When and where is Mad Cool held?
The urban festival will be held at outdoor arena, Iberdrola Music, in the Villaverde district of Madrid. It will run for four days from July 8 to 11.
Performances will be held across six stages. Those used to UK festivals will need to prepare for a much later daily schedule. As is customary in Spain to avoid the midday heat, the arena will open at 5pm each day, with headliners often not taking to the stage until the early hours of the morning.
Who is headlining?
The majority of Mad Cool’s 2026 headliners are aligned with its roots as a rock festival, showcasing the wide variety that the genre has to offer. Crowd pleasers Foo Fighters and Kings of Leon are weaved amongst alternative rockers The War On Drugs, Pixies and Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds. Thursday night will offer up an exciting palate cleanse in the form of K-Pop star Jennie’s festival headline debut, alongside art-pop icon Lorde and indie rock legends Florence + The Machine. The festival will be drawn to a close on the Saturday night by Britpop favourites Pulp and ex-Talking Heads frontman David Byrne.
Who else will be performing?
The headliners may be guitar-heavy, but Mad Cool boasts one of the most varied line-ups on the festival circuit in both genre and nationality. Day splits loosely reflect each particular music style. Thursday is set to be a perfect pop marathon with a world-class set of superstars in Reneé Rapp, Zara Larsson, and CMAT. Wednesday and Friday will offer the chance to find your new favourite band, featuring standout rising rockstars Hotwax, Cliffords, and Karen Dio. Get the bucket hats ready for Saturday and settle in for a classic festival line-up of indie rock from Kasabian, The Vaccines, and The Reytons.
What accommodation types are available?
Thanks to temperatures averaging above 30°C in July, Mad Cool is not a camping festival. Attendees can choose from the Spanish capital’s wide offering hotels and apartments, and travel to the arena each day. Trust us, you will be grateful for the air-con.
Mad Cool provides its own accommodation booking platform, MC Travel, through which festival goers can book their stay. Various options are offered as packages including festival entry, hotel, and other conveniences such as insurance.
It is advised to book early as options will be in high demand.
How much do tickets cost?
Standard four-day passes are priced at 240 EUR, while single day passes cost 95 EUR. Those purchasing tickets from outside of Spain are required to pay an extra 10 EUR to cover international shipping costs.
A VIP package is also available, providing access to an exclusive entrance, terrace viewing area, relaxation zone, and reduced food and drink prices as well as general festival entry. It costs 430 EUR for four days or 160 EUR for a single day.
Tickets are issued as a wristband delivered by post in advance of the festival. As well as granting entry, the wristband can be loaded with a digital balance and used to purchase food, drinks, merchandise and other goods within the festival.
Tickets are still available and can be purchased here.
What are the transport options?
Mad Cool’s convenient city location means it can be reached easily via public transport. Iberdrola Music is served by Metro lines 3 and 12, as well as a number of bus routes. Several of these will run late into the night, and a free shuttle service will run between 1am and 3am connecting the festival site to the city centre.
Pick-up and drop-off areas are designated for those who wish to drive, and taxi services are widely available.
