Simon Hunter
‘SWIFTIES’ from Spain and all over the world may be celebrating that the wait is finally over and that Taylor Swift’s Eras tour will finally make its debut today in Madrid, for a two-night run at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium.
But not everyone is happy about the arrival of the musical juggernaut that is her four-hour show, particularly residents who live near the home of the Real Madrid football team.
All of the concerts that have been held at the Bernabeu in the last month have exceeded the permitted noise limits, and the Taylor Swift concert is likely to do the same.
Police and City Hall will be taking noise measurements during the Taylor Swift concert to see where the decibels come in.
There have been growing complaints about noise from residents who live nearby the Bernabeu, which is located in the central Charmartin district.
Not only have they had to put up with the long-running refurbishment project at the stadium, which has caused noise problems and congestion, but also the issues from concerts.
The five gigs held there in the last four weeks since the construction work finally finished have all registered excessive noise levels.
Today, Borja Carabante, the head of the City Hall’s urban department, announced that from now on, any concert at the Bernabeu where noise levels are exceeded would risk fines for its promoters.
These penalties range from €600 to €300,000, but City Hall says it is looking at fines of around €20,000 in the case of concerts such as the Eras Tour.
The fines, however, are unlikely to bother an artist such as Taylor Swift, who is reported to earn anywhere between €10 and €13 million per concert on her current international tour.
