Noise the battle in the heart of Bernabeu

Last year, tens of thousands of swifties – Taylor Swift's fans – threw Madrid to watch concerts back on the back of the famous Bernabey stadium in the Spanish capital, home of Real Madrid, which won the Champions League final in Europe less than 24 hours later.

The mega conservative was one of the dozens of high-profile concerts organized at the recently renovated stadium in 2024 to raise the club's revenue.

But the project was short -lived. In September, all the concerts were canceled after residents living within the ear of music filed a legal appeal for the noise.

Now, nine months later, Spanish pop singer Aitana is the most recent performer to switch places from Bernabéu to Metropolitano Stadium – Home to Rivals Atletico Madrid – as the court is blurred.

“It is absolutely the same in every concert,” says Enrique Martinez de Azagra, President of the Association of Neighbors. He and other locals say the sound of concerts like Taylor Swift has become too much.

“It is impossible to endure this type of noise and affects our health. It affects migraines, insomnia and heart attacks and this is a criminal crime in our laws,” Enrique adds.

In Madrid, noise levels, measured by neighbors, exceed 90 decibels regularly during the concerts.

Ian Marnan of the European Environment Agency says that in Europe, any level of 55 decibels or above is considered harmful and continuous exposure can lead to high blood pressure and cardiovascular disease, such as strokes. There are also links between exposure to noise and diabetes.

Enrique says there is a significant difference between the noise of the concerts compared to the football matches. He and most of his neighbors have been living in the area for decades. Many of them are supporters of Real Madrid throughout life and are in committees that represent the interests of the club.

“Football is a sport that lasts for two hours, more or less. The noise is normal. Only when there is a goal does the passion grow,” says Enrique. The problem he sees with the concerts is that they throw high noise levels for long periods of hours at a time.

To reduce their exposure to these high noise levels, Enrique and his neighbors brought Real Madrid to court.

Sports journalist Felipo Maria Ritchie thinks they have a strong case.

“Bernabeu is right in the heart of Madrid. The neighbors who live there have good positions and know the right people,” says Felipo. “This battle for the concerts can be quite long, but at the moment Real Madrid is losing this battle.”

Neighbors say the city government is hesitant to solve the problem as it takes advantage of tourism and the money that generates concerts. According to reports in local media, tourists coming only for Taylor Swift's concerts have spent about 25 million euros (21 million pounds; $ 28 million).

Filipo says the repair of £ 1.1 billion to make a multi -purpose stadium, had to provide a huge financial impetus for Real Madrid.

They also signed a contract with an American company that sells trade rights at the stadium.

“They spent a lot of money to develop a new terrain system to download it when they have concerts,” says Filipo. “Now all this new super system is quite useless, there is no all that money right now.”

Ed Sheeran, imagine that the dragons and the AC/DC are among the actions that play at the opponent at Atletico Stadium this summer.

The Madrid Municipal Council, the mayor office and Real Madrid did not respond to requests for comment from the BBC.

Earlier, Real Madrid said he was trying to sound proof in the stadium. According to local reports, the club has hired a specialized company and Windows were installed in the Skywalk area.

When I put on the neighbors that Real Madrid was trying to sound stable in the stadium, they giggled. Enrique works as an engineer and thinks it is “completely impossible to sound sustainable on the stadium.”

While Bernabeu's roof can be closed, the stadium is never completely closed as there is an open gap between the roof and the facade all over the stadium.

Neighbors say they are not against all the concerts.

“In the past, we had concerts, but once a year,” says Pablo Bashvitz, a lawyer and one of the neighbors who the change campaign.

He recalls concerts with music legends such as Frank Sinatra and Julio Iglesias in Bernabéu – but says that the presence of 20 concerts scheduled annually is too much.

From the terrace of the roof of one of the apartments of the neighbors, the proximity to the stadium is clear to see.

They indicate a health center that they say is fighting for the exact blood pressure of patients at times because the sound waves of the concerts break the readings in their machines.

Pablo says concerts are not the only problem – there are also rehearsals and audits of the sound during the day that violate the local community, including schools.

Luis Jordana de Posas lives directly opposite the stadium, and some of the noise measurements are made from the outside and inside his apartment.

On his terrace overlooking Bernabeu, he explains how the recently added metal plates of the exterior of the stadium have increased the sound and shows me recorded videos of the “unbearable” noise.

In Madrid, the facades of the houses around the stadium are lined with banners. Drapped from their windows, balconies and terraces that neighbors exhibit their protest posters on display by reading “Conciertos No” (without concerts) and “Ruído No” (no noise).

So far, while the case is in court, the music has stopped.