The Canary Islands, also known informally as the Canaries, are a Spanish autonomous community and archipelago in Macaronesia in the Atlantic Ocean. At their closest point to the African mainland, they are 100 kilometres west of Morocco. They are the southernmost of the autonomous communities of Spain. The islands have a population of 2.2 million people and are the most populous special territory of the European Union.
Gran Canaria, also Grand Canary Island, is the third-largest and second-most-populous island of the Canary Islands, an archipelago off the Atlantic coast of Northwest Africa which is part of Spain. As of 2019 the island had a population of 851,231 that constitutes approximately 40% of the population of the archipelago. Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, the capital of the island, is the biggest city of the Canary Islands and the ninth of Spain.
Lanzarote is a Spanish island, the easternmost of the Canary Islands in the Atlantic Ocean. It is located approximately 125 kilometres off the north coast of Africa and 1,000 kilometres from the Iberian Peninsula. Covering 845.94 square kilometres, Lanzarote is the fourth-largest of the islands in the archipelago. With 152,289 inhabitants at the start of 2019, it is the third most populous Canary Island, after Tenerife and Gran Canaria. Located in the centre-west of the island is Timanfaya National Park, one of its main attractions. The island was declared a biosphere reserve by UNESCO in 1993. The island's capital is Arrecife, which lies on the eastern coastline. It is the smaller main island of the Province of Las Palmas.
Gran Canaria Airport, sometimes also known as Gando Airport, is a passenger and freight airport on the island of Gran Canaria. It is an important airport within the Spanish air-transport network, as it holds the sixth position in terms of passengers, and fifth in terms of operations and cargo transported. It also ranks first of the Canary Islands in all three categories, although the island of Tenerife has higher passenger numbers overall if statistics from the two airports located on the island are combined.
A cabildo insular is the government and administration institution of each of the seven major islands in the Canary Islands archipelago: Tenerife, Fuerteventura, Gran Canaria, Lanzarote, La Palma, La Gomera and El Hierro. The island of La Graciosa falls under the jurisdiction of the cabildo of Lanzarote.
The "Himno de Canarias", also known as the "Arrorró" ("Lullaby"), is the official anthem of the Canary Islands, Spain. The song was composed by Teobaldo Power. It was adapted as the community's anthem and incorporated as such on 30 May 2003.
Airplay40 is a syndicated radio-based Top 40 chart show broadcast around the globe on English speaking radio stations. It is based on the UK Singles Chart format, and is derived from airplay from subscriber English-language radio stations across Europe and the Middle East. The programme is aimed at English expatriates and tourists visiting popular holiday destinations across Europe and the Middle East.
The conquest of the Canary Islands by the Crown of Castille took place between 1402 and 1496 and described as the first instance of European settler colonialism in Africa. It can be divided into two periods: the Conquista señorial, carried out by Castilian nobility in exchange for a covenant of allegiance to the crown, and the Conquista realenga, carried out by the Spanish crown itself, during the reign of the Catholic Monarchs.
Coast FM is an English language radio station based in Tenerife.
The 1995 Canarian regional election was held on Sunday, 28 May 1995, to elect the 4th Parliament of the Autonomous Community of the Canary Islands. All 60 seats in the Parliament were up for election. The election was held simultaneously with regional elections in twelve other autonomous communities and local elections all throughout Spain.
The 1999 Canarian regional election was held on Sunday, 13 June 1999, to elect the 5th Parliament of the Autonomous Community of the Canary Islands. All 60 seats in the Parliament were up for election. The election was held simultaneously with regional elections in twelve other autonomous communities and local elections all throughout Spain, as well as the 1999 European Parliament election.
The 2003 Canarian regional election was held on Sunday, 25 May 2003, to elect the 6th Parliament of the Autonomous Community of the Canary Islands. All 60 seats in the Parliament were up for election. The election was held simultaneously with regional elections in twelve other autonomous communities and local elections all throughout Spain.
The 2007 Canarian regional election was held on Sunday, 27 May 2007, to elect the 7th Parliament of the Autonomous Community of the Canary Islands. All 60 seats in the Parliament were up for election. The election was held simultaneously with regional elections in twelve other autonomous communities and local elections all throughout Spain.
As in the rest of Spain, the majority religion in the Canary Islands is the Catholic Church. The Catholic religion has been the majority since the Conquest of the Canary Islands in the fifteenth century. This religion would largely replace the Canarian aboriginal religion through the prohibition of the latter and syncretism. According to a survey conducted in 2019, Canary Islands is the fifth autonomous community in Spain with the highest percentage of people who declare themselves to be Catholics after the Region of Murcia, Extremadura, Galicia, Aragon, and Castile and León. 76.7% of the population is Catholic.
Inés Peraza de las Casas was the territorial lady of the Canary Islands, which she inherited from her father Hernán Peraza the Elder and her late brother Guillén Peraza.
The 1995 Canarian Island Cabildo elections were held on Sunday, 28 May 1995, to elect the 5th Island Cabildos of El Hierro, Fuerteventura, Gran Canaria, La Gomera, La Palma, Lanzarote and Tenerife. All 139 seats in the seven Island Cabildos were up for election.
Tropical Storm Hermine was a short-lived tropical cyclone that formed in the far eastern tropical Atlantic Ocean and brought record-breaking rains to the Canary Islands in September 2022. Hermine originated from a tropical wave first noted over West Africa on September 20. After emerging over the far eastern Atlantic Ocean, the system organized into a tropical depression on September 23. It soon became the eighth tropical storm of the 2022 Atlantic hurricane season as it progressed north. Increasing wind shear created a hostile environment for the cyclone and it failed to intensify beyond minimal tropical storm intensity as its convection was stripped far to the northeast. By September 24, Hermine's structure had sufficiently degraded to mark its degeneration into a remnant low. The residual system persisted for another two days before it was last noted over open ocean.
