For the first time since the Covid pandemic began, crowds thronged the streets of Seville as one of Spain’s most famous Easter processions wound its way through the city after midnight, free of social distancing curbs.

       Known as La Madruga (the dawn), the procession features people dressed as penitents wearing pointed black hoods and carrying a float of the Virgin of Hope of Macarena from the city’s cathedral.

       “We were waiting for the pandemic issues to be over to come to these types of events. Of course La Macarena is the most marvellous thing there is,” said Ignacio Suarez, 70, a truck driver, after the procession ended.

       The float featuring Our Lady of Macarena inside the cathedral before the procession

       (EPA)

       Tens of thousands of people usually attend the city’s parades, which take place throughout Holy Week, to watch centuries-old brotherhoods of the faithful carry effigies of Christ or the Virgin Mary laden with candles and flowers. But all of Spain’s traditional Easter processions have been cancelled since 2020 because of the pandemic.

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       The float is carried through the Triana neighbourhood of Seville early on Good Friday

       (EPA)

       The country imposed one of the world’s strictest lockdowns at the start of the pandemic, but most curbs have been gradually withdrawn after Covid infection levels receded following a comprehensive vaccination programme.

       Reuters