The Mad Cool 2024 festival, which starts this Wednesday, will be closely monitored and evaluated by Madrid City Council, the Government Delegation and Getafe City Council to decide whether the venue that hosts it, the Iberdrola Music, meets the conditions to hold this type of macro-event. The decision on its continuity will be made from September, as agreed by the three administrations involved, which met this Monday.
Mad Cool loses 80% of Madrid City Council’s sponsorship but retains one million euros from Ayuso
The agreement was reached at a political meeting sponsored by the Government Delegation, which was closed a few weeks ago, when the green light was given to hold the festival this year. It was at a meeting attended by the delegate himself, Francisco Martín, the mayor of Getafe, Sara Hernández, and the person responsible for the Environment and Mobility of the Madrid council, Borja Carabante, who excused the presence of the mayor for “scheduling” reasons.
At the meeting, Getafe has asked for improvements in terms of noise and mobility, demanding the installation of acoustic screens to mitigate the emission of sound towards the residential areas in the north of the town, those closest to the concert venue. It has also asked the Community of Madrid to provide a Metro stop in the area, taking advantage of the recent extension of line 3. And to enable an underground pedestrian connection between the two municipalities, below the existing roads.
“It is not the ideal space, but if Madrid City Council decides that it should take root, we will think regarding the ideal conditions,” explained the mayor of Getafe, who complained that her citizens have to pay “the bill for the party organised by Madrid”. She also regretted that her town “suffers the consequences”, but admits that it does not have the authority to sanction the noise caused, since the licence is granted by the Madrid council. For this week, her municipality will dedicate ten local police officers each day to the mobility problems caused by the event.
Madrid City Council calls for more measures
The delegate for Urban Planning, Mobility and Environment, Borja Carabante, had previously spoken regarding the meeting, admitting that in order for the site to continue “measures must be taken to reconcile security and mobility measures”, as well as allowing “residents to rest”.
The delegate praised the fact that the capacity has been reduced this year to 58,000 spectators per day, instead of the 70,000 of the previous year. In addition, the schedule arrangement will mean that the exit from the venue will take place in a staggered manner.
Almeida’s team also clarified that if the place becomes a permanent concert venue, a new municipal license will be required to enable it as such.
The Government delegate, Francisco Martín, regretted the absence of Mayor Almeida at the meeting, although he highlighted Carabante’s “good tone”. “I want to be optimistic and think that in September the City Council will comply and be at the meeting. The important thing is not whether the mayor comes or not. If he does not want to comply with his obligations, that is his problem. The important thing is to deal with the issue of the security of that space and propose concrete solutions if it is consolidated.”
The delegate insisted that this space “does not meet the best conditions for macro events of this nature, of a fan phenomenon, which have an entrance and exit of the public all at the same time, adjusted in time, which causes a very large volume in a limited time frame”. And he stressed the “excessive” deployment of national police officers and civil guards at Mad Cool, “which means double the number of personnel for a similar event at the Metropolitan stadium or three times as many as at the Wizink Center”.
“If the conditions were different, it would be better to reduce the number of agents. It was also very important to listen to the proposals from Getafe and the reflections from Madrid, whose proposals we hope will arrive one day. If this space is consolidated, we must guarantee that the events take place in the best conditions,” he insisted.
Mad Cool 2024 is taking place this week, from Wednesday to Saturday, with a line-up featuring Dua Lipa, Pearl Jam and The Killers. Its licence was approved a few days ago, thanks to an agreement between Madrid City Council and the Government Delegation that included the meeting on Monday.
The venue that hosts it opened in 2023 with controversy, following significant mobility and noise problems reported by residents, which ended in financial penalties by Almeida’s team and the reduction of its financial sponsorship for this year’s edition to a fifth.
Festival date in July that will go to Ifema
At the meeting on Monday, Borja Carabante reported on a new request for a licence for another macro-festival in the same venue. This is the Barcelona Beach Festival, which was initially announced for next Sunday, 14 July. It was the only request for an event planned for the Iberdrola Music venue this year, according to the council.
“We have not been given any further details, not even if it has a business licence. This reflects the improvisation of the City Council,” criticised the Government delegate in response to this new announcement. Sources from the concert venue consulted by Somos Madrid indicate that this event will take place at Ifema and that the decision not to host it in Villaverde was communicated almost two months ago.
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