Stephen Burgen

1 week ago | msn.com | Stephen Burgen

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1 week ago | theguardian.com | Stephen Burgen

Lamine Yamal, Barcelona and Spain’s 17-year-old football sensation, was about to sign a new contract with his club when he realised his grandmother wasn’t there and said they couldn’t go ahead if she wasn’t in the photo along with his agent, the FC Barcelona president and the rest of his family.

2 weeks ago | theguardian.com | Stephen Burgen

Sónar, one of Europe’s leading electronic music festivals, is under threat after dozens of musicians and DJs announced a boycott over the event’s parent company KKR’s alleged links to Israel. More than 70 artists signed an open letter to the festival, which is due to take place in Barcelona from 12-14 June, stating that “we oppose any affiliation between the cultural sector and entities complicit in war crimes”.

2 weeks ago | theguardian.com | Stephen Burgen

Protesters in Barcelona used water pistols to take aim at tourists visiting the Sagrada Familia last month. Residents’ associations in Mallorca posted an open letter appealing to tourists to stay away from the island. More such actions are expected in the Canary Islands, Málaga and elsewhere as Spain braces for another massive season of overtourism. Last year, there were close to 100 million visitors to Spain, twice the population.

2 weeks ago | theguardian.com | Stephen Burgen

The authorities in Spain’s Balearic Islands have said they will stop using social media influencers to promote popular destinations, saying “selfie tourism” is damaging some of its most beautiful locations. In an attempt to quell the effects of overtourism, the Balearics had hoped that influencers, many of whom have hundreds of thousands of followers, might relieve the strain on some better-known sites by directing visitors elsewhere.