New statue installed at Barcelona's Passeig de Gràcia on 200th anniversary celebrations

A new statue will now greet Barcelona's Passeig de Gràcia boulevard passersby to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the famous street.

On Friday, authorities and local establishments installed a sculpture by artist Lluís Lleó at the corner of Diagonal Avenue with Passeig de Gràcia. Lleó currently lives in New York City but was born in the Catalan capital.

The sculpture weighs around eight tons and is three meters tall.

Using pink, and therefore referencing the name 'Pink Barcino,' it paints the Eixample neighborhood grid in the Passeig de Gràcia area, with the Diagonal avenue.

The piece will be installed in front of the Palau Robert exhibition hall until at least January, but Lleó would like to see his artwork placed there for longer.

Filling the Sink podcast episode

Home to architectural masterpieces, luxury brands and very expensive flats, Passeig de Gràcia is celebrating 200 years.

The podcast looks at the fascinating history of this street, a place to walk for walking's sake, shaped by feuding families trying to outdo one another by building ever-grander homes.

Eva Pomares guides us around one of them, Palau Robert, a former private mansion now owned by the Catalan government and converted into a space for concerts and exhibitions.