Mayor of Madrid turns out the lights...

[Marbella]

Seems he takes Schweppes in his Beefeater though:

http://www.20minutos.es/noticia/133810/0/gallardon/prohibe/luminosos/

[neskadebilbao]

I don't understand the reasoning behind this.

[Ben]

I'm not sure anyone does - it seems the idea is that by removing all neon from the city the lovely old architecture hidden beneath the glare will shine through instead...

[Alan]

Compare the comments here to the comments on the BBC. Are they better informed and more literate or am I seeing it through rose-tinted glasses?

[Brian]

I didn't scour the article thoroughly, but they would also include turning off the Tio Pepe sign? It's such a cultural fixture in Madrid, very surprising, indeed.