Santiago Bernabéu Stadium
Santiago Bernabéu Stadium (Spanish: Estadio Santiago Bernabéu, [esˈtaðjo sanˈtjaɣo βeɾnaˈβew] ⓘ) is a football stadium in Madrid, Spain. With a seating capacity of 85,000,[2] the stadium has the second-largest seating capacity for a football stadium in Spain.[5] It has been the home stadium of Real Madrid since its completion in 1947.[6]
Not to be confused with Santiago Bernabéu (footballer).Full name
Estadio Santiago Bernabéu
Estadio Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (1947–1955)[1]
245[4]
85,000
- 100,000 (1947–1952)
125,000 (1952–1978)
90,000 (1978–1994)
110,000 (1994–1999)
85,000 (1999–2011)
81,044 (2011–2022)
85,000 (2023–)[2]
129,690 (Real Madrid v. AC Milan, 19 April 1956)[3]
105 m × 68 m (344 ft × 223 ft)
Mixto hybrid grass
October 1944 – December 1947
14 December 1947
1982, 2001, 2020–present
1952, 1992, 1994, 2011, 2023
23 December 2023
288,342,653 Ptas (€1,732,943)
Manuel Muñoz Monasterio
Luis Alemany Soler
Antonio Lamela (Expansion)
Named after footballer and legendary Real Madrid president Santiago Bernabéu (1895–1978), the stadium is one of the world's most famous football venues. It has hosted the final of the European Cup/UEFA Champions League on four occasions: in 1957, 1969, 1980, 2010.[7] The stadium also hosted the second leg of the 2018 Copa Libertadores Finals, making Santiago Bernabéu the first (and only) stadium to host the two most important premier continental cup finals (UEFA Champions League and Copa Libertadores).
The final matches for the 1964 European Nations' Cup and the 1982 FIFA World Cup were also held at the Bernabéu, making it the first stadium in Europe to host both a UEFA Euro final and a FIFA World Cup final.
Other uses[edit]
American football[edit]
In 2025, the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium is scheduled to host an NFL game, as part of the NFL International Series.[58]
On Sunday, November 16, 1958, the Real Madrid stadium hosted an American Football game, played after a Real Madrid-Valencia match, teams were not professionals, but from two US Air Force bases in Europe. Tigers from Toul (France) and Tacooners from Giebelstadt (Germany). [59]
Cultural and social events[edit]
The Santiago Bernabéu Stadium has played host to some significant political and religious events.
During his pastoral visit to Spain in 1982, Pope John Paul II addressed some 160,000 young individuals at the stadium.[60]
Concerts[edit]
The Santiago Bernabéu Stadium has hosted many touring musicians with dates in Madrid due to its expansive seating capacity and centralised location.
On 12 September 1983, famed Madrid-based singer Julio Iglesias (father of Enrique Iglesias, and who played as a goalkeeper for Real Madrid Castilla in the late 1950s) performed for nearly 100,000 people at the stadium.[61] On 21 September 1989, Iglesias gave a free concert to a crowd of 70,000 people at the stadium.[62]
On 25 September 1986, American singer Frank Sinatra performed at the Estadio Santiago Bernabéu, his only concert in the Spanish capital.[63]
On 15 July 1987, Irish rock band U2 held their first concert in Spain at the Estadio Santiago Bernabéu as part of their Joshua Tree Tour, along with English bands Big Audio Dynamite, The Pretenders, and UB40 as the opening acts. Spanish journalist Javier Menéndez Flores believed that as many as 115,000 spectators may have been in attendance.[64]
On 1 June 2002, the cast (16 contestants) of the reality singing competition show Operación Triunfo performed a sold-out concert at the Bernabéu Stadium as part of a 27-city Spanish tour. Their Bernabéu Stadium concert aired on La 1 to 5.14 million viewers, with a 39.5% share, becoming the most-watched concert in the country.[65]
American rock musician Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band performed at the stadium on three separate tours, making him the first artist to perform at the stadium on more than one occasion. The first date was during the Magic Tour on 17 July 2008, where the band played to an audience of 53,783.[65][66] Their second concert was part of the Wrecking Ball World Tour on 17 June 2012, with an audience of 54,639 people, the first time Springsteen and his band sold-out the stadium.[67] Four years after that, the band returned to the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium on 21 May 2016 for The River Tour, performing to a sell-out crowd of 55,695.[68]
The Bernabéu Stadium would have hosted its first music festival on 30 June 2012 entitled El Gol de la Vida ("the goal of life"), a benefit concert featuring Dominican musician Juan Luis Guerra (as part of his A Son de Guerra World Tour), new flamenco singer Antonio Carmona, Mexican singer Marcela Gándara, and American Christian singer Marcos Witt.[69] However, the event was postponed and moved to the indoor arena, Palacio de Deportes de la Comunidad de Madrid (the home of Real Madrid Baloncesto) for unknown reasons, possibly due to weather concerns, scheduling conflicts or capacity issues.[70]
On 25 June 2014, the Rolling Stones became the third international artist (and rock band) to headline a show at the stadium, when they brought their 14 On Fire tour to a sell-out crowd of 57,416 spectators. Local rock icon Leiva opened for the English band.[71]
On 29 June 2018, the top 16 finalists of the ninth series of Operación Triunfo performed at the stadium in front of 60,000 people, as part of their Spanish tour. It was the second time, the first being in 2002, that the contestants of Operación Triunfo brought their tour to the stadium.[72]
American pop singer Taylor Swift will perform at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium on 29 and 30 May 2024 for her global Eras Tour. Aside from being the first international artist to perform at the stadium in over a decade, Swift will hold the first concerts at the newly-renovated (for 2024) stadium, which has been outfitted with up-to-date technology to optimize the audience’s experience at large-scale concerts, based on a comprehensive acoustic study.[73] Reem Abdalazem of Diario AS also noted that the concert's announcement marked "the first major event announcement for the newly constructed stadium."[74]
On 20, 21, 22 and 23 June 2024, popular Colombian singer Karol G is performing four shows at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium for her Mañana Será Bonito World Tour, making her the artist with the most performances at the stadium.[75] After announcing the first three shows from 20-22 June 2024, which sold-out in a matter of hours, the singer added a much-anticipated fourth show,[75] marking the final dates of the European leg of her tour.[75] Approximately 200,000 fans, at least, are estimated to be attending the four-night spectacle. The 2024 concerts at Santiago Bernabéu Stadium will mark Karol G's first performances given in Spain in at least five years, since the earlier days of her career when she performed at small venues and festivals around the country.
Luis Miguel is set to perform in July 2024.