Controversial festivals backed by KKR still draw crowds despite Israel boycott protests
The music festival scene in Spain has seen a mix of growth and decline in attendance numbers during the 2025 season. Here's a breakdown of how some of the country's most popular events fared.
Primavera Sound, held in Barcelona, saw a significant increase in attendance this year, with 293,000 people attending over five days – a jump of 25,000 people compared to the previous year.
On the other hand, Mad Cool, also in Madrid, experienced a drop in attendance following a reduction in its duration from four to three days. The festival went from 220,000 attendees in 2024 to 150,000 in 2025.
Sonorama Ribera in Aranda de Duero (Burgos) achieved its most crowded capacity yet, with around 200,000 people in attendance – a 55,000 increase from the previous year.
The Resurrection Fest in Viveiro broke its own record, attracting 140,000 attendees.
However, not all festivals have been immune to the effects of the boycott campaign that erupted in June due to the festivals' links with businesses in occupied Palestine. The International Festival of Benicàssim, for instance, lost 5,000 spectators.
The boycott campaign has not affected the ticket sales of festivals organised by Superstruct, a company belonging to the KKR fund. This includes the Arenal Sound in Castellón, which maintained its attendance figures of 300,000, and Sónar, which saw an increase of 10,000 attendees, reaching 161,000.
Kalorama in Madrid, featuring the Pet Shop Boys, only had 10,000 attendees over two days, while Canela Party in Torremolinos (Málaga) saw a drop of 3,000 people in its last edition, attributing the drop to high hotel prices due to the coincidence in dates with the Málaga Fair and raising ticket prices to cover costs.
The Víña Rock, which took place before the controversy erupted, has maintained a good pace in the sale of passes for next year.
The O Son do Caminho in Santiago de Compostela maintained or exceeded its attendance figures of 12,500.
Pascual Egea, president of the Association of Musical Promoters (APM), notes that sales have dropped in many festivals, especially those of medium and small capacity.
The question remains: is there room "for 900 festivals" in Spain? The 2025 season sends a clear message: festival-goers care little about geopolitics, but the financial backing of a festival seems to play a significant role in its resilience during times of controversy.
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