A single photograph has been enough to revolutionize Galicia. Greta Thunberg, the world’s most influential climate activist, was captured this Tuesday traveling on a Renfe train bound for Vigo. The passenger who posted the image wrote: “Now, on the train from Compostela to Vigo, I have a Nordic girl right in front of me…”. Within minutes, the networks were ablaze. And in a matter of hours, theories for all tastes emerged.
According to Efe news agency and several local media, Thunberg was accompanied by another young foreigner and explained that her final destination was Portugal, although she avoided specifying whether she would participate in any protest action in the country.
A trip that coincides with several international forums in Galicia
The timing has further fueled the conjecture. Thunberg’s presence in Galicia comes just during the celebration of the Vigo Global Summit 2025, which takes place this Wednesday and Thursday in the city of Oviedo.
An event of international stature featuring figures such as Nobel laureate Daron Acemoglu, as well as business and political leaders debating sustainability, digitization and global challenges.
Agora, no tren de Compostela a Vigo, teño xusto enfronte a unha rapaciña nórdica… pic.twitter.com/u9GvgdTDYB
– Xavier García 随 风 (@javihagen) November 11, 2025
To this was added another hypothesis: the activist could go to Baiona, where the Blue Atlantic Forum is being held, focused on the blue economy and the sustainable future of sectors linked to the sea, a crucial area for Galicia.
The most viral theories point to Abel Caballero
But the most widely shared conjectures, and also the most ironic, placed Greta Thunberg in Vigo with a very different purpose: to protest against the traditional Christmas lights switch-on that Mayor Abel Caballero will carry out this Saturday.
Vigo’s Christmas switch-on has become a media spectacle that attracts thousands of people every year. And, at the same time, in a regular focus of debates on energy consumption. The idea of Thunberg standing up in the city to criticize it has spread like wildfire among jokes, memes and comments on networks.
A presence shrouded in secrecy
So far, none of these theories has been confirmed as the real reason for his visit to Galicia. Thunberg continues to keep a reserved profile about his agenda, as he has been doing for years.
Her presence has once again aroused considerable media interest, especially considering that, in recent months, the activist has participated in various climate protests and has been arrested on several occasions, most recently in an action linked to the Global Sumud Flotilla.
The truth is that, beyond the commotion, Thunberg has continued his route to Portugal without clarifying the reason for his visit. But his brief appearance in Galicia has been enough to revive the debate on climate activism, the major sustainability events hosted by the community and, of course, the always mediatic Christmas lighting in Vigo.
