A flashmob of musicians has cheered up the long queue in a busy Spanish unemployment office by playing the Beatles' Here Comes the Sun.
During the stunt organised by Carne Cruda 2.0, a programme on the leading Cadena SER network, a small orchestra emerged instrument by instrument from the waiting room in a Madrid unemployment office. All work in the office came to a standstill and many people sang along in English.
Spain is enduring an unprecedented economic crisis caused by a property crash and public debt crisis. Unemployment, already at 26%, is expected to grow. Spain lost around 800,000 jobs last year and more than half of under-25s are unemployed. The Spanish government has resorted to severe budget cuts to reduce its deficit but austerity measures have also depressed the economy.
Oxfam says that previous crises in Latin America and Asia point to serious long-term damage if government austerity measures remain in place. "Poverty and social exclusion may increase drastically," it says. "By 2022, some 18 million Spaniards, or 38% of the population, could be in poverty."