Ye Plays Madrid’s Metropolitano Before 65,000 in First Spanish Show Since 2006

The Ye Madrid concert took place on July 30, 2026 at the Riyadh Air Metropolitano in Madrid, Spain, where the rapper formerly known as Kanye West performed before a reported 65,000 people on a stage built as a giant rotating globe. It was his only Spanish date of the 2026 European run and his first performance in the country in 20 years.

TRUE LOVE
LAST SONG
YE LIVE MADRID pic.twitter.com/zsriLzXSv3
— YEFANATICS (@yefanatics) July 30, 2026

Key facts

What: Ye, LIVE CONCERT TOUR 2O26 — the artist’s only 2026 date in Spain

When: July 30, 2026; doors 7:00 p.m., Ye on stage around 9:15 p.m.

Where: Riyadh Air Metropolitano, Avenida de Luis Aragonés 4, Madrid

Attendance: 65,000, per promoters speaking to Europa Press

Length: Roughly 90 minutes to two hours, depending on the account

Context: First Spanish show since a 2006 club date at Razzmatazz in Barcelona

What happened at the Ye Madrid concert?

Ye appeared shortly after 9:15 p.m. standing on top of an enormous sphere designed to read as the Earth, which served as the stage for the entire set. The floor-standing area had been removed to make room for the structure, so the crowd watched from the stands and the reconfigured pitch while the artist moved across the globe itself. Spanish outlets described the production as closer to a large-format art installation than a conventional stadium concert.

Ye barely addressed the audience across the night, letting the visual programme carry the show. The sphere shifted appearance between sections — early in the set it carried projected figures, and it changed skin again when the set moved into the College Trilogy material. Temperatures in Madrid stayed near 30°C well into the night.

Read alsoYe Tirana Concert Recap: 35-Song Setlist, Lauryn Hill Debut

What did Ye play at the Metropolitano?

The set ran chronologically through his catalogue rather than front-loading the hits, covering Graduation (2007), 808s & Heartbreak (2008), The Life of Pablo (2016) and material from his 2026 album Bully. The closing stretch was where the anthems stacked up.

Song | Note
Praise God | Choral, early-set staple of the 2026 tour
Can’t Tell Me Nothing | Graduation-era section
Ni**as in Paris | Watch the Throne cut with Jay-Z
Mercy | GOOD Music posse cut
Heartless | 808s & Heartbreak block
All of the Lights | One of the night’s peak lighting moments
Flashing Lights | Late-set run of hits
Stronger | Late-set run of hits
Runaway | Played on keys; effectively the finale
True Love | Sent out with Ye already off stage

Reports also noted a Backstreet Boys nod woven into the show. A full verified setlist for the Madrid date had not yet been logged on setlist.fm at the time of writing, so song order beyond the closing sequence should be treated as unconfirmed.

What did Ye wear, and who turned out for the show?

Ye performed in an all-red outfit, a head-to-toe look that read as a single block of colour against the white surface of the globe stage in footage circulating from the stadium. It is the same monochrome-uniform approach the 2026 tour has leaned on throughout, and much of the crowd mirrored it in black.

Earlier in the day, a large crowd gathered outside Ye’s hotel in central Madrid, with video shared on social media showing fans packed across the pavement and singing Ghost Town up at the building. Several high-profile attendees also circulated online. Because most of this came through fan accounts rather than official channels, here is where each claim stands.

Claim | Status
Ye performed in an all-red outfit | Confirmed by footage from inside the stadium
Fans gathered outside his Madrid hotel singing Ghost Town | Confirmed by video circulating on July 30, 2026
Producer Rick Rubin attended the show | Confirmed by photos from inside the stadium
Real Madrid’s Trent Alexander-Arnold and Rodrygo attended | Unconfirmed — photos circulating online; no club or player confirmation

The most notable name in the building was Rick Rubin. The producer was photographed in Madrid earlier in the day and again inside the Metropolitano during the show. Rubin co-founded Def Jam Recordings, was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2026, and has worked with Ye across several eras of his catalogue — which makes his presence at the artist’s most contested European date of the run a detail worth noting on its own.

Why was the concert controversial?

Madrid went ahead after eight shows in six countries were pulled from the same European leg. Poland, the Czech Republic and Switzerland cancelled over the artist’s antisemitic statements, Italy cited public order and security concerns, the United Kingdom barred his entry, and the French date was postponed indefinitely.

Spanish culture minister Ernest Urtasun called Ye’s statements repugnant but said suspending the concert was the promoter’s decision, not his ministry’s. The Federation of Jewish Communities of Spain (FCJE) declined to accept the apology Ye issued roughly a year after the remarks — in which he linked the behaviour to a bipolar disorder diagnosis he attributes to a 2002 car accident — and expressed deep concern about the show going ahead, arguing that artistic freedom cannot be used to normalise hate speech. There were no reported incidents at the venue.

Did the Metropolitano sell out?

Accounts differ, and this is the one number worth flagging as contested. Promoters told Europa Press that 65,000 people attended. Spanish press at the venue reported the show did not sell out, with visible gaps in the stands and on the pitch after 8:30 p.m. that filled in as the evening went on. The stadium holds around 68,000 for concerts, and the globe stage removed a chunk of standing capacity, so the two claims are not necessarily in conflict. Official merchandise stands outside the ground sold commemorative Madrid shirts at €55 to queues running well past 200 people.

What’s next on Ye’s 2026 tour?

Madrid was the second-to-last European stop before the run moves on. The remaining dates listed on the official Yeezy tour site are below.

Date | Venue | City
August 7, 2026 | Estádio Algarve | Almancil, Portugal
August 14, 2026 | Almaty Central Stadium | Almaty, Kazakhstan
August 28, 2026 | Caesars Superdome | New Orleans, Louisiana
September 3, 2026 | Soldier Field | Chicago, Illinois
September 4, 2026 | Soldier Field | Chicago, Illinois
October 24, 2026 | Gelora Bung Karno Stadium | Jakarta, Indonesia

The Chicago dates are the ones to watch: two nights at Soldier Field in his home city, in a touring cycle where roughly half the European itinerary was cancelled around him. Bully, released March 20, 2026, is his twelfth studio album and features Peso Pluma, Playboi Carti and Ty Dolla $ign.

Frequently asked questions

When was the Ye Madrid concert?

Thursday, July 30, 2026, at the Riyadh Air Metropolitano in Madrid. Doors opened at 7:00 p.m. and Ye took the stage at around 9:15 p.m.

How many people attended?

Promoters told Europa Press that 65,000 people attended. Spanish press at the venue reported the show did not sell out, with empty sections visible before the set began.

How long did the concert last?

Between roughly 90 minutes and two hours, depending on the account. The set ended with Runaway, followed by True Love with Ye already off stage.

Was this Ye’s first concert in Spain?

No. It was his first in 20 years. His only previous Spanish show was in 2006 at the Razzmatazz club in Barcelona, early in his career.

Why were other European dates cancelled?

Eight shows in six countries were cancelled or postponed. Poland, the Czech Republic and Switzerland cancelled over his antisemitic statements, Italy cited public order and security, the United Kingdom barred his entry, and the French date was postponed indefinitely.