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Barça shirt on Columbus statue sparks protest

Barcelona’s emblematic Christopher Columbus statue has been dressed in a giant replica of Barça's new home jersey, making tempers flare among city rivals Espanyol and local politicians who consider the publicity stunt to be “the last straw”.

Published: 24 May 2013 10:36 CEST

Barça shirt on Columbus statue sparks protest

Barcelona’s city council said they had been paid €94,000 by giant sports brand Nike for the advertising campaign. Photo: YouTube

Barcelona’s city council said they had been paid €94,000 by giant sports brand Nike for the advertising campaign.

But local left and right wing politicians have attacked Barcelona’s mayor Xavier Trias for allowing a public monument to carry publicity.

“No monument, temple, statue, fountain, green area or public service can carry any form of advertising by law,” said PSC socialist spokesperson Gabriel Colomé.

“Nike missed out on a great chance to promote Barça’s brand new away jersey with the senyera (Catalan flag) colours,”Colomé told Catalan newspaper La Vanguardia in a sarcastic tone.

“Mayor Trias is the only one to blame,” Espanyol president Joan Collet told Madrid sports daily Marca.

“Two weeks ago he said that having a son-in-law who was an Espanyol fan would be a tragedy. We’re fed up of being looked down on.

“Imagine if the Trevi fountain had a Rome jersey put on it. These things only happen here.”

Some Espanyol fan groups have issued an official statement saying they will turn their backs and whistle when their team welcome Barça as league champions with the traditional guard of honour at this Sunday's Catalan derby.

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Why has the expansion of Barcelona airport prompted mass protests?

People march during a demonstration against the expansion of the Barcelona-El Prat airport. Photo: Pau BARRENA / AFP

Several ecological and agricultural organisations, have demanded that the expansion be stopped due to the fact nearby wetlands and farms would have to be destroyed.

The demonstration took place on Calle Tarragona in the Catalan capital between Plaça d’Espanya and Plaça dels Països Catalans.

The protests still took place, even though last week, Spain suspended the €1.7 billion airport expansion project, citing differences with the Catalan government, after president Pere Aragonès said he wanted to avoid destroying La Ricarda lagoon, a natural reserve next to the airport.

Environmentalists decided not to call off the march, in case plans for the airport expansion still went ahead.

READ ALSO: Six things you need to know about Barcelona airport’s €1.7 billion planned expansion

Political representatives from ERC, En Comú Podem and the CUP also attended, as well as the leader of Más País, Íñigo Errejón; the Deputy Mayor for Ecology of the Barcelona City Council, Janet Sanz, and the Mayor of El Prat de Llobregat, Lluís Mijoler.

People from neighbourhoods across the city marched towards Calle Tarragona and could be seen holding placards that read “Nature yes, airport no and shouting slogans such as “More courgettes and fewer planes” and “Fighting for the climate, health, and life”.

One of the largest groups of people were those from El Prat de Llobregat, the municipality which is home to the airport, who were led by tractors.

People march during a demonstration against the expansion of Barcelona-El Prat airport. Photo by Pau BARRENA / AFP

In addition to protesting against the expansion of the El Prat airport, people were also demonstrating against the Winter Olympic Games in the Pyrenees and extensions to airports in Mallorca and Madrid.

A representative of Zeroport, Sara Mingorría said “We are here to defend not only La Ricarda, but the entire Delta”.

The philosopher Marina Garcés also argued that the expansion of the airport would mean “more borders, more mass tourism, more control and more precarious jobs.”

The leader of the commons in the Catalan parliament, Jéssica Albiach, who also attended the protest, asked the PSOE for “coherence”: “You cannot be passing a law against climate change and, at the same time, defend the interests of Aena [the airport operations company]”, she said.

She also urged the leader of the Generalitat, Pere Aragonès, to “definitely say no”.

If the airport expansion in Barcelona goes ahead, environmentalists say that CO2 emissions would rise by a minimum of 33 percent. These levels would surpass the limits set by the Catalan government’s climate targets.

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