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Madrid’s Bernabéu stadium stops hosting concerts amid noise complaints

Spanish football club Real Madrid is rescheduling or cancelling all upcoming shows at its Santiago Bernabéu stadium to comply with the city's noise regulations, following scores of complaints from neighbours living nearby.

Madrid's Bernabéu stadium stops hosting concerts amid noise complaints
An aerial view of Real Madrid's Santiago Bernabéu Stadium before it was refurbished. (Photo by GERARD JULIEN / AFP)

The venue began hosting concerts and other events again earlier this year — with artists including Taylor Swift and Karol G performing — after a major revamp which includes a roof and retractable pitch to allow it to be used as a year-round entertainment hub.

But local residents have complained that noise levels violate Madrid city rules.

They argue the stadium is not properly soundproofed and its new, powerful loudspeakers do not comply with noise regulations.

“Real Madrid has decided to provisionally reschedule the programme of events and concerts at the Santiago Bernabéu,” the club said in a statement.

“This decision is part of a series of measures the club has been taking to ensure strict compliance with current municipal regulations during concerts,” it added.

The club said event organisers had faced a “challenge” to comply with the regulations, despite soundproofing and other noise-abatement measures the venue had put in place.

Spanish artists Dellafuente and Aitana had been due to perform there in November and December, while Lola Indigo was due there in March 2025.

The club said new dates for these events would be announced soon.

A concert scheduled for October 12 featuring several of the biggest names in K-pop, including BOYNEXTDOOR and ENHYPEN, has been “cancelled outright”.

Spanish public television TVE said some 240,000 people had bought tickets for the concerts in question.

The Real Madrid statement did not give any details about potential ticket refunds.

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TRAIN TRAVEL

Train travel in Spain: Ouigo’s new €9 Madrid-Murcia route

French low-cost rail company Ouigo has launched its new high-speed Madrid to Murcia train, linking the two cities in under three hours and with prices starting for as little as €9. Here are frequencies, stops and other key travel info.

Train travel in Spain: Ouigo's new €9 Madrid-Murcia route

Ouigo has opened a new route linking the Spanish capital with the southeastern region of Murcia.

The launch was on Thursday September 5th and from now there will be two daily services in each direction.

Trains leave from Madrid’s Chamartín-Clara Campoamor station and Murcia’s El Carmen station.

The trains departing from Murcia leave every day at 12.39 and 20.39, whereas from Madrid they leave at 8.15 and 16.15.

The total journey time is 2 hours and 45 minutes, according to Ouigo.

All in all, 2,000 passengers will be able to travel at 300km/h between the two cities on Ouigo’s two-storey trains, 14,000 a week.

The new rail link will add a new stop to Ouigo’s network – the city of Elche in Alicante province. 

The Madrid-Murcia route will also connect with the pre-existing stop in the city of Albacete.

Tickets first went on sale at the end of May when Ouigo confirmed the new route. They can be purchased on the company’s website

A single adult fare starts at €9 but prices are dynamic so you could end up paying around €30 for a return, which is still very reasonable.

There are also add-ons such as ticket upgrades, travelling with a pet, extra luggage and choosing a seat which will of course mean the price is higher.

Children under 3 travel for free, while a ticket for an under 13 costs €7 normally.

Additionally, there are travel options for people with disabilities at no extra cost.  

The new Madrid-Murcia Ouigo train is further good news for the often overlooked southeastern coastal region nestled between Alicante and Almería, as for almost two decades they waited for a high-speed rail link to Murcia from the capital. 

This was finally resolved when Renfe launched its AVE in December 2022.

Ouigo plans to continue expanding its offering in October 2024 by adding three Andalusian cities to its network: Córdoba, Málaga and Seville.

There is already a low-cost rail option connecting Madrid with Murcia operated by Avlo, the low-cost subsidiary of Spain’s state-run rail company Renfe, which began linking the two cities in December 2023.

In this case, adult single tickets start at €7 and include a few more stops (Cuenca, Albacete, Villena, Alicante, Elche and Orihuela).

Spain’s other new low-cost rail operator, Iryo, also plans to connect Madrid to Murcia, but the launch has been postponed until 2026.

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