Calls to remove billboard adverts from Lanzarote Airport
Fundación César Manrique (FCM) has strongly criticised the installation of large advertising billboards on the outside of the arrivals area at Lanzarote airport, calling for their immediate removal.
The FCM is a cultural and environmental foundation dedicated to preserving the legacy of César Manrique, the world-renowned artist, architect, and environmentalist from Lanzarote. The Foundation works to protect the island’s landscape, heritage, and identity, often intervening in planning and environmental issues across Lanzarote.
In a statement, the Foundation said it had already raised the issue with airport management last July, but has not received any response or seen any action to remove the billboards. They have also said that many residents and local groups have expressed their frustration, contacting the Foundation to complain about the growing presence of billboard advertising on the island.
The FCM described the placement of these adverts as “incomprehensible” on an island that has spent more than half a century keeping its landscapes free of visual pollution. This approach dates back to 1967, when the Regulation for the Defence of the Landscape and Popular Architecture of Lanzarote was approved, a measure championed by César Manrique and adopted by the Lanzarote cabildo.
The aim was to protect Lanzarote’s cultural and natural landscape above commercial interests. Manrique often expressed pride in this achievement. In an interview on 3rd January 1976, he said: “In Lanzarote, incredible efforts have been made to protect the island and raise its standard of living, avoiding by all means the deterioration of its landscape, with the prohibition of horrendous advertisements. Lanzarote has possibly been the only place in the world where this miracle has been achieved.”
According to the Foundation, many residents share this pride in the island’s identity, which has become part of its global image and something also admired by visitors.
For this reason, the FCM says it is “inexplicable” that the airport, which bears César Manrique’s name and which serves as the first impression for arriving tourists, has allowed the billboards on the entrance. It argues that this decision goes against the artist’s vision and the values that helped shape Lanzarote’s international reputation.
The Foundation has urged the airport authorities to “act with responsibility, reconsider the request it has received, and correct this unfortunate planning error as soon as possible.”
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