Christina McKelvie, the Minister for Drugs and Alcohol Policy in Scotland, has hit out at the Federació Balear de Balconing (Balearics Bacloning Federation), a website that record the number of falls apparently as part of the campaign against overcrowding and antisocial tourism.
McKelvie has spoken out against the website following the death of a 19-year-old Scottish tourist in Sant Antoni on Tuesday August 20 when she fell from the balcony of her hotel. Emma Ramsey, the deceased, was a law student born in Hamilton, South Lanarkshire, one of the constituencies McKelvie represents.
Following Ramsey’s death, the Federació Balear de Balconing posted a tweet on the social networking site X celebrating the “comeback” of the British, who moved to the top of their ranking for the 2024 season in terms of deaths and injuries as a result of balcony falls. The website ranks the UK as “the kings of the sport” of balconing and claims that “the Brits never disappoint”. They also expect a reaction from the second-ranked Germans.
The Scottish minister described the website as “absolutely vile”. “My heart goes out to the loved ones of anyone who has been targeted by this organisation,” she said in a social media post.
“It is reprehensible that anyone would try to exploit and use tragic deaths in such a cruel way. The sooner the organisation is shut down the better, and social media organisations should take all steps they can to remove this deplorable content from their sites,” said McKelvie.
The tragic death of Emma Ramsey shocked the British media. Now, The Times joins McKelsie’s critics to denounce that “an anti-tourist group” has a balcony fall ranking. In an article published today, Monday, The Times focuses its criticism on the anti-tourism movements spreading in Spain, with a strong mention of the protests in Catalonia.
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Ulla JacksonI like your sense of humour
Interesting to read that residents of Bournemouth, Bibury and Oxford cities in the UK are complaining of tourist overcrowding. So to get away from the hordes, some locals came to Mallorca only to discover even greater overcrowding and protests for them to return home. You couldn't make it up!
As gross as the Federació Balear de Balconing might be, it continues to highlight a terrible problem. The causes might include: Alcohol/drug abuse Mental health issues Stupidity and imitation Poor building design If they help to get these addressed, then the anguish of families, friends, witnesses and emergency services might be spared in the future. Shutting them down risks hiding the problem.
No balconies to UK guests, problem solved, as they seem to have little ideas how to use and behave on a balcony.
This lady is on a power trip. Censorship is never the answer. Although these rankings come across insensitive to those mourning, raising awareness of this trend and its danger is very much needed. Although I don’t agree with celebrating death, I’m hopeful these types of posts discourage others from playing this silly game and harming themselves. If it saves one life, I consider the insensitive posts worth it.