Businesswoman María Pombo has finally given in to the criticism of environmentalists and her SuaveFest, the musical event she celebrates every year, will not take place this year at the Infante Don Luis Palace, in Boadilla del Monte. It is a space with great heritage and natural value; in fact, it is included in the BIC protection catalogue of the Community of Madrid. When it was learned that the 2024 edition would take place in the enclave, a controversy broke out. Now, just ten days after its development began, the “influencer” announces that the event is moving to the fairgrounds of the same city.
The sources consulted emphasize that “Plan B has been working for a long time,” after public complaints intensified. “The City Council did not take a decision to dismiss,” explains a municipal spokesperson, “but it itself decided to change location.” Of course, the Community of Madrid had requested the change.
Yesterday, Pombo issued a statement in which he stated that at no time did he want to “generate any controversy”: “We have been talking for some time with the City Council to find a place where everyone is comfortable: the buses, the residents of Boadilla and all the assistants. It will be “very close to the original location.” A rent will have to be paid per square meter used, for which the City Council will pocket around 10,000 euros, according to data to which this newspaper has had access.
The headliner is the Spanish-Dominican musician and producer Juan Magán, a personal friend of Pombo. Performances are planned for this SuaveFest by Chimbala, Pol 3.14 or Luc Loren, in the atmosphere of the Cirque des Merveilles and in the presence of a surprise artist whose identity will be revealed the same day of the event.
In the new space, the hours will be extended, which will begin at six in the afternoon on Saturday, September 14 and last until 3 in the morning on Sunday. Participants will have the opportunity to change, whenever they wish, their return time without having to make new arrangements and without additional costs.
Impact Reports
As reported by ABC this summer, on August 19, the Minister of Economy, Finance and Employment, Rocío Albert, indicated that the Community was studying “possible alternatives” for the festival. Previously, the General Directorate of Cultural Heritage and the Spanish Office had asked the Boadilla del Monte City Council to send documentation to “be able to assess the impact, or not, and the viability, if any, of the aforementioned event on the palace and gardens.” , both reported BIC.
This body suggested to the local government that, as with other events approved by this general directorate, it be planned for the festival “an independent space without access to the palace and its gardens, to ensure its protection”, according to the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Sports.
In early August, when Ecologistas en Acción filed its public complaint, tickets for SuaveFest had been selling out for weeks, despite the lack of definitive authorization from the municipal administration. They assured that there is a rich and highly biological fauna in the surroundings and that the event, with six hours of music and 7,500 people, would generate “mobility problems at the entrances and around the palace.”
