Mad Cool Sunset scrapped over RATM cancellation
Mad Cool Sunset has been called off after organisers were unable to find a “suitable” replacement for Rage Against The Machine, who recently cancelled all forthcoming dates in the UK and Europe.
Organised by the same team behind the Live Nation-backed Mad Cool festival in Spain, the one-day sister event was set to debut in Madrid on 10 September with acts including Biffy Clyro, Glass Animals, Stereophonics and Run The Jewels.
Rage Against The Machine were to be the main headliner of the inaugural event but the band recently cancelled their upcoming UK and European tour dates and festival appearances after frontman Zack de la Rocha injuring his leg on stage.
On 11 August the band shared that due to “medical guidance” de la Rocha had been advised not to proceed with performing. The tour cancellation also impacted their plans to headline Reading & Leeds last weekend, where they were replaced by The 1975.
Rage Against the Machine’s performance at Mad Cool Sunset would’ve been their first in Spain after over a decade, and one of two exclusive concerts the band were due to play in the country.
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“We understand that the cancellation of Mad Cool’s Sunset main headliner has meant disappointment and a change of plans for many of the attendees, since being part of RATM’s return, was in many cases, the reason why many of you purchased tickets,” reads a post on the festival’s Instagram page.
Ticketholders have the option to either get a refund or to trade their Sunset ticket for a three-day pass to Andalucia Big Festival in Málaga – Mad Cool’s other new sister festival.
The new 30,000-capacity festival is also scheduled for September, with acts including Muse, Jamiroquai, Years & Years, Biffy Clyro, Nova Twins, Michael Kiwanuka, Paolo Nutini, Stereophonics and Run the Jewels.
Flagship festival Mad Cool took place in Madrid between 6 and 10 July, with more than 160 acts including headliners Metallica, Florence and the Machine and Stormzy.
Director Javier Arnáiz recently spoke to IQ about how the team behind the marquee event has continued to improve its customer experience.
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Mad Cool on improving the customer experience
Mad Cool director Javier Arnáiz has spoken to IQ about how the festival has continued to improve its customer experience.
The Live Nation-backed festival took place in Madrid between 6 and 10 July, with more than 160 acts including headliners Metallica, Florence and the Machine and Stormzy.
The recent edition took place over five days instead of three as part of “a commitment to offer the best experience for the community of music fans”.
Since launching in 2016, Mad Cool has grown rapidly from an overall capacity of 45,000 to 80,000. But this “massive growth” has led to some “incidents” in past editions, as Arnáiz told IQ after the 2019 season.
With the 2020 and 2021 editions cancelled due to the Covid pandemic, this year was the festival’s first opportunity to premiere a new and improved customer experience. Organisers added additional access points, doubled bar services and toilet points, increased the internet network, security and cashless points, and decreased the daily capacity by 10,000.
“It has been a very tough road till here but we finally see the light at the end of the tunnel”
“We have worked really hard for everything to work well,” says Arnáiz. “I think everyone felt the difference clearly and internally the team worked better.”
However, there’s still room for improvement, he says: “At the exit, we had some problems regarding transport due to MADO (Madrid Gay Pride) taking place the same weekend as the festival. This made the general public transport services collapse at certain moments.
“We paid for the metro services to remain active, offered free bus rides to the city centre (paid by the festival), we and had taxi and private transport. We had a critical situation with Uber rates that were disproportionately high and the audience, logically, complained. We are already working on improving this too.”
Alongside improving the customer experience, Mad Cool faced common post-pandemic challenges such as a shortage of personnel and materials, as well as acts cancelling last minute due to Covid.
“It’s been hard work and a continuous challenge, but this 2022 edition has been good and we will probably recover from these two last years thanks to the results of this edition,” says Arnáiz, adding that the festival sold a total of 312,000 tickets for this year’s event.
“Mad Cool festival didn’t receive any financial support of any kind during the pandemic, it has been a very tough road till here but we finally see the light at the end of the tunnel,” he adds.
“We will probably recover from these two last years thanks to the results of this edition”
The festival team’s attention will now turn to Mad Cool Sunset, a one-day event in September taking place at the same location as the flagship festival.
Also in September, the team will launch Andalucia Big Festival, a new 30,000-capacity festival for Málaga, Spain with headliners Muse and Jamiroquai. Years & Years, Biffy Clyro, Nova Twins, Michael Kiwanuka, Paolo Nutini, Stereophonics and Run the Jewels are also among the 52 acts slated to perform.
The ministry of tourism is reportedly dedicating €4m of its EU funds to the event in order to bring tourism to the area outside the normal peak season.
The organisers estimate that the event will have an economic impact of around €25m in Andalusia.
“We studied the market before the pandemic and realised Andalucia was lacking an event of such characteristics and that the market and population would embrace it,” explains Arnáiz.
“We started working together with the local authorities, agencies, and collaborators and the project has become a reality. Sales are doing well and we are sure it will be a great success in every sense.”
Andalusia Big Festival is to take place near Sacaba Beach from 8–10 September this year.
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Mad Cool unveils new 30k-cap festival in Malaga
The organisers of Mad Cool festival in Madrid have announced a new 30,000-capacity festival for Málaga, Spain.
Andalusia Big Festival is to take place near Sacaba Beach from 8–10 September this year, with headliners Muse and Jamiroquai.
Years & Years, Biffy Clyro, Nova Twins, Michael Kiwanuka, Paolo Nutini, Stereophonics and Run the Jewels are also among the 52 acts slated to perform.
According to the organisers, the festival will comprise three stages in the 50,000 square metre arena next to the beach.
The organisers estimate that the event will have an economic impact of around €25m in Andalusia
The ministry of tourism is reportedly dedicating €4m of its EU funds to the event in order to bring tourism to the area outside the normal peak season.
The organisers estimate that the event will have an economic impact of around €25m in Andalusia.
Alongside the launch of the Andalusia Big Festival, the Live Nation-promoted Mad Cool will return to Madrid between 6–10 July this year, in an extended five-day format.
Florence + The Machine, Queens Of The Stone Age, Haim, Chvrches, Sam Fender, Arlo Parks, Glass Animals and Easy Life are slated to play the fifth-anniversary edition.
Those artists join the 104 acts announced for Mad Cool 2022 last June, which include Muse, The Killers and Metallica.
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