Neighbours in Madrid fear that the recently refurbished Santiago Bernabeu football stadium will turn into an ‘event-drome’, with 15 shows scheduled for the summer months.
The show of the season, however, will undoubtedly be Taylor Swift’s, with the Blank Space hitmaker’s performances set to span over two days later this week, as she makes her next stop on the European leg of her highly-acclaimed ‘Eras Tour.’
With a few days to go before the big show, excitement amongst Swifties in the Spanish capital is mounting.
But, the enthusiasm is not shared amongst the residents of the Bernabeu neighbourhood, located in Madrid’s Chamartin district.
They claim that recent concerts have been unbearably loud, with some saying that the noise exceeds the permitted decibels.
Local resident Patricia Barnuevo, 24, said that concerts are ‘proving to be more harmful than expected.’
‘It means there are more crowds, there’s noise coming from the area every day, and it draws away from the roots of the stadium itself’.
‘It was built to create a community for Real Madrid fans and football supporters, and now that traditional aspect of it is being removed.’
She added that new issues are being presented due to the higher recurrence of concerts at the stadium, with soundchecks during the day disrupting class times for students in the surrounding schools.
Barnuevo also expressed that the local area is not prepared for the magnitude of what is the Eras Tour phenomenon.
‘People fear, myself included, what will happen, because when a lot of people come together, it can cause a lot of overcrowding.’
Bernabeu residents have raised concerns about Taylor Swift’s upcoming Madrid concerts, claiming that the stadium is hosting too many unbearably loud concerts.
Since its refurbishment, the Santiago Bernabeu stadium in Spain’s capital is being used for more and more music events.
An X account under the username @Ruido_Bernabeu created by a resident claimed that an Alejandro Sanz concert earlier this month had reached 84.9 decibels.
According to Spanish news outlet, La Vanguardia, the limit for a residential area at night in Madrid is 50.
Also, people attending the few concerts held so far at the Real Madrid stadium have pointed out that there are poor acoustics.
However, Tito Ramoneda, from the promoter The Project, said that the Bernabeu will not generate bad acoustics.
‘There is a question of equipment configuration, of sound concept, of the artist and band knowing how they want to sound and having quality equipment…The litmus test will be Taylor Swift. And I’m sure it will sound like a joke’.
The stadium has been hosting more concerts after the Real Madrid football club signed a 20-year deal back in 2022 with Legends group and Sixth Street investment fund for the use of the venue as an events and leisure space, for which it will receive €360 million.
As the summer is forecasting multiple stadium shows, residents are asking for a solution.
However, Barnuevo hopes that the changes made to the Bernabeu when it underwent its 2023 refurbishment has made it well-equipped to cope with music fanatics.
‘The construction that has been done has been for this, and change is part of this process, but hopefully concerns raised y residents will be heard, and our feedback taken into account.’
This comes just days after Swift’s Eras Tour in Lisbon descended into chaos on Friday, as furious fans tore down a fence after waiting for hours in the blistering heat.
It was reported that 200 fans broke through security gates and forced their way into the stadium, terrifying the security staff.
The singer’s first show in Portugal did not get off to a great start as eager fans were left waiting outside for 45 minutes to enter the stadium
200 reportedly fans broke through security gates and forced their way into the stadium, terrifying the security staff
Before the concert, massive queues of fans could be seen starting to form outside the arena due to the delay as frustrated fans proceeded to yell at staff: ‘Let us in!’
Fans were left to queue in the heat as they stood in line waiting to be let into the arena
Before the concert, massive queues of fans could be seen starting to form outside the arena due to the delay as frustrated fans proceeded to yell at staff: ‘Let us in!’
Gates were due to open to those with standard tickets at 4pm, however, it was reported that the fans weren’t allowed in until 4:45pm.
Rock band Paramore opened the concert after 7pm, however, the tickets stated the show was supposed to begin at 6pm.
Temperatures in the stadium were also very high at 66 degrees when Taylor finally took to the stage at 8pm.
Before the concert, security had a strict rule of no water bottles being allowed into the arena.
However, as fans were left to wait for long periods in the heat, they made a last-minute change to allow water bottles into the open-roofed stadium.
According to USA Today Entertainment, Taylor took to the stage and didn’t apologise to fans for the delay or wait and her team has reportedly not responded to an email when asked about the late start.
Instead, she thanked her fans by saying,: ‘This is my first time getting to come to Portugal, and this is how you welcome us,
Swift returned to her £1.4billion Eras Tour in style earlier this month as she unveiled new The Tortured Poets Department outfits on stage in Paris.
