Removal of 11 merchant stalls on Barcelona’s La Rambla begins

The Barcelona City Council has begun removing eleven merchant stalls on the city’s iconic La Rambla boulevard.

The full process—including dismantling the stalls, removing their structures, and repairing the pavement—is expected to take a couple of weeks and is scheduled to finish on February 26.

Known in Catalan as ‘ocellaires’, or ‘old bird sellers’, these merchants on la Rambla once sold birds and other animals.

In 2009, they stopped selling birds and instead began selling souvenirs, ice cream, tickets, and sweets.

Later, in 2021, when the city council announced the eviction, the merchants filed legal appeals to halt the eviction, arguing that it was being carried out “solely for political purposes.”

However, none were successful, as the licenses they had obtained in 1971 were expected to expire after 50 years, in 2021.

Renovating La Rambla

Removing the stalls is part of a broader renovation project of the city’s famous boulevard.

According to the city council, the goal of the renovation is to create “a more comfortable, more pedestrian-friendly" La Rambla. 

"These old stalls on La Rambla were converted into stalls selling souvenirs, sweets, ice creams. We’re recovering this public space to make La Rambla wider and more ‘Barcelona’, because what was on offer before was not really for locals but for visitors, so we’re working toward turning La Rambla once again into that avenue for locals, and for visitors as well of course," said Ivan Pera from the Barcelona City Council

The project has a price tag of €55 million and is expected to be completed in January 2027.