Bad Bunny draws 78,000 to Milan, mixing Puerto Rican pride with crowd frustration over visibility and VIP access

A Spanish-only spectacle

Bad Bunny opened the first of two Milan dates at Ippodromo Snai La Maura on Friday evening before a crowd of around 78,000. He performed for nearly two and a half hours without a single word of English, delivering a set that mixed tracks from his Grammy-winning album DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS with older hits like 'Monaco'. A live band featuring trumpets, drums and piano backed him, and at one point a guitarist played the melody of Domenico Modugno's 'Nel blu dipinto di blu', prompting a mass singalong.

I'm sure I've never seen so many people at one of my concerts.

The Puerto Rican star, born Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, addressed the audience only in Spanish and repeatedly urged them to enjoy the moment. Opening act Chuwi, also from Puerto Rico, had warmed up the crowd from 19:00, though many fans sought shade as temperatures hovered around 30–33°C.

The casita: symbol and controversy

A central visual element of the tour is the 'casita', a pink replica of a traditional Puerto Rican home placed in the middle of the crowd. Bad Bunny moved there after about an hour, switching from a cream suit to oversized streetwear as a DJ replaced the band and the music shifted toward latin trap and reggaeton. The structure is intended as a tribute to his roots, but it has drawn criticism for functioning as an exclusive VIP area. At previous stops, celebrities were invited inside; in Milan, no famous faces were spotted in the casita, a possible response to accusations of elitism.

Thank you for bringing me back here with my culture, my flag and my music. Tonight, we are all Puerto Ricans.

Access to the casita is not sold as a premium ticket. A staff member named Jeremy, recognisable by his curly hair, cap and dark-framed glasses, selects people from the crowd before and during the show. The selection process has itself become a talking point among fans.

Crowd frustrations

Not everyone left satisfied. Videos circulated on social media showing spectators who could only watch the performance on screens because of the distance from the stage. One viral complaint read: 'You could only see the screen. He was behind that black shed.' The criticism extended to basic logistics: security confiscated bottle caps at the entrance, a standard measure, but long queues for water points under the sun left some attendees feeling unwell. 'My friends thought I had fainted,' one concertgoer wrote.

Adding to the tension was the 'Los Vecinos' section, a seated area positioned behind the main stage. Priced at €234.15 plus fees, it sold out quickly and offered a close, elevated view, but from the rear of the performer and band. The contrast between those paying over €230 for a backstage perspective and those on the lawn struggling to see the stage at all fuelled debate about the trade-offs of mega-concerts.

Second night and tour context

A second show is scheduled for Saturday 18 July, with a similar attendance expected. Together the two Milan dates account for 157,000 tickets, all sold in under four hours. The tour supports DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS, the first all-Spanish-language album to win the Grammy for Album of the Year. Bad Bunny last performed in Italy in 2019 at the Milano Latin Festival.

I feel a special connection with European fans, who manage to make my music their own, going well beyond language barriers.