Bad Bunny begins his long-awaited European tour this Friday in Barcelona, with . The preparation of the first shows at the Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys, scheduled for May 22 and 23, mobilizes the work of some 500 people at the venue, while hundreds of fans gather early in the morning in front of a central hotel on Passeig de Gràcia, the Mandarin Oriental, hoping to see him appear at any moment.
Patricia Paredes, 28, left her son at school and rushed to the hotel. He has everything ready for the concert. “I have the best expectations. My mother has prepared clothes for me in the colors of Puerto Rico,” he says. Although he has never visited the Caribbean country, he claims to feel close to it through his idol’s songs.
The movement around the stadium has been constant since last Sunday. Barcelona, the first European stop on the tour, has received 17 large maritime containers arriving at the port with part of the technical material for the show. They met on Wednesday after a video of the singer walking through the city center went viral on social media. The artist must travel this Thursday to the general rehearsals, scheduled before the European premiere.
The already recognizable figure who also appeared in , along with personalities, will once again be installed in the center of the stage. Guests such as Penélope Cruz, Kylian Mbappé, Austin Butler, Karol G and Pedro Pascal have already passed through it in different concerts. The stage represents a typical architecture of the Latin American country.
In the stadium, two large teams work against the clock: half of the staff accompanies the artist throughout the tour and the other half has been hired in Barcelona, accustomed to large musical productions. Between the assembly, the concerts and the disassembly,
Among the 500 workers there are sound and lighting technicians, truck drivers, riggers —specialists in work at height—, backliners —those in charge of the stage material—, dressing room staff, welders, carpenters, drivers, dancers and catering teams differentiated for the local and international staff. There are also the runners, responsible for obtaining any last-minute item: from tools and cables to medications or assembly materials. The deployment, explain sources in the sector, is at the level of those of Beyoncé, Coldplay or Bruce Springsteen.
Everything must be perfectly coordinated for an audience that also prepares in detail. Patricia already has her outfit for the concert and remember that he has followed the artist since before his worldwide explosion. “I’ve been a superfan since 2017,” he says. The first time he saw him was in Chiclayo, his hometown in Peru, when he was still little known. “I couldn’t get into the concert, but I saw him get out of a car, unnoticed, with his hair dyed.”
Just like her, Linda Anyarin, a 26-year-old Peruvian living in Barcelona, arrived at the hotel doors at eight in the morning. “Since yesterday, when I found out he was in the city, I organized to come early,” he explains. He doesn’t expect much. “Just seeing it makes me happy.” For her, the artist’s songs have accompanied her at different times in her life. “It always conveys important messages and has been present in both good and bad times.”
