After an embarrassing issue in Skopje’s Aerodrom district, where the local authorities spent three quarters of a million euros for a fountain which is now a public safety risk, the authorities decided to play it safe. Mayor Zlatko Marin ordered several fountains across the urban district to be converted into flower beds.

Citizens initially thought that it was a mistake, but the town hall issued several testy social media comments, insisting that this is an international trend and that the conversion of the fountains into flower pots will continue. Complaints from citizens who were hoping that the fountains will be put back into use in time for the scorching summer seasons were dismissed as unfashionable.