In September, neighbours complaining about noise blocked concerts at Real Madrid's venue, so the artists 'fled' to the Estadio Metropolitano. But now - after Ed Sheeran's concert - the same protests are beginning to surround the home of Atletico Madrid.

Concert problems for the Los Blancos…

According to many architects, noise problems during concerts at Santiago Bernabéu could have been foreseen. The open layout of the façade, houses less than 30 metres away or the unenclosed entrances and the Skywalk... The author of the 2001-2006 redevelopment even stated that never should the subject of concerts at the Bernabéu be considered. But with Estadio Metropolitano it was to be different.

Located on the eastern outskirts of the Spanish capital, the home of Atletico Madrid seemed the ideal replacement, as the nearest houses are 400 metres away, which seemed to compensate for the lack of an enclosed roof and the open spaces on the west side. So when it became clear that the blockade of concerts at the Bernabéu would continue for many months, stars began one by one to announce their move to Metropolitano.

Imagine Dragons, Stray Kids, Iron Maiden, AC/DC and Ed Sheeran - the stadium´s calendar for this year is impressive. Ed Sheeran has already performed at the Metropolitano - as the first one - two days in a row, on Friday and Saturday. But his double concert could be for Atletico what Taylor Swift's - also double - show turned out to be for Real Madrid. The American star's appearance in the summer of 2024 made the voices of disgruntled neighbours reach the media and started a debate about banning the concerts at the Bernabeu. Not three months passed and the club itself announced their suspension.

© NAVE DEL MADRIDISMO | Noise reaching 87 decibels was recorded during the Taylor Swift concert. The law prohibits exceeding 55 decibels.

... and now Los Colchoneros

Following Friday and Saturday's concert by the British artist, recordings have emerged in the media in which sounds can be heard coming from the performance near local homes. Although the noise generated by concerts at the Metropolitano is much less than that recorded at the Bernabeu, it can still exceed standards. This is because the law there stipulates sound limits according to distance from the stadium.

Between the Atletico stadium and the residential buildings there is an empty space of park and road, so the sound reaching the houses is not dampened or blocked, making it possible that the concerts actually exceed the legal noise limits. However, there are no exact measurements yet, and according to Europa Press, the mayor of Madrid assured that there are currently no complaints and that the necessary checks had been carried out at the stadium. We do not believe that there are currently any noise problems at Estadio Metropolitano that could be compared to those that may have occurred in other parts of the city, he concluded.

For exceeding sound intensity limits, a concert organiser can receive fines from €12,000 to €301,000. The concerts at the Bernabéu resulted in fines totalling €801,000. Although in this case the costs were borne by the concert promoters and not Real Madrid, the most important blow was the suspension of the concerts and the image failure of the club and the new Bernabéu.

© Grzegorz Kaliciak | Estadio Metropolitano is surrounded by a park, a highway and a car park.