Slip-up sees "Bisbal tourism" become Twitter trending topic

Spanish star David Bisbal, who sprang to fame in 2001 as a runner up in the first edition of TV's Operación Triunfo singing competition, is one of the most active celebrities in the country when it comes to using social networking. His Twitter account, which he regularly updates from his cellphone, has more than a million followers and documents the minutiae of his life (this weekend he took a bike ride with cyclist Abraham Olano, before watching Real Sociedad play Almería). Lately he has even been posting comments on current affairs.

But this week, all of this messaging brought him the kind of attention he could do without. On hearing the news of the demonstrations in Egypt, which have seen hundreds of thousands out on the streets calling for a new government, the singer tweeted: "The Egyptian pyramids have never been so quiet. I hope that the uprising comes to an end soon." With this comment Bisbal has prompted a wave of criticism, not to mention mockery.

"The Egyptian pyramids have never been so quiet. I hope that the uprising comes to an end soon."

The online response was so huge that he soon deleted the message from his Twitter feed, and then posted another message, saying: "Insults are all you have, along with a lot of free time."

That post was soon deleted too, although enough people had taken a screen grab of the two messages for them to rapidly find their way onto blog pages and other Twitter posts.

That served to spur people on, and soon the number-one trending topic on Twitter in Spain was #turismobisbal, the tag being included on thousands of tweets making fun of Bisbal's take on the world.

"I've just been to see the Sistine Chapel," read one post. "For a Ninja Turtle, Michelangelo was a hell of a painter."

"I have never seen the Antarctic so quiet," said another. "I hope that winter passes soon."

"I've just been in London," posted another wag. "It's incredible to think that the universe came from the Big Ben."