🇪🇺 What's on in Madrid: May 16
Eurovision, baby! Plus: Museums, rooftops, Baroque music and more!
Madrid | Issue #98
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Here Are 5 Things to Do in Madrid This Weekend
It’s Eurovision again!
And sure, maybe Madrid is offering tons of things to do, but we’ll be throwing our support behind Melody and Spain this Saturday night. Let’s face it, the weather is still weird so why leave the house? Better just buy a few Spanish flags, a bag of chips and enjoy the hot mess awesomeness that is the Eurovision Song Contest.
Enjoy!
1.🇪🇺 Eurovision Song Contest 2025: The Gay World Cup is Here
Dust off your sparkling boas and get the snacks ready, because this Saturday night it’s time for the Eurovision Grand Final, live from Basel, Switzerland and we in Spain are ready to tune in, cheer and let the chaos unfold. Seriously, cancel any other plans this weekend. If there's one thing you should be doing, this is it.
Lifelong Eurovision addicts and those who are just in it for the weird costumes and behind-the-scenes scandals know that Eurovision night is an unmissable ritual in Spain.
Living rooms, bars, terraces, and your WhatsApp groups will be busy with predictions, hot takes, and memes about the most over-the-top acts that Europe can throw at us.
While Spain hasn’t exactly been a top contender in recent years (well, except for 2022), this time there’s a little more buzz. Melody’s “Esa Diva” has been quietly climbing the odds, becoming a dark horse for Saturday’s final. Could we finally pull off a win? Spain has been waiting 56 years, making it one of the longest-running droughts in Eurovision history. It’s time.
Our advice? Throw your own viewing party (download our exclusive drinking game below!) or join one of the many Eurovision-themed parties happening across Spain. LGBTQ+ bars, pubs, and even cinemas are turning into Eurovision temples this Saturday.
Join us. Resistance is futile.
🖥️ What: Eurovision Song Contest 2025
📍 Where: YouTube (Online), La 2 Network (Cable)
📅 When: May 17, 9 p.m.
2.💃 Madrid a Cielo Abierto 2025: Celebrating Outdoor Drinking
Yes, the weather is still nuts but we can still have fun in Madrid now that the outdoor drinking season is officially kicking off.
Since yesterday, the city’s most iconic hotel terraces, rooftops, gardens, and pools have opened their doors for the 7th edition of Madrid a Cielo Abierto, an annual campaign organized by the Madrid Hotel Business Association (AEHM).
This year’s lineup is bigger than ever, offering everything from brunches and poolside chill to gastronomy pop-ups, wellness sessions, and afterwork cocktails.
Participating hotels include heavyweights like Four Seasons Hotel Madrid, The Madrid Edition, Rosewood Villa Magna, and Mandarin Oriental Ritz, as well as hidden gems like Orfila, CoolRooms Palacio de Atocha, and UMusic Hotel Madrid.
The last few years have seen an explosion of rooftop bars and restaurants located on and around Gran Vía (seriously, it’s insane). Every single respectable hotel in the area is competing to become the “it” place for locals and foreigners who love to savor a glass of tempranillo while admiring the city skyline.
There’s Ginkgo, Picalagartos, Azotea del Circulo, 11 Nudos, Casa Suecia…the list of options is endless, and if you were waiting for a chance to visit them all, this is it.
Grab a tumbona. You can thank us later.
🖥️ What: Madrid a Cielo Abierto 2025
📍 Where: Multiple locations around Madrid
📅 When: May 16 to 25
🎟 Tickets: Check official for menu prices
3.🎭 A Doll’s House, Reloaded: Nora Still Has Reasons to Slam the Door
One of the most iconic exits in theater history gets a 21st-century update in Madrid. Starting this week, A Doll’s House (the feminist classic by Norwegian director Henrik Ibsen) returns to the stage, but through the lens of Spanish playwright Eduardo Galán, who asks: what would Nora do today?
With Lautaro Perotti directing and María León leading a powerhouse cast alongside Santi Marín, Patxi Freytez, Alejandro Bruni, and Pepa Gracia, this new version invites us to rethink Nora’s legendary door slam not as something from the past, but as a painfully current gesture.
Is modern society really ready to let women walk away from oppressive roles? Or do we still expect them to smile politely? (It depends on who you ask.)
Galán’s adaptation keeps the bones of Ibsen’s original (in which Nora realizes that her marriage is more a prison than a partnership) but adds a twist that forces us to confront whether the fight for equality has moved forward or not.
🖥️ What: A Doll’s House (Casa de Muñecas)
📍 Where: Teatro Fernán Gómez, Centro Cultural de la Villa, Plaza de Colón 4, Madrid.
📅 When: May 16 to June 22. Check website for schedule.
🎟 Tickets start at €15
4.🎵 Vicálvaro turns up the volume (organ included) with Baroque music
Done with reggaeton? How about some Baroque music for a change?
The Santa María la Antigua church in Vicálvaro is hosting a free organ music festival throughout May, bringing some serious classical firepower to the neighborhood, along with a few unexpected twists.
The festival aims to introduce the general public to the underappreciated world of organ music while spotlighting a new generation of performers.
Virtuoso pianist Els Bieseman (who’s won awards all over the world) will take the stage Saturday with a program spanning Buxtehude to Beethoven.
Then on May 24, Exit Ensemble brings a touch of Baroque swagger with their southern Italian-inspired album Il Sud and their latest project Trionfo Romano.
All concerts are free, so stop trying to buy those Bad Bunny tickets and head over to Vicálvaro.
🖥️ What: International Organ and Baroque Music Festival of Vicálvaro
📍 Where: Iglesia de Santa María la Antigua, Calle Virgen de la Antigua, 9, Madrid.
📅 When: Through May 31
🎟 Tickets: Free admission
5.🏛️ International Museums Day 2025
Have you been looking for an excuse to revisit Madrid’s finest museums (or finally check them off your list)? Now is your chance!
The city joins the global celebration of International Museum Day on Sunday, with free entry and a packed agenda of activities under this year’s theme: The Future of Museums in Communities in Constant Change.
All the big-name museums like the Prado, the Reina Sofía, the Thyssen-Bornemisza, and the Royal Collections Gallery are offering free entry, with highlights including Radio 3’s classic live concert marathon at Reina Sofía on the 23rd, storytelling sessions, film screenings, and even micro-concerts all week long.
But it’s not just the big players. Madrid’s Municipal Museums are also getting in on the action. The Contemporary Art Museum is kicking things off on Saturday with Bailand, an immersive dance session that turns the museum into a dance floor. The following day, they’ll present Ex Ramón Gómez de la Serna, a contemporary dance piece inspired by the literary icon.
Other museums, such as Museo Arqueológico Nacional, Museo Cerralbo, and Museo de América, which will also open their doors with special programs, are joining in on the fun. If you love art, archaeology, live music and looking cultured on Instagram, this one’s for you.
🖥️ What: International Museums Day 2025
📍 Where: Multiple locations throughout Madrid
📅 When: Mostly on May 18 (but there’s other stuff going on other days, so check the official website)
🎟 Tickets: Free admission
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🔔 A fun game for you Eurovision fans
Since you’ve likely been invited to a viewing party by your Spanish friends, we suggest you bring this drinking game with you so you can have fun and learn about the many (many) things we can guarantee you’ll hear them say while watching. This way, you get to drink and learn! (Drink responsibly, though).
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We’ll be back next week with more.