Prayers, perreo, and hundreds of millions of euros: the Pope and Bad Bunny become the latest explosive combination for Madrid

They say that he who sins and prays draws. Everything points to this being the plan for many in Madrid on the weekend of June 6 and 7. On one hand, they will let loose their party side at one of the ten concerts Bad Bunny will hold in the capital; on the other, they will find time for prayer and an act of contrition taking advantage of the Pope’s visit, scheduled for the same dates. The coincidences are precise: the first mass event of the supreme pontiff, next to the Bernabéu, will coincide in day and time with one of the Puerto Rican artist’s concerts, which will be held at the Metropolitano stadium. And hotels are already starting to cash in, despite there being two and a half months until the events.

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Experts analyzing the impact of these types of events predict a city packed with both faithful and fans of good perreo, with neither concept being mutually exclusive. Result: hundreds of thousands of international visitors who will book hotels that are already almost full today, hoteliers rubbing their hands, millions of euros expected in revenue, and the capital pressured like never before.

“They attract different profiles and different spending, but a clear saturation effect also appears,” explains Albert Guivernau, professor of Urban Economics at OBS Business School and director of the Civismo Foundation. The official agenda for the papal visit to Spain, scheduled between June 6 and 12 — with the capital hosting for four days — has been revealed little by little, because the Vatican wants to be the one making the announcements.

The first of the two major announced events will be a mass with young people on Saturday the 6th at 8:00 p.m. in Plaza de Lima, next to Santiago Bernabéu. At the same time the Pope is addressing his faithful, Bad Bunny will be doing the same with his fans, but at the Riyadh Air Metropolitano stadium. Hundreds of thousands of young people, excited, watching their idols on stage.

Last Tuesday, the Spanish Episcopal Conference (CEE) also presented, in addition to the official slogan and logo, the first figures of the cost of the papal trip. At least 15 million euros. Part of the expense is expected to be covered by private benefactors who pay up to a million to meet the Pope, and another part with funding from public authorities. That money covers the visit to all the planned cities: Madrid, Barcelona, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, and Santa Cruz de Tenerife. The operation coordinators foresee a return that could exceed 100 million.

Meanwhile, Bad Bunny will offer ten consecutive concerts at the Metropolitano. Each night, about 50,000 tickets sold at an average price of 150 euros. The gross revenue from ticket sales alone is around 75 million euros. These are calculations by Carlos Balado, professor of economics at OBS Business School and director of Eurocofín, after studying the economic impact of similar Bad Bunny concerts in other cities worldwide. “The average spending per person is 278 euros, considering that the average ticket price is 150 euros plus accommodation, transport, and food for each attendee,” says Balado, who sees these figures as events that have a significant impact on the local economy.

“Madrid has established itself as one of the main Latin music hubs in Europe due to a very clear combination: demand, venues, international connectivity, and cultural affinity,” says Nacho Córdoba, promoter of Live Nation Spain, which manages Bad Bunny in Spain. “Also, concentrating dates allows optimizing production, reducing the logistical footprint, and improving the audience experience. Before, there are two concerts in Barcelona, and the tour will pass through Portugal, Germany, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, France, Sweden, Poland, Italy, and Belgium.”

Two and a half months before the events, the effect is already noticeable. Madrid hotels report occupancy close to 80%, and recent searches on platforms like Booking, Expedia, or Trivago showed that 76% of accommodations were already unavailable for those days. If the maximum budget is 100 euros per night, the lack of options rises to 95%.

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In June last year, Madrid recorded 914,496 travelers staying in hotel establishments, according to municipal data. 60.4% were international tourists, and overnight stays exceeded 1.85 million. The city has more than 75,000 hotel beds, and in comparable mega-events — the Champions League final or Pride — occupancy has exceeded 90% and nearly reached full capacity. All this without a papal visit or perreo party. For the first weekend of June this year, in addition to the usual tourists, followers of Bad Bunny and the faithful will have to be added. The last papal visit to the capital, in 2011 during Alberto Ruiz-Gallardón’s term, gathered more than one and a half million people at the closing mass.

Then he traveled for World Youth Day, and the city was completely locked down for the pontiff. Entire streets in the city center were closed to traffic for seven days. The most massive event during this year’s visit will be held in Plaza de Cibeles, in front of City Hall, where last Saturday 85,000 people already gathered to celebrate the fourth Resurrection party in the capital. Precisely at this music and faith event, the Bishop of Madrid, José Cobo, revealed that the vigil with Leo XIV — expected to be massive — will be in the same place. For now, little is known about the mobility operation planned by the City Council, beyond deploying 10,000 personnel during the four days of the visit.

The mayor, José Luis Martínez-Almeida, announced on Thursday that, according to his approximate attendance calculations, they expect about 500,000 people for the youth vigil and around 1.5 million for Sunday’s mass. “It is a gigantic logistical challenge. I don’t remember such a large gathering of people,” he commented. Among the aspects to manage are the buses arriving in the capital from different parts of Spain and Europe, where to park them, and where to move them to avoid congestion. Added to this is that metro line 10 remains closed for works precisely at the Santiago Bernabéu station.

The Archdiocese of Madrid is also looking for 10,000 volunteers to prepare everything. “The needs are many, so we need many. You can collaborate as a volunteer both in preparation work and support tasks, offering accommodation, transport, or materials,” they explain on the page conelpapa.es, created for the occasion. The call even reaches those who, besides being faithful, are influencers: “If you are a digital missionary or content creator and want to participate more actively in spreading the activities and messages of Pope Leo, fill out this form and we will contact you soon.” TikTok will be filled for several days, not known if equally, with scenes from Bad Bunny’s concerts and videos to not miss anything the pontiff does.

What does the city gain from these types of events? “The big winners are usually accommodation, catering, and transport, although the order changes depending on the event profile,” points out Guivernau. “In mega-concerts, catering and hospitality capture around 60% of the spending; in events with a greater weight of foreign visitors and longer stays, hotels gain weight. Here we will see a mixed distribution: price pressure on accommodation, high turnover in bars and restaurants, and a strong increase in mobility.”

But it is not good news for everyone. Jorge Nacariano, president of FRAVM, warns that the coincidence of this visit with Bad Bunny’s concerts at the Metropolitano poses a serious risk of city oversaturation, especially in mobility, public services, and security. Nacariano also alerts to the deficit of Municipal Police, the impact on public transport and traffic, and the danger of leaving other neighborhoods unattended by concentrating forces on poorly sized mega-events. Therefore, he considers it reasonable to have avoided this coincidence and demands maximum transparency and information for citizens, as well as real and permanent coordination between City Council, Community, and Government Delegation. Additionally, he calls for deep reflection on the continued bet on mega-events in spaces not always suitable, reminding that Madrid must prioritize coexistence and the daily life of its residents over a policy of constant events.

Cardinal Cobo said in a recent interview that “the first temptation” before the Pope’s visit to Spain is “to make a big show.” And he warned: “It will be, but it won’t be among us.” That said, he was not referring to Bad Bunny.

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