Barcelona 2020

Dedicated to all the victims of the COVID-19 pandemic in Barcelona

Before COVID-19, Barcelona struggled to manage the number of tourists descending on its streets. With more than 30 million visitors in 2019, tourists were about to far outnumber the local population of 1.6 million, which put a strain on the resources of the Catalan capital. The City Council of Barcelona has announced a war on numerous Airbnb apartments without a license which drove residents out and even passed laws restricting certain tours in its most crowded areas. The graffiti made by locals on the walls of buildings in most tourist areas like “Tourists Go Home” was not a surprise on the streets of Barcelona and were not particularly welcoming. But the influx of tourists just did not stop.

The COVID-19 pandemic changed it all at the beginning of 2020. The number of visitors collapsed immensely amid the pandemic. Having grown economically so much dependent on tourism, Barcelona has paid a high price for having a monocultural economy. In this photographic project, I am documenting how coronavirus has affected Barcelona, its businesses, and its people most of whom were heavily dependent on over-tourism.

Passeig de Gracia, the Avenue of Luxury

Passeig de Gràcia is one of the major avenues of Barcelona and one of its most important shopping, business, and touristic areas, containing several of the most celebrated pieces of Catalan modernist architecture. Passeig de Gràcia is regarded as the most expensive street in Barcelona and Spain.