Madrid bans human billboards

The Spanish capital on Thursday banned the use of human billboards, calling them an “assault on people’s dignity”.

The use of people as a billboard is now considered a “very serious infraction” and employers who use them can be slapped with fines of between €1 501 and €3 000, according to a municipal decree approved on Thursday.

Most human billboards in Madrid consist of “sandwich men” who wear signs on their chest and backs around the central Puerta del Sol, or “Gateway of the Sun”, area where thousands of people converge each day on their way to the shops or sights in the old part of the city.

The majority work for jewellery or pond shops and their signs usually say “I buy gold”.—Sapa-AFP