In recent months, residents living in the vicinity of the Riyadh Air Metropolitano Stadium in Madrid have intensified their complaints about the multitudinous concerts held at this venue, since those at the Santiago Bernabeu were suspended for the same reason.
The big events in this space have gone from being something punctual to the place chosen for the big shows in the capital, such as those of AC/DC or Bad Bunny. The coexistence between cultural activity and neighborhood tranquility has been seriously affected, and many residents express their discomfort through social networks, especially on X, where @RuidoAtleti has viralized the protests and has gained thousands of followers.
According to this account, concerts at the Metropolitano, which attract tens of thousands of attendees, generate high noise, crowds and mobility problems in nearby streets. The neighbors denounce that the noise control and mitigation measures are insufficient and that the nuisance extends until the wee hours of the morning, affecting rest and quality of life. And although this channel has emerged recently, problems with noise have been an issue since 2019, as already analyzed by the Spanish Society of Acoustics.
In X’s account you can read testimonials such as “We oppose living every week as if we were in the middle of a festival”, “No, the sound that reaches the houses is not legal and so we are in the process of proving it,” or “Twelve days with the neighborhood sequestered and without the possibility of opening windows because of the sound”. In addition, the account shares videos of the noise, images of collapsed streets and messages calling for stricter regulation, following the path marked a year ago by @RuidoBernabeu, which achieved quite a lot of repercussion.
The authorities’ response
In a statement on June 2, the mayor, Jose Luis Martínez Almeida, said that he does not believe that the same thing will happen as at the Santiago Bernabéu and that so far no noise infringement report has been issued for any of the concerts that have been held.
On the other hand, works are being carried out on the exit roads to the M-40 and a service road to decongest mobility in the area when there are events of any kind in the stadium. However, this does not convince the neighbors who channel their protests through @RuidoAtleti: “The new access to decongest the M-40 or the exit/entry ramps that are being undertaken will only aggravate the problem”.