The district of Villaverde will be the center of music during this weekend in Madrid. Mad Cool Festival 2025 is being held these days, from July 10 to 13, at the Iberdrola Music venue in Villaverde, south of Madrid, and will be one of the biggest logistical and mobility deployments of the year in the city. With more than 50,000 daily attendees expected and a line-up headed by international artists such as Muse, Olivia Rodrigo, Iggy Pop, Alanis Morissette or Justice, the festival will turn the area into the epicenter of leisure, but also a critical point for traffic and urban mobility.
Road closures and traffic restrictions for Mad Cool
During the four days of the festival, the Madrid City Council will activate a special mobility plan that includes traffic cuts and detours in several streets around Villaverde and the border with Getafe. The main roads affected will be:
- Calle Laguna Dalga (main pedestrian entrance to the venue).
- Laguna de Cameros Street.
- San Eustaquio Street.
- Laguna del Marquesado Street.
- Resina Street.
- Avenida Real de Pinto (especially northbound, from the traffic circle under the M-45).
- Tobalina Valley.
In addition, there will be occasional cuts in the accesses to the traffic circle under the M-45 road that connects Villaverde Alto and Getafe, especially affecting exit 7 of the M-45 east. Northbound traffic from Getafe to the traffic circle will be restricted during the entrance and exit hours of the venue, coinciding with the arrival and departure of thousands of attendees.
Impact of Mad Cool on public transport and recommendations
In order to minimize the traffic congestion, the municipal device encourages the use of public transport:
- Metro and Cercanías: lines 3 of Metro and C4 of Cercanías will extend their schedule until 3:30 am. The nearest Metro stations are Villaverde Alto and Los Espartales. While the Cercanías stations are Villaverde Alto (lines C4a, C4b and C5) and San Cristóbal Industrial (line C3).
- Shuttle buses: there will be free special services from Villaverde Alto to Legazpi and Atocha between 1:00 am and 3:30 am.
- Intercity buses: lines 428, 432, 441, 442, 442, 443, 446, 447, 448, 450, 455, 488, N805 and N807.
- Buses of the Municipal Transport Company (EMT): lines 22, 79, T41 and N14.
- EMT and interurban lines detours: some regular lines (22, 79, T41, N14) will have their routes altered or will suffer delays due to the cuts and the saturation of the area.
The City Council recommends avoiding the use of private vehicles around the festival and, for long-distance trips, to use the M-30 and M-40. It is also advised to consult in real time the incidents and mobility alternatives before moving to the area.
Neighborhood and municipal reactions to the event
The celebration of Mad Cool has generated concern in neighboring neighborhoods, especially in Getafe Norte, whose residents fear that their streets will become improvised parking lots and suffer noise and saturation nuisance. The Getafe City Council has expressed its opposition to some aspects of the mobility plan and has requested additional measures to protect the daily life of the neighbors.