no glass and no alcohol permitted. A rehearsal is held on 30 December — the preuvas — with the full bell sequence, which is a far more comfortable way to see it.
PlanningFixed at midnight on 31 December; the square is closed and controlled, with entry from early evening.