Today, as Spain prepares for its second general election in a year on Sunday, the royal family was in Barcelona for the Princess of Girona Foundation awards. Given the political context, Catalan parties had called for the visit to be suspended. It went ahead nonetheless, prompting hundreds of people to gather outside the venue in protest.
The protests continued inside. One of the prize-winners, the mathematician Xavier Ros-Oton, wore a yellow ribbon. Meanwhile, the Catalan government and the mayor of Barcelona, Ada Colau, boycotted the event. Outside, such were the crowds that some of the attendees had difficulties reaching the entrance. These included, for example, Barcelona town councillor Josep Bou (PP), who was loudly booed as he made his way through the crowd. At one point, he seemed to lose his temper and try to rip a sign out of a protester's hands.
Once night had fallen, whilst the event was in progress inside the Palau de Congressos, protesters started burning photos of the king. The sight was repeated around Catalonia at other demonstrations protesting the king's presence held in cities like Lleida, Tarragona, Girona, Sabadell and Mataró.