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Shakira changes mobility in Villaverde from this Friday: road closures and free bus
Starting this Friday, Villaverde will face one of the biggest mobility operations of the Madrid autumn. Shakira will begin her twelve-concert residency at Iberdrola Music on 18 September, with around 57,000 attendees expected each night, changes to traffic, reinforced Metro service, and a free shuttle bus to leave the venue at night.
The concerts will take place on 18, 19, 20, 25, 26 and 27 September, and will continue on 2, 3, 4, 9, 10 and 11 October. The venue will open at 12:00, although access to the floor and stands will begin at 20:00. Performances are scheduled between 21:00 and 23:00.
The City Council recommends using public transport. One of the main options will be Villaverde Alto, connected by Metro line 3 and the C-4 y C-5 de Cercanías lines. San Cristóbal Industrial, on the C-3, and Los Espartales station on Metro line 12 can also be used.
Metro will increase service on lines 3 and 12 between 00:00 and 1:30 on concert nights, coinciding with the departure of attendees. Cercanías will maintain its usual connections, although its timetable ends earlier than the Metro.
The main new feature will come after each concert. EMT will provide a free electric bus shuttle between Gran Vía de Villaverde y Atocha, with an intermediate stop at Legazpi. It will run from 23:00 to 2:00 with frequencies between 7.5 and 15 minutes.
The service will be outbound only: passengers will board near Gran Vía de Villaverde and can get off at Legazpi or Atocha. The estimated journey time ranges from 14 to 35 minutes, depending on traffic and crowd levels.
The arrival of tens of thousands of people will also require traffic restrictions around the venue. There will be closures on streets such as Laguna Dalga y Laguna de Cameros, as well as possible closures on San Eustaquio, Valle de Tobalina and other roads depending on crowd concentration.
Parking will be prohibited on several of these streets from 15:00 on each concert day. Restrictions will also apply at the roundabout under the M-45, at the junction between Villaverde Alto y Getafe, with access points that may be temporarily closed during the arrival and departure of the public.
The plan also includes a specific taxi area on San Eustaquio and a quick pick-up and drop-off point for private vehicles on Acebeda street. The venue only has parking spaces linked to certain types of ticket or accreditation, so the City Council advises against coming by car.
The operation will be repeated over the twelve nights of the residency. For residents of Villaverde, this means four consecutive weekends with parking restrictions, large pedestrian flows and traffic changes around Laguna Dalga and Real de Pinto.