Climate activists have splashed red and black paint across the façade of Barcelona’s Sagrada Família, targeting the iconic Gaudí-designed basilica to protest what they call the Spanish government’s failure to act on this summer’s record wildfires. The stunt, captured on video and ending in the arrest of two protesters, marks the latest climate demonstration at cultural landmarks across Europe.
Two activists, representing the campaign group Futuro Vegetal, targeted the basilica on Sunday, August 31, spraying the colored powder over a column while shouting “climate justice.” In a video posted online, they can be seen being detained by security guards. The pair were arrested but have been released after paying a fine of €600 ($700).
“With this protest, the environmental group denounces the current government’s lack of action against the climate crisis and its impact on the fires that have ravaged the Iberian Peninsula and much of Europe this summer,” Futuro Vegetal said in a statement.
Representatives from the Sagrada Família did not respond to a request for comment about potential damages by publication time.
The Sagrada Família is a world-renowned basilica in Barcelona designed by Catalan architect Antoni Gaudí, known for its soaring spires, intricate facades, and fusion of Gothic and Art Nouveau styles. A UNESCO World Heritage Site, the still-unfinished church has become an enduring symbol of Barcelona and one of the most visited monuments in Spain.
Last month, Spain suffered a 16-day heatwave that was described as “the most intense on record,” by the country’s state meteorological agency. The resulting wildfires blazed through some 400,000 hectares, killing four people, and their containment has become an urgent political issue.
On September 1, Spain’s prime minister Pedro Sánchez responded to pressure by announcing a 10-point plan to prepare the country for the climate crisis.
“If we don’t want to bequeath our children a Spain that’s gray from fire and flames, or a Spain that’s brown from floods, then we need a Spain that’s greener,” he said, according to the Guardian. Among the proposed initiatives was a reformed approach to forest management.
This not the first time that Futuro Vegetal has used cultural sites to make a political point. In 2022, two of the group’s activists taped themselves to the frames of two paintings by the Spanish master Goya at the Prado in Madrid. They also wrote “+1.5 C” on the wall between the paintings, which refers to the target to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels that was agreed upon by the international signatories of the Paris Agreement in 2015.
Last December, 22 members of Futuro Vegetal were detained by Spanish police, which accused the group of operating as a “criminal organization.” It alleged that its coordinated acts of civil disobedience had caused some €500,000 ($548,000) in damage. As well as targeting cultural sites, the group have vandalized mega-yachts and private jets, blocked traffic, shut down airport tracks, and sprayed powdered paint over the Spanish parliament building.
“We are not a criminal organization but engage in nonviolent protest,” Victora Domingo, a spokesperson for the group, told El Pais. “We do not profit from this, and instead risk the possibility of going to jail for demanding a dignified future for humanity.”
The use of museums and monuments as sites for protest has been causing controversy since a wave of these actions started around 2022. Earlier this year, Just Stop Oil, a group responsible for many climate protests in the U.K.—including spraying paint on Stonehenge last summer—pledged to stop organizing demonstrations that involved art, galleries, museums, or heritage sites.