Madrid (EFE)
The organizers attribute the decision to a “political dispute” in which they say that they have been involved by “incidents” in “previous events”, due to the inconvenience of traffic, transport and noise transferred by drivers and residents of the area as a result of the Mad Cool or Harry Styles concerts weeks ago, which led to complaints from the Getafe City Council (PSOE) to the Madrid City Council.
“Recently we have been involved in a political dispute in the middle of the general elections, caused mainly by the incidents that occurred in some events before ours and that had nothing to do with RBF. Although unfortunately the only ones affected to date are us, also with a story that has nothing to do with the reality lived, ”says the message from the organizers.
On Wednesday afternoon, the Madrid City Council announced that it was not authorizing the celebration of the festival, scheduled for Saturday, July 22 and Sunday, July 23, at the ‘Iberdrola Music’ venue in Villaverde as “safety and evacuation conditions were not guaranteed” and after having unfavorable reports from the Madrid Fire Department.
The rejection of the celebration of the festival in the aforementioned venue is shared by both the Madrid City Council and the Government Delegation in Madrid and the Getafe City Council, in the latter case due to the noise generated in the municipality and mobility issues.
In a first statement, the promoters of the ‘Reggaeton Beach Festival’ indicated this Thursday that they had not received “any formal notification” of the cancellation, so they maintained the call for the celebration.
However, the deputy mayor of Madrid, Inmaculada Sanz, assured this Thursday that the promoters did have “knowledge” of the City Council’s decision not to authorize the celebration at the Villaverde venue.
“An absolutely incomplete report on mobility and other reports with serious difficulties and prescriptions was received, and in addition, a communication was received from the State Security Forces and Corps (FCSE) that advised against holding the event. That has determined that it is not celebrated” in Villaverde, explained Sanz.
In a second statement also yesterday, Thursday, RBF requested an “urgent meeting” with the Madrid City Council to “seek an appropriate solution”, insisting that they had not received “formal communication” from the consistory about the denial of the permits.
They argued that the ‘Reggaeton Beach Festival’ device was “according to the 38,000 people who should attend”, which means “50%” of the public attending other events that have been held, such as Mad Cool, so, in their opinion, the problems experienced at Mad Cool or at the Harry Styles concert cannot be transferred to “justify the refusal” of the reggaeton event.
They also defended that their festival would end at twelve o’clock at night, so the hours of use of public transport and of the shuttles organized by the event were provided, and “at a time that will avoid neighborhood disturbances.”
In their statement this Friday, after announcing the cancellation, the organizers claim to have done “everything possible” to not reach this point, and explain that those who have purchased a ticket will receive an email next Monday explaining the process of returning or exchanging them.