Spanish performers dressed as Stephen Hawking paraded down the street and sung in robotic voices as part of a carnival competition. 

A posse of 12 men in wheelchairs were seen making their way down the cobbled streets of Cadiz, singing 'How beautiful, how beautiful is Cadiz' as onlookers filmed the procession this week. 

The unexpected performance by ‘Una chirigota en teoría’ was the group's entry for the fourth stage of the city's annual Official Contest of Carnival Groups. 

The comedic musical group from Cadiz, Spain, are known for performing satirical songs with witty lyrics about current affairs and wearing identical costumes. 

While some were offended by the impersonation of late English theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking, others said you had to understand 'Spanish sense of humour' to get the joke. 

The troupe explained that their performance was a 'tribute' to the scientist, and announced they would be donating the wheelchairs they used to MND charities - that support the same disease Stephen Hawking had. 

They added that it was a 'satirical' act 'inspired' by Hawking, which highlighted mobility challenges and the field of physics while showcasing the Cambridge University scientist's life. 

Some users hailed the tribute as both hilarious and touching, with one person commenting on social media: 'Hawking probably would have found this hilarious. He had a sense of humour about himself and about life in general.' 

One person said the joke required a cultural appreciation of Spain, saying: 'You really need to live in Spain to understand the humour or think about what we were like forty years ago when comedy was still legal (and funny).'

Another added: 'Many people don't understand Spanish sense of humour - it's not intended to offend, it's done for a good cause!' 

One Spanish user interjected: 'If you understood the lyrics and the double meaning of the message, you'd see they're highlighting a mobility problem - it's impossible to get around those streets in a wheelchair...among many other problems they address in other songs.' 

But others did not find the tribute so funny. One person commented: 'God Spanish are so funny! NOT' while another posted: 'Tasteless.' 

Stephen Hawking was an award-winning theoretical physicist who wrote books including 'A Brief History of Time' and 'The Universe in a Nutshell' and actor Eddie Redmayne played him in a film biopic about his life. 

He died in 2018 aged 76 from complications associated with the degenerative disease amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as motor neurone disease (MND).