Shakira returns to Spain « Euro Weekly News

Shakira has made a spectacular return to Spain, performing in front of tens of thousands of fans in Madrid as her long-running tax battle with Spanish authorities reaches another stage.

The Colombian superstar opened the Spanish leg of her Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran tour on Friday Septemebr 18 night, beginning a 12-date residency that is expected to attract more than 600,000 people to the capital.

Her comeback comes at a significant moment. While fans packed a specially built venue in Madrid to celebrate her music and decades-long career, the Spanish Supreme Court is considering an appeal by the tax authorities over a separate dispute involving almost €55 million in tax assessments and penalties dating from 2011.

Shakira makes long-awaited Spain comeback

The singer had not performed a concert in Spain since 2018, making Friday’s opening night particularly anticipated.

Around 50,000 fans filled the temporary venue at Iberdrola Music in Villaverde, where Shakira delivered a show lasting more than two hours.

The performance travelled through different stages of her career, from early hits including Pies descalzos and Estoy aquí to more recent tracks such as Soltera and songs from her latest album.

La Fuerte, her collaboration with Argentine producer Bizarrap, opened the concert, while Waka Waka, La Tortura, Chantaje and Te dejo Madrid were among the other songs performed.

The finale brought together She Wolf and her hugely successful Bizarrap collaboration, Bzrp Music Sessions, Vol. 53, before a colourful procession featuring marimondas, traditional carnival figures from her native Barranquilla.

A huge experience beyond the concert

The Madrid residency has been designed as much more than a series of stadium performances.

Fans can enter Macondo Park, an entertainment and cultural space inspired by Gabriel García Márquez’s fictional world, before the concert.

The site includes food, books, fashion, arts and crafts, entertainment and live performances. There is also a children’s area reportedly designed with input from Shakira’s sons, Milan and Sasha.

The temporary stadium itself can accommodate tens of thousands of people, while the wider project is expected to provide a significant boost to Madrid’s economy.

An estimate published by EFE puts the direct economic impact of the 12 concerts at between €150 million and €200 million, depending partly on how many visitors travel to Madrid specifically for the shows.

Why Shakira is back in court

Away from the stage, another chapter of Shakira’s complicated relationship with Spain is unfolding.

In May, Spain’s National Court ruled in the singer’s favour over tax assessments relating specifically to 2011. The court concluded that authorities had not established that she spent more than the required 183 days in Spain that year.

The ruling cancelled assessments and penalties totalling around €54.7 million, with interest potentially taking the amount to more than €60 million. However, the decision was not final and Spain’s tax authorities indicated that they would appeal to the Supreme Court.

The Supreme Court is now reviewing that appeal.

Importantly, this dispute concerns the 2011 tax year and is separate from the criminal case covering 2012 to 2014. In that earlier case, Shakira reached an agreement with prosecutors in 2023, accepting a suspended prison sentence and a financial penalty after being accused of failing to pay €14.5 million in taxes.

A very different return to Spain

The tax dispute has formed part of a complicated relationship between Shakira and the country where she spent years living and raising her children.

Bloomberg reported that her return to Madrid marks her first Spanish concerts in eight years, with the residency arriving after years of legal disputes over her tax residency.

But on Friday night, the focus was firmly on the music.

Shakira’s Madrid residency continues until October 11, giving hundreds of thousands of fans the opportunity to see the singer perform in Spain once again.

For an artist whose career has stretched across more than three decades, the return combines familiar hits, new music and a highly ambitious production, while placing her back in the country that has played such a significant role in both her personal life and her recent legal history.