“Mayor Ana Botella would like to bring the Summer Olympics to Madrid in 2020, following the city’s third attempt to capture the games. Her predecessors have already invested more than €6 billion in the effort, and she needs at least another €2.5 billion. That might explain why, in recent months, Botella has begun to sell off public buildings and properties — even if she hasn’t managed to raise very much money so far. A Chinese bank snatched up a magnificent building near the Prado Museum at a price discount of almost a third. The fire sale also included 26 works by Spain’s best-known contemporary artists, which were part of the city hall’s inventory.”
