Real Madrid has announced that it will officially halt all concerts at its newly renovated Santiago Bernabéu stadium until at least 2025. The disruption culminated months of complaints, technical glitches and broken promises that have turned the future stadium into a noisy nuisance for Madrid residents.
The problems began in May 2024, when Taylor Swift performed at the stadium during her Hellas tour. Swift’s concert was meant to be a victory lap for Real Madrid’s ambitious $1.91 billion project to transform the stadium into a multi-use space that should generate revenue throughout the year, even when the team is not playing. Instead, the tour made it clear that the stadium could not withstand the deafening roar of concert speakers and tens of thousands of fans.
Swift’s show was just the beginning of a bigger problem that got worse as more artists and bands took to the stage. The noise levels continued to rise and the behavior of fans got even worse as drunk and violent groups took over the entire area.
Now, after months of increasing pressure from residents and government officials, Real Madrid has finally backed down and released a statement confirming that all upcoming concerts, including headline performances by popular Spanish singers Aitana, Dellafuente and Lola Indigo, have been cancelled and postponed indefinitely. A K-Pop festival scheduled for October 2024 has been cancelled altogether.
Real Madrid said the decision was taken to ensure compliance with city regulations. “Real Madrid has decided to reprogram its event and concert agenda at the Santiago Bernabéu provisionally,” the club announced.
Bernabeu’s $1.91 billion makeover disaster
Real Madrid spent more than six years and $1.91 billion transforming the Bernabéu into a futuristic stadium capable of hosting not only soccer matches but a wide range of large-scale events as well. Designed by L35 Arquitectos, gmp Architects, and Ribas & Ribas Arquitectos, the goal of the renovation was to create a venue with cutting-edge features and capable of quickly adapting to different types of events.
The heartof t his redesign was a retractable roof supported by two enormous steel beams that stretched 176 metres across the stadium, and a sliding playing surface that could be replaced with a solid concrete floor in just 25 minutes. The entire roof system is made from 33,000 tonnes of steel, the equivalent of 120 Airbus A380s, allowing for quick transitions between football matches, concerts and other events.
But when Real Madrid was planning to build a stadium where world stars could perform, they didn’t expect the noise problem to become so severe. As the concerts progressed, it became clear that the stadium’s open design, intended for ventilation, was letting noise leak into the surrounding area. Promises made by Real Madrid and the city were not enough to stem the tide of complaints.
In July 2024, a judge upheld a lawsuit brought by the Bernabéu-Affected Neighborhoods Association, which alleged that Real Madrid had violated city bylaws. The complaint noted that the stadium’s construction permit did not include non-football events and that Real Madrid had not carried out a noise control study before hosting the concerts.
Facing legal challenges, technical limitations and a huge image crisis for a sports club that prides itself on tradition and respect for its fans, city and country, Real Madrid ultimately decided to suspend all concerts until the problem was resolved. The association recognised the need for stricter anti-noise measures and promised not to resume events until compliance with city regulations was ensured.
Insurmountable pressure
“We know this is a battle won, but not the war,” said Enrique Martínez de Azagra, a spokesman for the association. The association filed a lawsuit against the club in March before finally issuing a statement. Their frustration grew as they watched drunk concertgoers urinate in public, trample in yards and litter in the streets. Fights broke out between concertgoers during the event, leaving one man dead, further adding to the feeling that things were getting out of control.
Amid mounting legal pressure and public anger, Real Madrid and the city of Madrid began implementing a series of solutions. They tried everything from installing soundproofing walls and soundproofing equipment, enforcing an 11pm curfew and promising neighbours that improvements were being made. In July 2024, Mayor José Luis Martínez-Almeida announced that the city would limit the number of concerts to 20 per year, hoping that this would ease the pressure.
However, none of these efforts worked; in fact, they made the situation worse. Soundproof curtains and insulation installed by Real Madrid failed to reduce the noise to the legal limit. Concerts such as that by Romeo Santos in July 2024 still generated noise complaints. During Santos’ performance, tensions rose between the artist’s technical team, stadium staff and city officials, leading to a power outage during the concert. From the stage, Santos blamed city officials for the technical glitches, further escalating tensions.
The way forward
The only chance of solving this problem may lie in the hands of a British company called Vanguardia. Vanguardia is reportedly working with another major engineering firm, Arup, to develop plans to install acoustic curtains and nanogel screens to muffle noise inside the stadium (Vanguardia has not yet responded to a request for comment). Implementation of these measures is expected to take at least six months, but it is unclear how, or if, they will work.
Real Madrid hopes that the new soundproofing system will allow them to host concerts again in 2025, but skepticism remains strong among local residents. Vanguardia has a long track record of solving noise problems for venues such as Wembley Stadium and London’s O2 Arena, but many believe the Bernabeu’s open design presents unique challenges that may be insurmountable. “We will continue working to ensure that during concerts, the necessary conditions in production and sound emission allow them to take place at our stadium,” Real Madrid said in an official statement.
Now the future of big events at the Bernabeu depends on whether Vanguardia or someone else can solve a $1.9 billion design flaw that was somehow overlooked (or deliberately ignored). Until they succeed, the shiny, steel-clad spaceship known as the Santiago Bernabeu will remain locked in hyperspace while the club puts the finishing touches on the surrounding park.