Barcelona, from ugly to beautiful to irresistible

December 11^th marks 40 years since the launch of the campaign ‘Barcelona, posa’t guapa’ (Barcelona, make yourself beautiful). This urban renovation programme coincided with the preparations for the 1992 Olympic Games, the event that propelled the city onto the world stage. At that point, the writer Manuel Vázquez Montalbán recalled that the city was like “a sunken Titanic”.  (in Ferrer Viana, 2001: 16)17. The Barcelona, posa’t guapa campaign had two main elements: renovating homes offices and shops (subsidised by the Municipality) and restoring monuments and historic buildings with private sponsorship.

In the pre-Internet era, residents had to phone for a makeover

The campaign started with the cleaning of facades, but was progressively extended to include:

·       restoration of paintings, mosaics, sgraffito, and modernist stained glass;

·       repair of exposed party walls;

·       soundproofing of homes and offices to reduce the high level of noise pollution; the removal of architectural barriers;

·       improvement of the hygiene and sanitation conditions of bars and restaurants;

·       removal of unsightly, obsolete, or illegal signs, marquees, and illuminated advertising displays;

·       restoration of the interiors of blocks in the Eixample district;

·       replacement of television antennas.

 However, these physical placemaking measures were not just the only aim: as Sara Antoniazzi (2020) noted:

“Barcelona, ​​posa’t guapa” not only served to improve the urban landscape and boost the self-esteem of Barcelonans in the lead-up to the Olympic Games, but also to make Barcelona a more attractive city for tourists, investors, and new high-income residents.”

The image-enhancing aims of the programme attracted criticism, in common with other elements of the ‘Barcelona Model’, from local residents and academics. The fact that “Barcelona is now perceived as modern, Catalan, European, designer and exciting, rather than industrial, Spanish, ugly, uncouth and dull” is attributed in large part to programmes such as Barcelona, ​​posa’t guapa, which are seen mainly as “re-imaging” campaigns. However, the more holistic approaches to these issues through a placemaking lens, in which image change is seen as one part of a holistic process of physical, symbolic and systemic transformation.

The criticism of Barcelona’s branding strategy is based on the unintended consequences of this placemaking practice rather than the intended physical upgrading and image improvement. The renovation of buildings in the centre helped to spruce up the city centre, but it also made it a lot more attractive for investors. Airbnb didn’t exist when the campaign was conceived, but the renovated buildings later made the perfect “home from home” for tourists and others seeking to “live like a local”. In 2019, just before the pandemic, Barcelona had almost 20,000 short term rental units. By 2024, this had risen to almost 24,000, in spite of a crackdown on new licences. It seems that Barcelona has not only become more beautiful, but irresistible.