Footage and photos show impact of weather at Primavera Madrid 2023

8 June, 2023

Primavera Sound Madrid 2023

Photos and footage have been shared online, showing the impact of the weather conditions that forced the opening day of the first ever Primavera Sound Madrid to be cancelled due to “safety reasons”.

Today (Thursday June 8) was due to be the first day of the inaugural Primavera Sound in Madrid – a sister event to that in Barcelona and others around the world – but was cancelled yesterday “due to the persistent severe weather experienced in recent weeks that have affected the pre-production of the festival.”

The festival added that the decision was made “in view of the adverse forecast that is expected for Thursday with heavy storms during the afternoon”. Acts due to perform on the opening day included Blur, Yard Act, Halsey, Ghost, Le Tigre, Turnstile and more.

Now, photos and footage have emerged online showing the impact of the weather on the festival’s grounds at Ciudad del Rock in Arganda del Rey.

“Primavera Sound cancels its concerts this Thursday, in exchange it offers its proposal for a water park,” wrote one user, sharing a video of the flooded and muddy site. Another shared a series of images depicting “a lot of water, especially affecting the loading area and artists”.

While the opening day at Ciudad del Rock of Arganda del Rey has been cancelled, the performances planned on June 8 at the Cívitas Metropolitano will go ahead as planned. Due to the weather, the time that doors open has been delayed, making La Paloma unable to perform. Jake Bugg, Confidence Man and Pet Shop Boys are set to go on as planned.

Blur have also since announced a free show for ticket-holders at La Riviera in Madrid.

Back in March, Primavera organiser Joan Pons told NME that they decided on launching a sister festival in Madrid due to the venue being “like a dream site” for the event.

He added: “We’d feel kind of silly if we didn’t take advantage of this. It’s probably going to be better than the Barcelona one because it’s built for having festivals. The Barcelona site is lovely, iconic and part of our legacy, but every year we have to adapt it for us.”

Pons also addressed the many issues of last year’s Primavera Sound festival in Barcelona, which suffered problems relating to bar issues, large queues, overcrowding and access to water on the opening day. By the second day, the festival had responded, citing issues with COVID “casualties” and other logistic matters.

“The thing is that we apologised for the very first day,” said Pons, looking back on the festival. “The behaviour of people once in they’re in the festival can be predictable but is often surprising. Last year it was the first big festival after three years of the pandemic and suddenly, all of the people who had tickets appeared there for the very first time just as we were opening the doors.

“We were like, ‘Wow, that is too many people for this time of the day’. We had some problems with the bars, but we fixed them the very same day. That doesn’t mean we don’t need to apologise – of course, we needed to apologise the second day. If you think about the whole event, it was a 12-day festival with only one day of problems. We are proud of ourselves for being so reactive and listening to people so quickly.”

Damon Albarn of Blur performs in concert during the day 2 of Primavera Sound Barcelona 2023 on June 1
Damon Albarn of Blur performs in concert during the day 2 of Primavera Sound Barcelona 2023 on June 1. CREDIT: Xavi Torrent/Getty Images

Primavera Sound Madrid 2023 is set to continue with performances from the likes of Depeche Mode, Kendrick Lamar, Måneskin, Pusha T, St Vincent, Skrillex, ROSALIA, Japanese Breakfast, and more.

Meanwhile, sister event Primavera Porto continues this weekend simultaneously.

Last week’s Primavera Sound Barcelona 2023 went ahead successfully, with performances from the likes of Avalon Emerson, Black Country New Road, Blondshell, Blur, Depeche Mode, Skrillex, Turnstile, Wednesday and more. Read the NME review here.

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