The ice-cream from Torre del Mar that went to Eurovision

Juanma Guerrero, the master ice-cream maker from Torre del Mar on the eastern Costa del Sol become the sole Spanish representative at the 2026 Eurovision Song Contest in Vienna, following the government’s veto on Spain’s official participation in the music contest final which took place on Saturday 16 May.

The Axarquía-based creator travelled to the Austrian capital to take part in the festival’s fringe events, offering free tastings of ‘Melody’, the artisan ice cream with which he won the European Gelato Day 2026 championship in March.

The initiative saw over 300 kilos of this ice cream being distributed to Eurovision fans in Vienna. Made with ricotta, orange and pistachio, the recipe was created specifically for the competition and was inspired by Eurovision. The flavour was created in the ice-cream parlour that Guerrero runs on Paseo de Larios in Torre del Mar, although for this event the ice creams were produced at the Ice Café in Vienna, owned by an Italian business located in the city centre.

The atmosphere in the Austrian capital surprised Guerrero, who spoke to SUR from Vienna on Saturday. He said he was "very happy with the experience", adding "What an atmosphere. Amazing. People from all over the world. A unique experience. It’s a shame about the rain. But I’m really happy. You couldn’t ask for a better setting."

The rain that fell during part of the event meant that some of the planned distribution had to be reorganised. The ice creams that could not be given out free of charge to the public will be delivered to various soup kitchens via Father Elías, the head of the Italian Minoritenkirche church, who was among those attending the tasting held near the festival.

Juanma Guerrero’s international success began in March, when he was crowned winner of Gelato Day 2026, considered the leading European championship for artisanal Italian ice cream. His creation, named ‘Melody’, was designed as a gastronomic composition inspired by music and European cultural unity represented by Eurovision.

The ice cream combines a creamy base of sheep’s milk ricotta with pistachio and a syrup made from fresh Mediterranean oranges. The jury highlighted both the harmony of flavours and the technical originality of a recipe that managed to beat master ice-cream makers from across Europe at the Sigep World international fair in Rimini, Italy.

“It’s an idea that began as a musical score, where each ingredient acts as a note that has to fit harmoniously,” Guerrero himself explained to SUR at the time. The accolade definitively cemented the international career of the Torre del Mar-based ice cream maker, who had previously been awarded the title of Cavaliere del Gelato and recognised as an ambassador for Italian ice cream worldwide.

The event also served as a major promotional showcase for Torre del Mar and the Axarquía. Over the past few days, Guerrero has emphasised the importance of artisanal products and gastronomy as a cultural and tourist attraction. “Ice cream isn’t just a dessert; it’s culture, technique and product,” he recently said to SUR.

The Vienna experience also comes at a particularly sweet time for Sicilia Gelati, the ice-cream parlour he runs in Torre del Mar, where he continues to expand his range of artisanal flavours and develop new culinary collaborations. Among his latest projects is an event in Alicante alongside Michelin-starred chef Rafa Soler to create ice creams inspired by haute cuisine.

With this participation in Vienna, Juanma Guerrero once again puts the Axarquía on the European gastronomic map. And he does so, paradoxically, during a Eurovision Song Contest marked by Spain’s official absence in protest at Israel’s military operations in Gaza and Iran, but in which an ice cream born in Torre del Mar has managed to become one of the festival’s stars.