Barcelona (Freddie Mercury and Montserrat Caballé song) Mercury for the task. Caballé became enthusiastic about the project and instead of recording a single, she proposed to make an album, on which Mercury agreed. The song "Barcelona" had to be its opening song, to be completed by 1988, and to be submitted as a candidate for the 1992 Olympic theme (the selection was scheduled for 1988, four years before the Games). The recording was complicated by Caballé's tight schedule. Thus to spare her time, Mercury recorded the song, singing Caballé's part in falsetto. He would then send a tape to Caballé to prepare her for the joint studio
Freddie Mercury when I come back, next time”. However, he never made it back into the studio, so May later recorded the final verse of the song. A statue in Montreux, Switzerland, by sculptor Irena Sedlecká, was erected as a tribute to Mercury. It stands almost 10 feet (3 metres) high overlooking Lake Geneva and was unveiled on 25 November 1996 by Mercury's father and Montserrat Caballé, with bandmates Brian May and Roger Taylor also in attendance. Beginning in 2003 fans from around the world have gathered in Switzerland annually to pay tribute to the singer as part of the "Freddie Mercury