Shakira to play at Madrid pop-up 'stadium' for 50,000 in September

Colombian pop star Shakira will perform at least six concerts in Madrid this September at a custom-built "stadium" capable of hosting up to 50,000 spectators, the event's organisers told a press conference on Monday (March 23). 

The "Estadio Shakira" will be set up at the open-air Iberdrola Music concert venue, which spans 185,000 square metres (46 acres) and lies on the outskirts of the Spanish capital. The venue will be renamed as "Macondo Park", a tribute to the fictional village in Gabriel Garcia Marquez's "One Hundred Years of Solitude". 

"I've never felt so proud of a project of this scale as I do now, because it's something that celebrates the lives and cultures of all Latinos," said promoter Pino Sagliocco, who heads the Spanish branch of entertainment company Live Nation.

So far, September 18, 19, 20, 25, 26 and 27 have been confirmed as official gig dates in Madrid. 

Madrid is also home to world-renowed soccer stadiums Santiago Bernabeu and Ryadh Air Metropolitano, with capacity for around 65,000 and 60,000 concert-goers, respectively. 

Shakira, who lived in Barcelona for several years, has faced probes by Spanish tax authorities over her worldwide income during her residency. She settled a case for $8.5 million in 2023 to avoid trial and prosecutors dropped charges against her in a second investigation in 2024.

Production: Michael Gore, David Latona, Miguel Gutierrez/Reuters