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IN IMAGES: Mick Jagger tours Madrid as a tourist

The Rolling Stones frontman isn't complaining about getting 'no satisfaction' in the Spanish capital as he shares with his fans photos of himself "enjoying lots of what Madrid has to offer".

Published: 1 June 2022 16:38 CEST
IN IMAGES: Mick Jagger tours Madrid as a tourist
Mick Jagger in Retiro Park in Madrid. Photo: Mick Jagger / Instagram

British rock legends The Rolling Stones (known simply as Los Rolling in Spain) on Wednesday open their European tour with a concert in Madrid to mark six decades since the band was formed.

Frontman Mick Jagger, 78, and fellow band members Keith Richards, also 78 and Ronnie Wood, who turns 75 today, arrived in the Spanish capital last week and have since been enjoying the city like tourists, visiting some of Madrid’s most famous sights. 

They have been enjoying the week in luxurious style, staying at the recently-opened Rosewood Villa Magna hotel in the well-heeled Barrio de Salamanca. 

“Sympathy for the Devil in Madrid. The Stones are in town! Countdown to the first show is on!” they wrote on Instagram, posting a picture of the Fallen Angel fountain in Madrid’s famed Retiro Park, referencing one of their best-known songs.
 
Jagger also posted several pictures to both Twitter and Instagram with a caption saying “Enjoying lots of what Madrid has to offer, from fallen angels to Flamenco!”
 

Mick Jagger in Retiro Park in Madrid. Photo: @mickjagger / Instagram
 
In the first picture, he poses in front of the Fallen Angel statue found in Retiro Park. In Spanish, it’s called La Fuente del Ángel Caído and can be found at the southern end of the park, not far from the gate of the same name. 
 
The statue was sculpted by Ricardo Bellver in 1878 for the Paris World Fair and was later bought by Madrid City Council, who commissioned the architect Francisco Jareño to design the pedestal it stands on. It was officially inaugurated in 1885.
 
Mick Jagger in Madrid

Mick Jagger in Madrid. Photo: @mickjagger / Instagram
 
In the second picture, Jagger poses outside the Taberna de Ángel Sierra in Chueca neighbourhood, a historic tavern which is known for being one of the oldest in Madrid at over 102 years old.
 
This emblematic bar is known for its iconic decoration –  its elegantly-carved wooden bar, its century-old bottles lining the walls, its antic wine barrels, and original vermouth taps.
 

Mick Jagger in Madrid’s Retiro Park. Source: @mickjagger / Instagram
 
Jagger spent more time in Madrid’s best city park, posting another photo of himself posing under arches of colourful flowers. He was most likely enjoying Retiro’s Rosaleda rose garden. El Retiro is one of Madrid’s largest city parks, covering over 125 hectares and home to more than 15,000 trees. In July 2021, it was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site, together with the nearby Paseo del Prado.
 

Mick Jagger posing with Picasso’s Guernica in Madrid’s Reina Sofia. Photo: @mickjagger / Instagram
 
Jagger is also seen posing with one of the Reina Sofía Museum’s most celebrated artworks – Guernica by Pablo Picasso. The painting commemorates the bombing of the Basque town of Guernica during the Spanish Civil War in 1937. 
 
 
Along with El Prado and the Thyssen-Bornemisza, the Reina Sofía is part of Madrid’s so-called Golden Triangle, home to its very best museums. The Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía is home to a vast collection by some of Spain’s greatest contemporary artists such as Salvador Dalí, Antoni Tàpies and Joan Miró. 
 
Jagger’s last slide is actually a video of a flamenco rendition of one of The Rolling Stones’ most beloved songs – Paint It Black (skip to final slide to watch). 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
View this post on Instagram
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

A post shared by Mick Jagger (@mickjagger)

 
Now you know where to go in Madrid to tour the capital like a Rolling Stone  👅!

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TOURISM

Protesters threaten Mallorca airport ‘blockade’ ahead of another tourism demo in Spain

Activists on the Spanish island of Mallorca have warned of plans to 'collapse' Palma airport ahead of mass protests against overtourism scheduled across the Balearics in the upcoming days.

Published: 23 May 2024 09:14 CEST
Protesters threaten Mallorca airport 'blockade' ahead of another tourism demo in Spain

The Mallorcan activist group Menys Turisme, més vida, meaning ‘Less tourism, more life’ has threatened it would cause the “collapse” of the airport, during a recent meeting of protestors to gather ideas for concrete actions against overtourism on the island.

More than 300 people attended the meeting, where the most popular solution according to reports by local daily Ultima Hora was to create a blockade at Son Sant Joan Airport, just outside the capital of Palma, and the main entry point for visitors to the Balearics.

Members were warned of the dangers involved in such a demonstration and the legal consequences involved, so protestors have also proposed the creation of a resistance fund to pay for any possible fines.

Limiting the availability of rental cars, regulating access to housing, uniting unions and appropriating public spaces, were other actions that were proposed during the debate.

PP spokesperson in the Balearic Parliament Sebastiá Sagreras told local daily Diario de Mallorca that his right-wing party was against the blockade as “it would end up affecting people who aren’t at fault such as residents and tourists”, and that the Socialist party in the Balearics were responsible for not doing enough to stem the rise in illegal tourist apartments in recent years.

At the end of the assembly, the organisers also announced that a “massive” demonstration would be planned, although no further date was set.

This comes on the back several more anti-tourism demonstrations which are due to take place across the Balearic Islands over the next week.

On Saturday May 25th, the largest protest will take place at 7pm in Plaza de España in Palma, under the motto ‘Mallorca is not for sale’.

Menorcans will also be demonstrating on the same day and time at Plaza de la Constitución in Alaior to protest housing prices, in a rally orchestrated by ‘Menorca per un Habitatge Digne’ (‘Menorca for a Decent Home’).

Another rally against overcrowding in Menorca is scheduled for June 8th in the Plaza de la Biosfera in Mahón.

READ ALSO: Spain’s Balearics struggle to fill job vacancies due to exorbitant rents    

Ibiza, which has suffered the most from uncontrolled tourism, will also be holding its own event at the Insular Council headquarters on Friday, May 24th at 8pm, under the slogan ‘Eivissa can’t take it anymore’.

READ ALSO – ‘Ibiza can’t take it anymore’: Spanish island plans mass tourism protest

Islanders are protesting against overcrowding, the high prices derived from tourism and the environmental impact.

The idea came after several calls were made online to “imitate the protests that took place in the Canaries” in April, with many locals saying that the issues that Ibiza faces, as an island that welcomes the rich and famous, are even worse than those of the Atlantic Archipelago. 

The Balearic Islands received record numbers of visitors in 2023, with 17.8 million in total, and added to the fact that its population has also grown by 33.5 percent since 2001, it puts a strain on the management of its energy resources and its water consumption and housing, which continues to become more and more expensive.

READ ALSO – REVEALED: The places in Spain where rents have more than doubled in a decade

Tourism accounts for 45 percent of the GDP (€16 billion annually) of the Balearics and employs 200,000 people a year, so while it may be necessary, the sheer number and oversaturation of tourists is not.  

Locals argue that in addition to environmental problems, overtourism causes complications in daily life every year with traffic jams on the roads, fighting in the streets and noise that prevents them from leading a normal life.

It’s not just Spain’s islands that have been having issues with tourists, locals in Málaga on the Costa del Sol are also set to protest in June.

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