A city inspired by magical realism, featuring eight pavilions dedicated to music, fashion, gastronomy, literature, art, and film, children’s culture, and Shakira’s artistic universe: this is what the complex structure that the Colombian singer will build in Madrid for the final leg of her current tour will look like.
This Friday, his team revealed more details at a press conference where they previewed rendered images of what the Iberdrola Music venue will look like about two months before the first concert, on September 18, followed by performances on September 19, 20, 25, 26, and 27, and October 2, 3, 4, 10, and 11.
The announcement stated that there will be a total of 12 concerts, as a final date has been added on October 9.
“Spain is Latin” is the message Shakira wants to convey with this residency, according to Pino Sagliocco, president of Live Nation Spain, who noted that this is “the most beautiful project” he has ever worked on as “a space for togetherness that makes us all more empathetic.”
With a capacity of 50,000 people and a central gathering place called Macondo Plaza, the venue will be open from 12 noon until midnight, with Shakira’s main concert taking place from 8:30 p.m. to 11 p.m.
Each pavilion will have “its own identity,” such as its color, and a distinct program and lineup of guests throughout the residency, all curated by Shakira “based on the idea that the Latin Nation is not a geographic territory: it is a transnational community united by language, rhythm, creativity, resilience, and joy.”
According to Sagliocco, discussions are underway with public institutions to explore the possibility of using the days when the facility is closed—Monday through Thursday—for school field trips “so that students can celebrate their sense of belonging to this community.”
Shakira and Her Home in Spain: A “Community” with a VIP Area
Within that “community,” there will be, however, two exclusive areas for the VIP section, “Espacio Garden” and “Espacio Terrace,” for which tickets will go on sale next Monday and which have been “designed to experience Shakira’s European tour from a whole new level,” according to the official statement.
“It’s a service that needs to be offered these days,” argued the president of Live Nation Spain, who emphasized that in any case, the “prices will be very affordable” (starting at 500 euros), “unlike those for Spain’s game (in the World Cup final) in New York the other day,” which cost thousands of dollars.
In response to criticism in Spain that Bad Bunny’s concert venue fostered a divide between a small elite and the rest of the audience, the promoter wanted to clarify to EFE that in this case, it is not a venue like that—restricted solely to the artist’s guests—and that more details will be provided on Monday.
For Sagliocco, in any case, what matters is that this way of conceiving music—”beyond a concert”—will mark “a turning point” for this type of project.
This is a great time for Shakira, not only because of her connection to Spain—where she’s already been dubbed “La Roja’s talisman” thanks to the Spanish national soccer team’s victories in the World Cups that the Colombian singer has helped set the tone for— in this latest World Cup, the song “Dai Dai,” which has become a number one hit worldwide.
It will also be in Spain where her “Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran World Tour”—which has become the highest-grossing Latin tour in history, with attendance records such as the one set at Mexico City’s Zócalo in March, with 400,000 attendees, and milestones such as her concert on Copacabana Beach, which drew more than 2 million people, according to Agencia EFE.