It could be said that, with Shakira‘s recently concluded residency in Madrid, which consisted of 13 concerts, everyone was happy: first, the Colombian singer, who was able to open the debate about the superiority of Latin identity over Hispanic identity and performed with guests such as Dua Lipa, Laura Pausini, Alejandro Sanz, Maluma, Beele, Manuel Turizo, Dani Martin, and Bizarrap.
The show’s organizers were also satisfied with the juicy profits estimated at 500 million euros, and so was the Spanish capital, because the activity generated around 200 million euros for the city due to the presence of more than 700,000 fans of the pop star, many of whom arrived from different parts of the world. But that is precisely the fact around which reflection on the environmental impact of artists’ so-called “residencies” has been taking shape.
Shakira’s residency is just one of many that have been taking place as part of the changes the music industry has been experiencing in recent years. International tours by major artists could be likened to nomadic journeys in which they traveled across continents to reach their fans, moving from one city to another, day after day. But that is changing: now it is the fans who go wherever their musical idols summon them.
Fans Travel From Their Countries
Supporters of this entertainment model see advantages such as less physical and mental strain on the artist, because they do not have to travel or endure time changes and long road journeys, which has positive effects on their performance and the quality of their shows. They also claim that concentrating this type of event in a single location lowers costs and allows for a more personalized stage production.
Ideas such as Shakira’s residency, which involved other activities, including those held at the so-called Macondo Park, a 185,000-square-meter cultural space (an entire complex in itself), conceived to bring together musical performances and cultural activities, offer more complete experiences that go beyond the hours of the concerts.
In contrast, what is always discussed is that fans are willing to organize trips from their home countries to attend the show. As Madrid demonstrated, the cities chosen experience a major economic impact during residency dates. What is not discussed is the environmental impact of those journeys.
To begin with, the general understanding must be considered that air transport generates between 2.5% and 3% of global carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions and contributes around 3.5% to 5% of total global warming due to additional effects such as contrails. An airplane emits an average of 285 grams of CO₂ per passenger per kilometer, a figure far higher than the 55 grams emitted by a car or the 14 grams emitted by a train.
Thousands of Kilometers Traveled to See Shakira
These figures can be compared, for example, with the information that is still only superficially known about Bad Bunny’s residency, held between May 30 and June 15, 2026, at Madrid’s Riyadh Air Metropolitano Stadium. The Puerto Rican artist drew around 640,000 spectators. Estimates from the promoters indicated that 60% came from outside Madrid, both from elsewhere in Spain and from abroad.
In the case of Shakira’s residency, the Spanish newspaper El Pais established, through the Viagogo platform, which sells resale tickets for these concerts, that 51.4% of tickets were purchased in Spain (without specifying the city), and the rest in 117 countries: the United States, 9%; Germany, 5.1%; the United Kingdom, 4.8%; France, 2.8%… And even Ukraine, Colombia, and Mexico (all above 1%).
The same outlet found that many of the Colombian artist’s female fans traveled thousands of kilometers to see her. Meanwhile, a spokesperson for Edreams, an online travel agency, explained that “flight and train bookings to Madrid grew by 115% during the first weekend, 90% during the second, 133% during the third, and 146% during the fourth.”
Another reference residency was that of English singer Adele in Munich in 2024. She gave ten concerts attended by 750,000 people. Regarding that case, the Spanish newspaper consulted Julian Vogels, co-founder of Crowd Impact, a company dedicated to reducing carbon emissions at major events. The expert surveyed 1,400 attendees to find out where the audience came from and then performed the environmental calculations.
9,100 Tons of CO₂e
His first conclusion was that Adele’s was “an extraordinary event, including in terms of emissions,” based on the following estimates: “Large touring productions transport their technical equipment, stage setup, production… in between 20 and 50 trucks,” he told El Pais. “Let’s round that up to 60 trucks. If each one transports 20 tons, and the emission factor per ton for every 100 kilometers is 0.075 kilograms of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO₂e), and they travel a distance of 1,000 kilometers for each tour stop, that would amount to 900 tons of CO₂e.”
“If Bad Bunny’s or Shakira’s concerts have an impact as catastrophic as Adele’s, one can estimate at least 650,000 instances in which each attendee generates around 140 kilograms of CO₂e, which would amount to 9,100 tons of CO₂e,” Vogels continued in the same outlet. “That is ten times more than transport logistics. Of course, this is only a rough calculation; it gives an idea,” he warned.
The sustainable mobility project and communication campaign Ticket to Ride, created by the Berlin-based agency The Changency together with Crowd Impact, in collaboration with the German pop-rock band AnnenMayKantereit, Landstreicher Booking, and Fridays For Future, states that attendees’ journeys to a concert account for between 40% and 90% of the event’s total carbon footprint.
It recalls that nearly a quarter of a million fans traveled to AnnenMayKantereit’s 2023 summer tour. “They covered a distance equivalent to almost 1,200 trips around the world!” it states on its website. The debate over the environmental impact of artists’ residencies continues to gain ground, although it is clear that it will always face the juicy profits generated by this increasingly common form of entertainment.