Wednesday evening saw emergency services rush towards Madrid’s largest stadium. During reconstruction a fire broke out, causing clouds of thick smoke.

Fans of Real can be worried about numerous things these days, from the ongoing Super League debacle to Zinedine Zidane’s apparent departure. However, yesterday evening all eyes turned to Bernabéu, which caught fire.

Because the stadium’s north-east corner got covered with thick dark smoke very fast, social media were awash with video clips, some reaching millions of views immediately. Thankfully, the literal dark cloud over Real’s stadium proved far less problematic than it could have seemed at the start.

As far as local media were able to establish, the fire broke out around 8:20 pm, during regular welding operations. A spark may have landed on insulation materials, according to Marca, and cause quick spread of fire.

While all emergency services managed to reach the stadium within minutes from receiving the call, it’s reported that workers actually managed to control the fire themselves. Firemen helped make sure it was safe, while police took care of re-routing traffic around the stadium.

As of this publication Real hasn’t issued any statement about the incident but it’s considered to be of very minor importance. Damages should be minimal, while no disruption in schedule should be expected. Keep in mind, currently there are 350-500 workers on site daily, working in a very confined environment.

The stadium is undergoing its largest and most expensive reconstruction in history, even if most of the concrete structure will remain in place. The auditorium is being reconfigured, the field will become the world’s first to retract into a basement, while the entire roof structure is being replaced by a closing dome. In total, the project is expected to exceed €600 million in value. Because of the pandemic, Real moved out to boost progress, hosting empty-stadium games at Estadio Alfredo di Stefano.

Author: MK