RTVE’s factual and documentary offering for MIPCOM Cannes 2026 explores two major expressions of Spanish identity on the international stage: football and language.
Leading the slate is Denominación de Origen (4 x 50’, 2026), a four-part documentary series offering unprecedented access to the Spanish national football team ahead of the 2026 World Cup.
Described as an intimate portrait of the squad, the series goes beyond sporting preparation to explore the personal stories of players including Lamine Yamal, Rodri Hernández, Nico Williams, Pedri González and Marc Cucurella. A total of 32 national-team players were interviewed exclusively for the production, alongside people from their closest personal circles.
The documentary follows a broader sporting journey beginning with the appointment of coach Luis de la Fuente and continuing through Spain’s victories in the 2023 UEFA Nations League and UEFA Euro 2024, before concluding with qualification for the 2026 World Cup. Beyond results and competition, the series is designed to reveal stories rarely seen by audiences and provide a closer look at the personalities representing Spain on football’s biggest stage.
RTVE is also presenting La Gran Aventura de la Lengua Española (8 x 50’, 2023), a factual series examining the extraordinary international growth of the Spanish language.
The programme looks at how Spanish has consolidated its place among the world’s major languages, supported both by the expansion of native-speaking populations and by the increasing number of people studying it as a second or third language. The series also examines Spanish’s growing role as a language of international communication and cultural exchange, positioning it alongside Chinese, Hindi and English among the major global languages.
Together, Denominación de Origen and La Gran Aventura de la Lengua Española give RTVE’s MIPCOM factual slate a distinctly international perspective, using sport and language to explore how Spanish culture and identity continue to travel far beyond national borders.
