Coimbra will receive more than 200,000 people at four Coldplay concerts

The city of Coimbra is preparing to receive, during the week, four Coldplay concerts, in which more than 200 thousand people are expected, this being the event in Portugal that, according to Ticketline, registered the greatest demand ever.

The band led by Chris Martin takes the stage at Estádio Cidade de Coimbra on Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday and the 21st, which is a Sunday, bringing together an average of 50,000 people at each of the concerts, which makes up more than 200,000 people in the four planned concerts.

The high demand for tickets that took place in August 2022 led promoter Everything is New to schedule successive concert dates in the city of Coimbra, where Coldplay’s European tour begins.

Access to the official “sites” for purchasing tickets – whose prices ranged between 65 euros and 150 euros, plus fees, going from 85 euros on the pitch of Estádio Cidade de Coimbra — became congested, with more than 400 thousand people on hold on the Ticketline platform.

At the time, the executive president of the Ticketline platform, Ana Ribeiro, admitted that the demand for tickets for Coldplay concerts, which sold out in a few hours, reached a historic level, unprecedented in the country.

“It is unprecedented in Portugal, there has never been so much demand for an event in Portugal”, he highlighted.

Speculation of tickets for concerts by the band led by Chris Martin also led the Food and Economic Security Authority (ASAE) to detain several people, who were trying to sell them at prices far above their real face value.

In order for Coimbra to host these four concerts, the City Council awarded, in April, financial support in the amount of 440 thousand euros to Everything is New, within the scope of a collaboration protocol signed between the municipality, the promoter Everything is New and the Academic Association of Coimbra — Autonomous Football Organism (AAC/OAF).

According to the municipality, this served to “place the city on the route of major world events”, generating “media impact” and being reflected “greatly in the local economy”, with “the two sectors most directly benefited being the hotel and catering industry, with obvious financial benefits”.

“As relevant as the revenues and the economic return for the city, is the fact that these concerts constitute a strategic product for tourism in Coimbra, not only due to the enormous capacity to attract visitors, but also due to the catalytic effect within the city itself” , justified.

The protocol also provides that the Coimbra City Council will be responsible for replacing or repairing the stadium’s lawn after the concerts and exempting the promoter of the Everything is New shows from any fee.

When voting for this support, in a meeting of the municipal executive, the mayor, José Manuel Silva, elected by the Juntos Somos Coimbra coalition (PSD, CDS-PP, Nós,Cidadãos!, PPM, Aliança, RIR and Volt), stressed that these concerts are “one of the best deals ever in this area for the city of Coimbra and its region”.

The opposition said it did not doubt the visibility that the concerts give Coimbra, however, the Socialist Party criticized the “hidden data” regarding the deal, namely the global ticket revenue and associated global production costs or the amount that the promoter will pay to the AAC/OAF.

On this matter, the president of Académica, Miguel Ribeiro, confirmed, in February, that the Coimbra club, which plays in the third tier of Portuguese football, will receive a financial contribution for the use of the stadium, “fundamental” for the accounts of this sporting season, refusing, however, to reveal its value.

Coldplay’s performance also forced the Estádio Cidade de Coimbra to be subject to some improvements, by Everything is New, which the mayor of Coimbra called a “huge investment”.

The director of the producer Everything is New, Pedro Viegas, declined to inform the value of that investment, indicating only that “improvements at a structural level” are being made.

The presence of Coldplay in Coimbra also affected the date of the traditional procession, which was postponed from the 21st to the 23rd of May, by the organization of Queima das Fitas, which caused some discontent among members of the academy.

Hotel businessmen will be more satisfied, since, according to the president of the regional entity Turismo do Centro, Pedro Machado, hotels in the Coimbra region are completely sold out.

The four Coldplay concerts will also force traffic to be cut off in part of the surrounding area at Estádio Cidade de Coimbra, with special Urban Transport circuits planned.

Between the 16th and the 22nd of May (with an interruption between 2:00 am and 11:00 pm on the 19th), there will be a complete cut in pedestrian and road traffic in the areas closest to Estádio Cidade de Coimbra and also traffic restrictions on several roads in a wider area, where only public transport, residents, access to private property and the Alma shopping center and to companies providing services and bicycles will be allowed, on concert days, between 2:00 pm and 8:00 pm .

There will also be prohibitions on street sales in a perimeter around the stadium and catering establishments will be able to sell to the post “directly to the street or through the installation of counters at the door of the establishments on concert days”.

To facilitate the movement of people who want to attend the shows, the Coimbra Chamber has reinforced the offer of lines that cover the surroundings of the stadium and will provide four special public transport circuits, having also created a daily wristband, worth four euros, which allows you to travel on all buses.