Residents entertain themselves with 'balcony cinema' amid lockdown in Madrid
Spain has been under lockdown since March 14, and according to Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez's Tuesday announcement, it is hoping to relax the lockdown in four phases by June-end.
FollowMadrid: As the coronavirus pandemic has breathed new life into drive-in theatres in different parts of the world, Spain is going a different way to keep citizens entertained in these bleak times.
People living in Madrid can watch films from their balconies after the local government brought in huge screens to bring people together.
Over two weeks, the new balcony cinema moves to a different neighbourhood every evening for people to watch a film with their neighbours.
Madrid's city hall deployed a portable cinema screen by an initiative called "Cine de Balcón" (balcony cinema).
The balcony cinema initiative was launched on April 13 by the Madrid City Council in collaboration with Amazon Prime Video and Exterior Plus, according to TeleMadrid.
It involves large LED screens mounted on top of trucks that park themselves in neighborhoods to allow people to share a moment with their neighbours.
The screenings start after the city stops to clap for emergency workers — then ends with hashtags supporting the ongoing lockdown, along with the message, “Gracias, Madrid.”
The first screening was on Monday in Plaza de Cristo Rey, the area housing two of the hospitals on the frontlines of the city’s coronavirus crisis.
