THIS is the eyebrow-raising moment a Spanish carnival troupe paid tribute to the late theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking by whizzing through the streets of Cadiz in electric wheelchairs.
The eye-catching stunt took place at a contest for acts hoping to perform at this year’s Carnival of Cadiz, set to take place in mid-February.
A dozen men dressed in grey suits and wigs paraded through the streets of the Andalucian city before taking to the stage for a wacky 30-minute musical performance.
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The group – called ‘Una chirigota en teoría’ – sat in wheelchairs and mimicked the posture and robotic voice of the legendary physicist, who died in 2018 after living with motor neurone disease (MND) for more than 50 years.
Sat down in chairs as confetti rained down, the group sang songs which paid tribute to the Brit’s ground-breaking scientific work at the University of Cambridge.
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“Don’t be offended, it’s just for a laugh,” the group’s leader Miguel Angel Llull said afterwards.
The group hopes to raise awareness of MND and have said they will donate the 12 wheelchairs used for the performance to patients in need of support.
Video footage of the parade has gone viral online, with one social media user commenting: “Hawking probably would have found this hilarious. He had a sense of humour about himself and life in general.”
Another added: “Many people don’t understand the Spanish sense of humour – it’s not intended to offend, it’s done for a good cause!”
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