The iconic Bar Alaska in Palma will stay as it is

In October last year, the town hall announced that the project to renew Plaça Mercat would entail a redesign of the bar-kiosk. This provoked something of an outcry and a call for the bar to be preserved. A petition objecting to the town hall's plan, raised by graphic designer Toni Sorell, pointed out that the bar, which first opened in 1936, was an "emblematic place" that has been enjoyed by several generations of Mallorcans. "It is part of our collective memory."

Related news

Petition to "save" Palma's Alaska Bar nearing its target

In presenting the draft project for the square to the planning committee on Tuesday, Fidalgo gave an assurance that the bar will remain as it is but with a "dignified image" from transparent lattice at the back.

The project as a whole, the councillor added, will not be "easy". It will need approval from Palma's commission for the city's historic centre. Once this is given, he hopes that there will be a general consensus for plans that include the paving, street furniture, protected status for the large fig tree, and the moving of the statue of Antoni Maura (the only Mallorcan to have been the prime minister of Spain) to a more prominent location.

There will be a tender for the concession to operate the Alaska.