Silver screen battle

MORE than 11,000 people have signed a petition opposing the conversion of Murcia’s last historic cinema.

They are furious that Cinema Rex is to be turned into a multipurpose space, including a gym.

The cinema opened its doors as the Teatro Ortiz in 1914 but switched to screening movies in 1926.

It was renovated in 1946 but screened its last film in August 2019, having outlasted all of the city’s other major theatres.

The building owners submitted their conversion plans in April and now Murcia City Council is going through a public consultation phase, which prompted the petition.