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Madrid transforms this week with free things to do for everyone
Madrid is entering one of those weeks when it is hard to stay at home. The city combines LGTBIQ+ Pride, free concerts, open-air cinema, exhibitions, youth festivals and walks through historic gardens, with offerings designed for very different audiences and many of them free of charge.
The main focus will be MADO, Madrid’s LGTBIQ+ Pride celebration, which once again fills the city centre with music, advocacy and a festive atmosphere. Chueca will be the starting point with Orgullo de Barrio, while the squares of Pedro Zerolo, Reinas, España and Puerta del Sol will host a large part of the programme.
During these days there will be concerts, drag shows, civic gatherings and events linked to the defence of LGTBIQ+ rights. The week will culminate in the major national demonstration between Atocha and Colón, one of the most heavily attended events in Madrid’s calendar.
The Pride programme also includes moments already familiar to those who follow the celebration every year. The Carrera de Tacones, the Mr. Gay España competition and the Madrid Summit on LGTBIQ+ human rights complete a programme that combines celebration, visibility and debate.
Music will have another major role with Piano City Madrid, which celebrates its fifth edition from 26 to 28 June. More than 50 free concerts will bring piano music to venues such as CentroCentro, Conde Duque, Matadero Madrid and the Serrería Belga, with styles ranging from jazz to flamenco, classical music, electronic music and improvisation.
The festival will also go beyond its usual stages. Its programme includes activities in hospitals and proposals aimed at older people, reinforcing a simple idea: music can occupy the city, but it can also reach places where the cultural programme does not always go.
For those who prefer cinema under the summer sky, the Centro district will screen “Superman” on 26 June at 22:00 in Plaza de Barceló. The showing is part of a summer series that will bring films to different spaces in the neighbourhood, such as Plaza de la Corrala and the Las Vistillas gardens.
Music photography will have its place at Nikon House with “12 photographers to the rhythm of the shutter”. The exhibition brings together concert images and portraits of artists that form part of the recent memory of Spanish music, taken by photographers such as Paco Manzano, Ricardo Rubio, Tamara Rozas and Chema Barroso.
Young creativity also gains ground with LaSub25, which returns to Madrid Río with dance, performance, music, installations and participatory experiences. It is one of the week’s freshest proposals, designed to discover emerging artists and new ways of occupying cultural spaces.
Anyone looking for a quieter plan can escape to Quinta del Duque del Arco in El Pardo. Its gardens open every day from 8:00 to 20:00 and offer a different kind of walk, with the feel of a historic estate, well-kept paths and an unusual calm just a few kilometres from the city centre.
The week leaves a very Madrid-like image of the start of summer: full squares, free culture, long nights and plans that change according to the neighbourhood. There is celebration, memory, music, cinema and green corners; the difficulty will not be finding something to do, but choosing where to begin.