Concert wars in a Spain that organises them and organises them well

During the first concert of the legendary British-Australian band at the La Cartuja stadium in Seville, there was so much energy that the audience did not envy the fact that 530 kilometres away the American singer Taylor Swift was surrounded by thousands of fans at her first concert at the Santiago Bernabéu stadium.  

Between 29 May and 1 June, Spain experienced a veritable war of concerts that attracted a wide range of generations not only locally, but from all over the world. The Pet Shop Boys did not charge admission on 30 June, but their concert at the O Son Do Camiño festival was no less deserving. 

If there is one thing that Spain is proving, it is that it has a great capacity for organising large-scale events that, fortunately, are safe and calm for those attending.     And it is not easy to achieve this standard, especially when the country has been under the spotlight of jihadist terrorist attacks for some time now.

From 29 May to 1 June alone, almost 300,000 people attended the concerts of AC/DC in Seville (29 May and 1 June) and Taylor Swift in Madrid (29 and 30 June), plus the Pet Shop Boys fans who came to see them in Galicia. 

But let's talk about the two biggest box-office hits: the two AC/DC concerts were attended by a total of 130,000 people, and the Taylor Swift concert was attended by 150,000 people. 

The economic spill-over in the Spanish capital, as well as in Seville, has been in the millions: it is estimated that ‘The Eras Tour’ left 25 million euros in Madrid, including spending on accommodation, restaurants, transport and souvenirs. This is not counting, of course, the cost of the tickets, which were not cheap and in some cases exceeded 1,500 euros. 

Nor is there a real figure for how much money the ‘swifties’ spent on merchandising for their favourite singer, which was not exactly cheap either. A lot was spent, that's the reality. 

And so did the thousands of fans of hard rock and the hilarious riffs of Angus Young, veteran founder of the band AC/DC in 1973. Seville's hostels were not only sold out, but also Airbnb and hotels were sold out, with prices skyrocketing. There were many abuses even in the price of tickets. 

FACUA-Consumers in Action sent a complaint to the Ministry of Social Rights in March, pointing out that Live Nation España SAU, promoter of the AC/DC concerts, added up to 20 euros during the ticket purchase process and an extra amount for Platinum.  

Nothing has been said about the hotel rooms that went from an average of 98 euros to almost 400 euros and the abusive conditions of the hotels closest to La Cartuja stadium that obliged to book three nights at a price of 700 euros each. 

I have no precise figures, but the economic impact on Seville of both concerts is between 27 and 35 million euros, without considering the price of the tickets, which ranged from 120 euros to more than 1,200 euros.  

But there was so much excitement and expectation to hear a very preserved Brian Johnson, who at 76 years old is still quite agile and has managed to overcome the threat of deafness that took him off the stage a few years ago.  

There is something magical about hard rock, blues rock, pop rock and rock and roll that the metalheads are so well preserved. AC/DC, with their ‘Power Up Tour’ in several countries, have decided to celebrate their fifty years as a rock band in style.  Pure electrifying psychedelia to the rhythm of ‘Highway to Hell’, ‘Whole Lotta Rosie’, ‘Hells Bells’, ‘Back in Black’ and ‘Let There Be Rock’. 

For his part, Young continued to demonstrate his great agility on stage, a privileged man who was already carrying his guitar on his shoulder from his mother's womb. Every note he feels and transmits, vibrates and transpires, converted into the maximum expression of his being. Despite the gruelling heat in Seville during the first concert on 29 May, Young dared with a long solo that the crowd chanted and at times was perplexed, witnessing how an angel from heaven caressed his instrument.  

There was ecstasy and frenzy at both AC/DC concerts, a battle of T-shirts took over the city of Seville with rockers of all ages and from all latitudes. A horde of rockers strolled around the Torre del Oro in search of a merchandising tent (just as expensive as Taylor Swift's in Madrid), most of them wore their AC/DC t-shirts, but other rockers also wanted to honour their bands by wearing their own t-shirts, with the names of Motley Crue, Kiss, Led Zeppelin, Metallica, Scorpions and of course Iron Maiden, as well as the Rolling Stones t-shirts.  

There was a desire to rock, to shout, to shake the duster, to sweat the fat drop and to scream at the top of one's lungs as a collective catharsis to forget the daily problems, the political turmoil, Putin's threat... Netanyahu's stubbornness to sustain his warlike assault on the Gaza Strip. There was a zest for life... 

And there was also a huge generational mix: if at the Rolling Stones concert two years ago in Madrid there were a lot of old people, as well as middle-aged people and the odd family with their children, at both AC/DC concerts there were a lot of young people, the so-called ‘millennials’ and, above all, twenty-somethings from generation Z. There were also the old rockers who were ex-millennials and, above all, the generation Z generation.  

There were also the old rockers who exude hard rock through their pores and it was surprising to see not only teenagers with their families, but also young children holding hands with their parents and who were also on the dance floor.  They were there suckling eternity, drinking from the rock germ, perhaps as a generational relay.  Those little ones will one day say: ‘I went hand in hand with my mother to see the last AC/DC concert of my life, or my father carried me on his shoulders while the crowd chanted Thunderstruck’. 

Those five lads on stage reminded all of us present what passion for life is all about: together they are almost 350 years old and have no need to go on an international tour, they have sold over 200 million albums to their credit and have money to spare. But they are still rocking their music and, instead of fishing in a quiet lake or playing cards, they are still playing concerts because they want to secure their place in posterity. They want to be sure that they will leave enough seeds of rock, pure and hard, sown among the young so that AC/DC and their music will continue to be shared from generation to generation.  

Taylor Swift also wants to be on that Olympus of posterity. At 35, she has become the goddess of pop and country pop. The hysteria she unleashes on millions of ‘Swifties’ around the world is already being studied as a phenomenon in Harvard classrooms.  

Pure marketing and a great display of dancers and vibrant choreography. AC/DC's rock just needs their instruments and catchy songs. 

To see Taylor on his two dates in Madrid, fans camped out for days, not a single ticket was available and the social networks were filled with the usual posturing that is customary when you achieve something that others could not. 

Many girls came to the Bernabéu, but also boys. Many of the Z generation in their twenties and teenagers accompanied by their parents and many families with their young children, especially young daughters.  

The notes of love, heartbreak and illusion for the first love crossed the whole stadium. Thousands of souls chanting their songs to the letter, the ‘swifties’ are faithful even in their style with their bracelets, their ornaments, their necklaces and their clothes. It was very reminiscent of the fashion and style that once sparked the blonde ambition of Madonna, the one-time queen of pop, who continues to fill stadiums.  

The crowd sang along to Swift's biggest hits, such as her famous ‘Shake it off’, which has won her several awards. The girls want to be Taylor, the Pennsylvania-born American dreamer who sang country without attracting much attention until one day she hit it big with her singles ‘Love Story’ and ‘You belong with me’. It was the most awarded album in the history of country music. 

Swift has a long way to go because her youth allows her to do so. Not only is she a brand, a trendsetter and a Forbes millionaire, she is even sought after by President Joe Biden to attract the votes of those young people who follow her feverishly and fervently.  

Whether people were enjoying AC/DC in Seville or Taylor Swfit in Madrid, no incident disrupted the day's events and this demonstrates organisational and managerial skills in the challenge of attending to and ensuring the safety of thousands of people gathered.  Well done to the forces of order and security... well done to Spain, which did it with honours. And long live the music!