Staff Reporter
FOR ‘Swifties’ from Spain, and those who have travelled to Madrid this week to see their musical hero Taylor Swift play in Madrid, the countdown has begun. The 34-year-old singer-songwriter’s Eras tour will be hosted for two nights at the Santiago Bernabeu soccer stadium. But not everyone is happy.
Residents of Concha Espina street, which is located close to the home ground of the Real Madrid team, awoke to see more than 100 huge trailers parked along the road, leaving just one lane free for traffic, and impeding them from getting to work.
And it’s not just the disruption to the roads ahead of Swift’s Madrid concerts on May 29 and 30 that is upsetting the locals. Just a few days ago another musical event was held at the Bernabeu, featuring Spanish artists such as Alejandro Sanz and David Bisbal.
The problem on that occasion was that the noise levels were more than twice as high as is permitted.
“We are all against this,” Enrique Martinez de Azagara, the president of a residents association, said in comments reported by radio network Cadena SER. “You can’t have concerts on a continuous basis, because the law clearly states that they can only be held on extraordinary occasions [at the Bernabeu].”
Martinez described the noise levels from that gig as having ‘exceeded absolutely all imaginable levels’.
The Taylor Swift concerts will, however, be a boon for local businesses, which are expected to benefit from the extra visitors in the city.
Around 30% of the concert-goers – some 15,600 people – are international tourists or visitors from other parts of Spain, according to Cadena SER.
They are expected to spend an average of €280 a day during their stay between accommodation, food and other leisure activities.
The Hosteleria Madrid chamber of commerce expects the concerts to have an impact of nearly €10 million on the hospitality sector in the city, thanks to each of the two gigs attracting nearly 52,000 people.
Whether the economic impact will be of any consolation to nearby residents of the Santiago Bernabeu stadium is yet to be seen.
