'It's a crime!' - Noisy neighbour complaints threaten Real Madrid's concert plans as residents rage after Taylor Swift gig shook homes and woke children following €1.2bn stadium renovation

Real Madrid are fighting to save their plans to make the Bernabeu a leading venue for major events other than world class football.

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WHAT HAPPENED?
Madrid residents who live in the vicinity of the refurbished Bernabeu complained about "intolerable noise" from a run of concerts at the stadium in 2024, the Financial Times has reported. Some huge shows have been hosted already, including back-to-back Taylor Swift concerts seen by more than 120,000 people in May. But the level of noise pollution is alleged to be a crime, with some performers even fined, resulting in a "blame game" over responsibility. Bernabeu neighbour Claudia Martin called it a "crime" in the same way that would be for an oil company to cause a spill, but suggested it is harder to tackle because the impact is "invisible".

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THE BIGGER PICTURE
Real Madrid are nearing the end of a €1.2 billion (£1bn/$1.24bn) renovation project, with the hope of further monetising the stadium when it is not in use for football by making it available for other major events - like the Taylor Swift gigs. But while a lot of new-build stadiums, particularly those in the United States, are out of town developments without residential areas in close proximity, the 77-year-old Bernabeu is right in the middle of a heavily populated area, surrounded by apartment buildings and domestic homes to the north of the city centre.
WHAT LOCAL RESIDENTS SAID
Jose Manuel Paredes, a spokesperson for local residents, told the Financial Times: "With an institution like Real Madrid and a stadium so exposed to the urban environment, I can't get my head around the idea that nobody stopped to think about how it was going to affect neighbours in terms of something as sensitive as noise. Either they knew it would be an issue and they didn't care, or it's a systemic failure of the whole decision-making process."

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WHAT NEXT?
Concerts have been frozen since a September announcement of "provisionally rescheduling" put a stop from further dates going ahead until a resolution to comply with regulations has been achieved. As it stands, "the club is not in a position to guarantee any dates for concerts".

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