On July 26, The Guardian reported that during the off-season, the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium has been hosting concerts frequently, causing significant inconvenience to nearby residents. These residents are also highly dissatisfied with Real Madrid Club, accusing the club of breaking the law for financial gain.
Despite being one of the highest-earning clubs globally, Real Madrid faces substantial financial outlays. The club recently completed a five-year renovation project costing €900 million. Real Madrid still has loans and debts totaling €1.2 billion. To alleviate this financial pressure, the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium is being used to host concerts during the off-season.
Recently, the stadium hosted concerts by popular artists such as Taylor Swift, Luis Miguel, and Karol G, transforming the arena into a nightly concert venue.
The frequent concerts at the Bernabéu have sparked outrage among local residents: “The concerts need to be stopped; the law doesn’t allow this. If I were to rent my home as a dance hall, it would be shut down within a week.”
Some residents discussed the disturbance caused: “It’s absolutely terrible. You can’t move your car when you want to go out, you can’t walk your dog, and there are health issues too. Everyone here is suffering from headaches, anxiety, and depression because of this.”
Another resident mentioned making complaints to city hall: “In fact, the Bernabéu, as a stadium, only has permits to host sporting events and major national events. It does not have permission to host other activities. This stadium can host special events, but when there are concerts four days a week, it’s no longer considered special.”