MADRID: Madrid city hall said Wednesday it will offer free flamenco shows at air conditioned museums during the hottest hours of the day to encourage tourists to seek shelter from the heat.
Spain endured its second-hottest year on record in 2023 and temperatures in Madrid regularly top 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit) during the summer months, when tourists from around the world flock to the city. Over 1.6 million tourists visited the Spanish capital last July and August.
While temperatures in the morning are bearable, even Madrid's central Retiro Park "is hot at 3:00 pm. The best places to take refuge are air conditioned, and that means museums, cinemas and libraries," said Madrid's city councillor for culture and tourism, Marta Rivera de la Cruz.
To draw tourist indoors, Madrid's three main museums – the Prado, the Reina Sofia and the Thyssen – as well as the Royal Collections Gallery next to the royal palace will offer free flamenco shows every day from 3:00 pm until 5:00 pm during July and August, she added.
The shows will features internationally renowned performers such as Yolanda Osuna and Eduardo Guerrero.
Public libraries will also offer humorous monologue shows and concerts in the early afternoon, while cinemas will offer reduced rates for screenings before 5:00 pm.
The measure "will not involve any additional energy expenditure" since these venues were already air conditioned, said Rivera de la Cruz.
Spain experienced seven heatwaves last year. since 1975, heatwaves have lengthened by three days per decade...and increased in temperature by 2.7C per decade, according to Spain's AEMET weather agency.