The battle of noise in the heart of Bernabeu

Last year, tens of thousands of “Swifties” – Taylor Swift fans – Madrid filling to watch consecutive concerts at the famous Bernabeu stadium in the Spanish capital, the home of Real Madrid, who won the Champions League final after less than 24 hours, on June 1.

Mega-Concent was one of the dozens of prominent vehicles organized on the newly renewed stadium in 2024 to enhance the club’s revenues.

But the project was short -term. In September, all vehicles were canceled after the residents living in the music ear submitted a legal complaint about noise.

Now, after nine months, Spanish pop singer is Aitana is the latest artist to replace places from Bernabéu to the Metropolitan Stadium – home to his competitors ATLETICO MADRID – with the court case.

“In every concert is exactly the same,” says Enrique Martinez de Azjara, president of the neighbors. He and other local residents say the sound of concerts like Taylor Swift is too much.

“It is impossible to suffer from this type of noise and affect our health, as it affects migraines, insomnia and heart attacks, which is a criminal crime in our laws,” Enrique added.

In Madrid, the noise measured by neighbors exceeded 90 dB regularly during concerts.

Eyan Marnan of the European Environment Agency says that any level of 55 decibels or higher in Europe is harmful, and continuous exposure can lead to increased blood pressure and cardiovascular diseases such as strokes, Ian Marnan of the European Environment says. There are also links between exposure to noise and diabetes.

Enrique says there is a big difference between the noise resulting from concerts compared to those football matches. He and most of his neighbors have lived in the region for decades. Many of them are Real Madrid supporters for life and suffer from the committees that represent the interests of the club.

“Football is a two -hour, or more or more sport. The noise is normal. Only when there is a goal, the passion increases,” Enrique says. The problem that he sees with concerts is that it creates high levels of noise continuously for long periods of hours at a time.

To reduce their exposure to these high levels of noise, Enrique and his neighbors Real Madrid took the court.

Sports journalist Philipo Maria Richie believes that they have a strong issue.

“Bernabeu is in the heart of Madrid. The neighbors who live there have good sites and know the right people,” says Philipo. “This battle for concerts can be very long, but currently Real Madrid loses this battle.”

The neighbors say that the city government is reluctant to resolve the issue because it takes advantage of tourism and money generated by concerts. According to local media reports, tourists spent at Taylor Swift’s concerts alone about 25 million euros (21 million pounds; $ 28 million).

Philipo says the renewal of 1.1 billion pounds to make the stadium multi -purpose was supposed to provide a huge financial payment for Real Madrid.

They also signed a contract with an American company that sells the commercial rights of the stadium.

“They spent a lot of money to develop a new stadium system, to take off when they have concerts,” says Philipo. “Now all this new superior system is useless, at the present time, all this money has been given.”

Ed Sheeran, imagine Dragons and AC/DC are among the actions that play at the competitor Atlético stadium this summer.

Madrid City Council, mayor’s office and Real Madrid did not respond to requests for comment by the BBC.

Real Madrid has already said it was trying to prove the stadium. According to local reports, the club was appointed a specialized company and Windows was installed in the Skywalk area.

When I put on the neighbors that Real Madrid tries to withdraw the stadium, they laughed. Enrique works as an engineer and believes it is “completely impossible to prepare for the stadium.”

While Bernabéu’s roof can be closed, the stadium has never been completely closed, as there is an open gap between the ceiling and the front along the way around the field.

The neighbors say they are not against all concerts.

“We have concerts in the past, but once a year,” says Pablo Bastwits, a lawyer and one of the neighbors for change.

He remembers concerts with music legends such as Frank Sinatra and Julio Iglisias in Bernabeu – but he says that there are 20 concerts per year too much.

From the ceiling balcony for one of the neighbors’ apartments, the proximity to the stadium is normal.

They point to a health center they say they say is struggling to measure blood pressure for patients at times because the sound waves of concerts disturb the readings in their devices.

Pablo says that concerts are not the only problem – there are also proofs and tests during the day that bother the local community, including schools.

Louis Jordan de Bozas lives directly from the stadium, and some noise measurements were taken abroad and inside his apartment.

In his balcony overlooking Bernabeu, he explains how the newly added metal panels on the outdoor stadium have swallowed, and I show me the “inaccurate” noise videos.

In Madrid, the facades of the homes surrounding the stadium lined up with signs. They are wrapped from their windows, balconies and terraces that their neighbors offer their protest stickers, and read “Conciertos No” (without concerts) and “Ruído No” (without noise).

Currently, while the case was in court, the music stopped.