What can be taken to the Shakira concert in Madrid: bags and prohibited items

To regulate access controls at large events in Spain (concerts, football matches, festivals, etc.), there is no "special procedure": the ordinary legislative process is used, adapted to the type of initiative chosen (ordinary law, organic law if it affects fundamental rights at its core, or even royal decree-law in urgent cases). What is relevant is that it is a matter where state competences (public security, civil protection bases, basic labor standards, data protection, etc.) and regional/municipal competences (public shows, regional/local police, licenses) converge.

1. Who can promote the regulation

• Government bill: the most common route for general regulation of access controls (staff requirements, identification systems, searches, video surveillance, etc.). The competent ministry (for example Interior, Culture, or Presidency) leads the technical preparation.
• Bill proposal: it can be presented by a parliamentary group, the Senate, a regional assembly, or popular legislative initiative. It is less frequent for complex technical regulations but possible.
• Royal decree-law: if the Government perceives an "extraordinary and urgent need" (for example after serious incidents at mass events), it can approve an immediate rule, which must later be ratified by the Congress and can be processed as a bill.

2. Prior government phase (if it is a bill)

If the initiative comes from the Government, the following scheme is usually followed:

• Drafting a preliminary draft in the competent ministry, with internal reports (legal, economic impact and fundamental rights, data protection, equality, etc.).
• Consultations and participation: in matters such as access controls, a prior public consultation and/or a hearing and public information procedure with security companies, event organizers, consumer entities, civil rights associations, etc., is common.
• Report from other bodies: the Council of State, the Spanish Data Protection Agency, Interior, Culture, Labor, and, when regional competences are affected, the National Commission of Local Administration or State-Regional cooperation bodies may intervene.
• Approval in the Council of Ministers, where the preliminary draft becomes a bill and is sent to the Congress.

3. Processing in the Congress of Deputies

• Qualification and admission: the Congress Board checks formal requirements and admits the bill or proposal for processing.
• Amendments: a period is opened for group amendments. They can be:
  • Amendments to the entirety: request to return the text to the Government or replace it with another complete text.
  • Partial amendments: modify specific articles (for example, who can perform personal searches, capacity limits, use of biometric data at access points, etc.).
• Debate on the entirety in Plenary: the overall opportunity of the law is discussed. If amendments to the entirety are rejected, processing continues.
• Committee work: the competent committee (interior, culture/sports, etc.) examines the text and votes on amendments, possibly hearing experts, representatives of the entertainment sector, police, human rights organizations, etc. The result is a report.
• Congress Plenary: the report and surviving amendments are debated and voted on. The approved text is sent to the Senate.

4. Processing in the Senate

• Reception and study of the text from the Congress.
• Amendments and veto: the Senate can:
  • Limit itself to approving it as is.
  • Approve amendments (technical or substantive changes, for example on coordination with autonomous communities and municipalities).
  • Raise a veto (global rejection) of the text.
• Congress response: if there are amendments, the Congress decides to accept or reject them. If there is a veto, it can override it:
  • By absolute majority in a first vote.
  • By simple majority if two months pass.

5. Sanction, promulgation, and development

• Sanction and promulgation: the King sanctions the law and it is published in the Official State Gazette (BOE); it comes into force on the date indicated (or after 20 days if not specified).
• Regulatory development: for very technical issues of access controls (equipment approval, staff training, search protocols, interoperability with security forces), regulations are usually approved by royal decree or other regulatory norms.
• Regional and local development: autonomous communities can enact their own regulations on public shows and complementary security, and municipalities reflect them in ordinances and license conditions.

6. Subsequent control

• Constitutional control: parties, ombudsmen, regional governments, or other legitimized entities can file constitutional challenges if they consider that the regulation of access controls violates fundamental rights (privacy, equality, assembly, non-discrimination, etc.) or invades competences.
• Ordinary judicial control: judges and courts review the concrete application of the norm (for example, sanctions to organizers for access control failures) and can raise constitutional questions to the Constitutional Court if they doubt the validity of any provision.

Overall, the regulation of access controls at large events almost always originates as a state law with a strong technical component, complemented by regional and local norms, and subjected both to ordinary political debate and subsequent constitutional and legality control.

In Spain, the security of concerts and large musical events is structured as a shared responsibility between private promoters and public authorities, especially municipalities and, where applicable, autonomous communities. The distribution of competences is based on the basic state regulations on citizen security and shows, regional regulations on public shows, and local ordinances.

1. General framework of competences

The Organic Law 4/2015, on the protection of citizen security, empowers the State to enact public security rules for buildings and facilities where shows and recreational activities are held, and authorizes authorities to prohibit or suspend shows when there is a certain danger to people and property. At the same time, the General Regulation of Police of Public Shows and Recreational Activities (Royal Decree 2816/1982, partially in force and complemented by the Technical Building Code and the Basic Self-protection Standard) sets criteria for capacity, evacuation, structural resistance, and conditions of venues, which are then developed by autonomous communities in their own show laws.

These state norms are complemented by regional show laws (such as Law 17/1997 of the Community of Madrid or their equivalents in other regions) and municipal ordinances that specify licenses, schedules, noise limits, use of public space, or self-protection plan requirements.

2. Competences and obligations of promoters

In summary, private promoters or organizers are the mainly responsible for security inside the concert venue. Their usual obligations include:

• Design and execution of the event with integrated safety: ensuring that the assembly of stages, structures, and equipment complies with occupational risk prevention regulations and technical safety and evacuation requirements. Several resolutions of state cultural agreements expressly require promoters to certify compliance with the Occupational Risk Prevention Law and communicate risks and preventive measures to the venue owner.
• Respect for capacities and venue conditions: adjusting ticket sales to the authorized capacity and organizing access, exits, and internal circulation of the public so that distances, exit widths, and structural resistance provided by technical and show regulations are met.
• Self-protection and emergency plans: when required, preparing and executing the event's self-protection plan, with risk analysis, evacuation procedures, emergency points, and coordination with public services. Some communities are strengthening the obligation of drills and registration of these plans for mass events.
• Control of specific concert risks: for example, controlling volume and compliance with acoustic limits set by municipal regulations. In practice, recent court rulings have emphasized that responsibility for sound volume and noise limit compliance lies with the promoter companies, even if the venue belongs to a third party.
• Private security and access control: hiring private security personnel, admission services, and auxiliary staff in sufficient numbers, adjusted to private security regulations and regional rules on admission of persons, searches, entry control, etc.
• Compliance with additional municipal conditions: acoustic impact studies, stage orientation measures, installation of approved limiters, internal mobility plans, security measures with a gender perspective, mandatory insurance, and, where applicable, clauses on coexistence and sustainability imposed by the municipality in licenses or concessions.

3. Competences of municipalities and public authorities

Municipalities, and in certain areas autonomous communities and the Government Delegation, mainly exercise the authorization, control, and inspection function, as well as responsibility for public order and security in the event surroundings.

• Licenses and authorizations: grant or deny activity and concert licenses, setting capacities, permitted uses, schedules, and technical conditions. They can condition announced concerts on an individualized study that guarantees public rights and legal compliance.
• Inspection and sanctioning power: verify that the venue and promoter comply with safety, hygiene, and noise conditions. When acoustic limits are exceeded or safety obligations are breached, they initiate sanctioning proceedings, usually directed at the concert promoter.
• Security and civil protection devices: organize, in coordination with National or regional Police and Civil Guard, public security devices outside: access control to the surroundings, traffic, public transport, crowd management, crime prevention, and emergency support.
• Coordination of emergency services: through advanced command posts and municipal plans, integrate local police, firefighters, civil protection, and health services to act in incidents inside and outside the venue.
• Power to suspend or prohibit: under citizen security and show regulations, they can suspend or not authorize a concert or festival if they perceive that minimum safety, accessibility, or mobility conditions are not guaranteed, or if there are serious risks for attendees or neighbors.
• Management of impacts on the city: regulate through specifications and ordinances issues such as acoustic impact in nearby neighborhoods, schedules, fees for extraordinary police, fire, and cleaning services, as well as social return and neighborhood participation requirements.

In summary, promoters assume the technical and organizational security of the event inside the venue, while local and regional authorities guarantee the legal framework, supervision, and public security outside and in the city, with power to condition, sanction, or even suspend concerts if safety conditions are insufficient.

There is no single regulation containing a closed list of permitted or prohibited objects in all show venues in Madrid. The regime results from the combination of state citizen security and show regulations, the legislation of the Community of Madrid, and, where applicable, ordinances and specific conditions set by municipalities and each organizer through the right of admission.

1. Basic state framework

At the state level, the starting point is the Organic Law 4/2015, on the protection of citizen security (text in BOE), which empowers the Security Forces and Bodies and competent authorities to adopt preventive measures when certain objects may pose a risk to people or property (for example, weapons, blunt objects, or dangerous devices).

Additionally, the Royal Decree 2816/1982, of August 27, approving the General Regulation of Police of Public Shows and Recreational Activities (text in BOE), partially repealed but still in force in much of its articles, remains a reference. This regulation:

• Expressly prohibits the public from carrying weapons of any kind, even if licensed, as well as any other objects that could be used as such or dangerous devices for the physical integrity of people.
• Obligates the public to avoid any action that could cause danger, discomfort, or hinder the development of the show and enables the company and authority to prevent entry or expel those who violate these rules.

For certain specific objects, there are state sectoral regulations, for example the Regulation of pyrotechnic articles and cartridges (currently approved by Royal Decree 989/2015, which replaces the one cited in the 2018 Madrid Decree), or the Regulation on the prevention of violence, racism, xenophobia, and intolerance in sports, approved by Royal Decree 203/2010, of February 26 (text in BOE), very relevant in stadiums and sports venues.

2. Autonomous Community of Madrid regulations

The core of regulation in Madrid is Law 17/1997, of July 4, on Public Shows and Recreational Activities (text in BOE), amended, among others, by Laws 4/2013 and 5/2015.

• Establishes the right of admission and empowers holders and organizers to prevent access or stay of persons who may disrupt the normal development of the show or cause disturbances, with conditions to be displayed visibly.
• Prohibits access to venues carrying clothing or symbols that incite violence, racism, or xenophobia.
• Allows the Community of Madrid and municipalities to prohibit or suspend shows when there is a serious risk to the safety of people or property, which in practice covers the introduction of certain dangerous objects.

Alongside Law 17/1997, its implementing regulations are relevant:

• Decree 184/1998, of October 22, approving the Catalog of Public Shows, Recreational Activities, Establishments, Venues, and Facilities, amended by Decree 40/2019, of April 30 (text in BOCM), which classifies types of venues and activities and refers to sectoral safety regulations for specific conditions.
• Decree 167/2018, of December 11, on extraordinary recreational activities at Christmas, New Year, and Epiphany (text in BOCM). Its article 21, regarding prohibitions, states that:
  • The introduction and sale of all kinds of alcoholic beverages in the venue can be prohibited.
  • The introduction of pyrotechnic products, including flares, is prohibited, referring to the state pyrotechnic articles regulation.

Regarding minors and alcohol and tobacco consumption, Law 17/1997 coordinates with Law 5/2002, on Drug Dependencies and other Addictive Disorders, and the more recent Law 4/2023, on the rights of children and adolescents of the Community of Madrid, which strengthen limitations in leisure venues where alcoholic beverages are served.

3. Role of the Madrid City Council and organizers

Although no specific municipal ordinance focused on lists of prohibited objects appears in the consulted results, municipalities — particularly Madrid's — usually develop:

• Ordinances on coexistence and security (noise, street drinking, neighborhood disturbances).
• Specific conditions in operating licenses and authorizations for specific events.

Additionally, each venue (concert hall, stadium, pavilion, etc.) sets in its internal access regulations which objects are not allowed, relying on:

• The general empowerment of the right of admission (Law 17/1997).
• Security obligations derived from state and regional regulations.

4. In practice, what does this mean?

In Madrid, objects typically prohibited in show venues (weapons, blunt objects, flares and other pyrotechnics, sprays or dangerous devices, certain glass containers or cans, etc.) are not collected in a single list but are based on:

• General prohibitions of the state show regulation (weapons and dangerous objects).
• Sectoral regulations (pyrotechnics, violence in sports, citizen security).
• The Madrid show law and its development, which allow conditioning or denying access based on risk to people and property.
• Municipal ordinances and conditions of licenses and internal regulations of each venue.

For a detailed analysis of a specific case (for example, a type of concert or a particular stadium), it is necessary to review both the municipal license and the conditions imposed by the Community of Madrid as well as the internal access regulations published by the organizer.