Posters with the slogan "Balconing is fun" have appeared around Barcelona in recent days. Balconing is a mock-English word used to describe jumping from balcony to balcony or from a balcony into a swimming pool. Accidents during such activities, and other falls from balconies, have claimed the lives of a number of people, mainly tourists, in recent years.
"Dear tourist", the poster reads, "did you know balconing prevents gentrification, improves [residents'] quality of life, reduces the risk of heart disease [and] is lots of fun?" Copies have been posed around the city, mainly in the Vallcarca neighbourhood, near Gaudi's Parc Güell.
Barcelona council has expressed its rejection of the posters' message, saying that they will be removed by the city's cleaning service.
The posters have sparked controversy on social media and have even been picked up on by some of the international media, like The Times (paywall). Balconing has led to a number of people being hospitalised and dying in recent years around Spain, most of them young people, many British tourists.