The future with regard to the concert events that the Santiago Bernabéu stadium will host is currently one of the great unknowns surrounding the remodelled stadium of Real Madrid. What was initially going to be considered a venue for world-class shows is suffering various setbacks that have put this intention in jeopardy. Restrictions due to noise, complaints from neighbors and uncontrolled costs are the great unknowns that will affect this venue and may prevent it from hosting concerts in the future.
Restrictions and legal problems at the Santiago Bernabéu
The decision to suspend concerts at the Bernabéu stadium from September 2024 has opened the door to various debates. Due to noise complaints from local residents, it has not been necessary to change venues or cancel various events, which has led to the search for solutions by Real Madrid aimed at increasing soundproofing. Among the numerous artists who have seen their concerts rescheduled are Aitana, who had to change the day of her performance, and the artist Lola Índigo, who canceled her event to move to the Estadio Metropolitano.
The club is in a real race against time to find an alternative that will allow the concerts to be recovered without legal conflicts, but the necessary works could mean new million-dollar increases that are already added to the already crazy investment in the remodeling of the stadium.
The income generated by the concerts at the Bernabéu
The Santiago Bernabéu hosted concerts during the summer of 2024 despite the cancellations, which has led to some striking figures, since Real Madrid, from July to September, obtained 12.7 million euros from concerts by artists of the stature of Karol G, Taylor Swift and Aventura.
Although this amount is a significant increase compared to the ticket sales of other years, it is still a low percentage of the club’s overall budget. As Florentino Pérez insisted at the presentation of the accounts, concerts only represent 1% of annual income, so it is very difficult to argue that concerts are part of the business model of the new Santiago Bernabéu.
Concerts in the future
Real Madrid is facing a difficult problem to solve, given the current restrictions, which have put a stop to the holding of new concerts. The board of directors is working to find all the solutions that concerts can comply with the regulations. One of the main alternatives would be to improve the stadium’s soundproofing, but this could lead to new time frames and new costs.
On the other hand, investors are putting pressure on the stadium to deliver the expected profits, and the suspension of concerts has caused tensions; the financial agreement with these companies was based on exploiting the venue beyond matches
The future of concerts at the Santiago Bernabéu is uncertain. Real Madrid has the mission of balancing economic interests with regulatory provisions and the well-being of the neighbors. One of the great challenges facing the Whites is to overcome this situation so that the Santiago Bernabéu once again has the capacity to host major musical events in the city of Madrid. Until the situation changes, uncertainty will continue to set the course for a Santiago Bernabéu that is not only designed for football matches but also for top-level shows.