The
Palermo Hippodrome and the Polo Field,
and perhaps other spaces used for shows in the northern corridor, will no longer host
mega recitals
starting in 2025. At least that is the idea confirmed by the City Government, which intends to promote
scenarios in the south of Buenos Aires.
The novelty, which began to circulate in recent days, seeks to "deconcentrate the entire northern axis a little." And although it was not confirmed, the decision could also affect the
River stadium and even the Newbery headquarters of the Geba club,
which also became a reference place for large shows and is a few blocks from the Hippodrome and the Polo Field.
As Clarín
learned
from sources linked to the different spaces that organize shows, meetings with Buenos Aires officials are planned for the coming weeks. It is assumed that there they will be informed of the City's decision. And also the producers of these great shows, who will lose places that are favorable to them due to the area of the City in which they are located.
"We are working on giving it more momentum and putting the focus on the south of the City to move the shows to the
City Park, Roca Park and the Autodromo,
which have a large capacity and have many parking spaces, unlike other spaces in the City. That is why they are ideal for hosting shows and massive events," sources from the Buenos Aires Executive stated, and added:
"The events whose dates are scheduled and released are going to take place
, but the intention of the City Government "is
not to grant new dates from now on
and move this type of massive shows to the entire South zone."
The decision revives a historical controversy surrounding big shows and the negative effects they cause. Not only due to
noise and vibrations,
reported several times in different neighborhoods that hosted concerts; also due to the impact on parking, circulation and means of transportation.
River, Club Ciudad, Costanera Sur
and other spaces where there were mega recitals or even electronic music festivals suffered
questions and complaints.
The last major controversy that became public occurred at the end of 2021, when a group of residents in the Palermo area started a campaign to gather signatures on change.org and made several complaints.
On that occasion, the designated spaces were the
Polo Field and the Hippodrome
, in addition to the electronic music parties on Costanera Norte that, according to complaints, caused vibrations in glass and buildings along Libertador Avenue in Palermo.
A couple of years earlier, in 2019, a Paul McCartney show suffered a preventive closure because a previous recital, by DJ Hernán Cattaneo, had exceeded the decibel limits allowed by the Buenos Aires Government. McCartney finally performed, but that time the complaints were from the attendees who had a back field, since to prevent it from exceeding the maximum allowed, 85
decibels,
the audience furthest from the stage did not hear the former Beatle's music well.
Another big problem is parking in the area. As happens every time there is this type of event, the available spaces collapse and
the rags appear.
In the southern area, they say from the City, both the
Autodromo, the City Park and the Roca
, have large spaces. For example, during the Youth Olympic Games, City Park was used as a parking lot.
The same property that was a large amusement park was already the scene of recitals on several occasions, when
an attempt was made to establish the City of Rock there, which operated for a short time
. Also the Autódromo, which knew how to host events such as
Creamfields
, which ten years ago had its last edition in Argentina. And Parque Roca, which has the Mary Terán de Weiss stadium available, which is covered and has capacity for 15,000 people and 8,000 spaces for vehicles.
When massive meetings were held on those properties, in the neighborhoods of Villa Riachuelo, Villa Lugano and Villa Soldati,
problems arose with security, connectivity and transportation for those who do not have their own mobility
, something that the Buenos Aires Government says it is working on. with solutions to be implemented in the coming months. The Metrobus del Sur bus lines and also the Premetro reach these neighborhoods.
Regarding authorizations and permits for concerts, it is the
Government Control Agency (AGC)
that receives requests for authorization to hold massive events and which grants the permits. There is a registry of producers of massive events and before approval the Same, Civil Defense, Firefighters, the Ministry of Culture and the City Police also intervene.
S.C.