For just one weekend, Madrid will experience something out of the ordinary: for the first time, the Hipódromo de la Zarzuela will be transformed into an authentic Roman Colosseum. The arena will host live gladiator battles, featuring fights, rituals, and an atmosphere reminiscent of the spectacles of the Empire. For just four days—June 26, 28, 29, and 30— a historic scene that hasn’t been repeated in Spain for over a thousand years will be brought back to life.
How a gladiator’s life or death was decided: Caesar’s thumb gesture
In every Roman spectacle, there was a moment when everything came to a standstill. This pivotal moment arrives with Caesar’s entrance. The arena falls silent, the audience holds its breath, and after the fight, the verdict is delivered: pollice verso— that thumb gesture which, in Ancient Rome, decided the gladiator’s fate, indicating whether he should live or die.
The decision is announced before everyone— mercy or condemnation—while the gladiator’s fate is sealed with a single gesture. Will there be a missio (the pardon that allows him to leave alive), or will he have to repeat that line, “We are the Popular Front of Judea!” among the crowd before the final verdict?
More than 1,600 years later, gladiators return to Madrid
More than 1,600 years have passed since the last documented gladiatorial combats in Hispania around the 5th century, and now that scene returns for a limited time. It is no coincidence: Madrid also bears traces of Roman history. From the ancient city of Complutum, one of the most important settlements of the time, to the road in the Fuenfría Valley, deep in the Sierra de Guadarrama, which still preserves original sections from the 1st century.
That past, which normally remains hidden, comes to life at the Hipódromo de la Zarzuela on June 26, 27, 28, and 29 with ‘ROMA: Forbidden Battles,’ a production that revives the symbols and rituals of the Empire alongside the arena, the combat, and the final verdict.
Everything you need to know before going to ROME: Forbidden Fights
The show is not just the combat. The setting recreates the atmosphere of the Roman amphitheater from the moment you enter the arena: sets that evoke the Colosseum’s stands, actors in character, period costumes, and a staging designed to make the audience feel like part of the Roman crowd, not merely modern spectators.
Gladiators don’t just fight: they perform rituals, interact with Caesar and the audience, and carry the battle through to the final verdict. All in approximately 60 minutes of non-stop action.
📅 Dates: Friday, June 26; Sunday, June 28; Monday, June 29; and Tuesday, June 30, 2026.
🎫 Tickets now on sale starting at €19.90 on Fever.
🏟 Ticket types: Central Grandstand, Side Grandstand, VIP Area.
⏰ Showtimes: Friday 6:00 PM and 9:00 PM · Sunday 1:00 PM, 6:00 PM, and 9:00 PM · Monday 9:00 PM · Tuesday 9:00 PM
⏳ Duration: approximately 60 minutes.
📍 Location: Hipódromo de la Zarzuela, A-6, Km 8, Madrid; a half-hour from downtown by car or public transportation.
