ARCHIVE/Madrid 2023

Rod Stewart

Date: 14 DecVenue: Madrid

Rod Stewart opened the first edition of Starlite Occident Madrid on Thursday, December 14, 2023. The sold-out concert was the first show in the indoor auditorium built in the Spanish capital for the winter season of the festival born in Marbella.

Opening night in Madrid

The first edition of Starlite Occident Madrid opened its doors on December 14, 2023 with Rod Stewart as the headliner. For the occasion, the organisers built in eleven days, with more than 1,000 people working in three daily shifts, an auditorium for over 7,000 people in a premium format, the largest in the capital after the WiZink Center. The venue also introduced a sound system aimed at every single seat, so that the whole audience hears in stereo and at the same level, with no reverberation off the walls. In the audience were Cayetana Guillén Cuervo, Brigitte Nielsen, Julio Iglesias Jr., Lydia Bosch, Coti, Manel Fuentes, Santiago Segura, Cande Tinelli, Fernando Andina, Juan Peña, Eva Ugarte, Juncal Rivero and Elsa Anka, along with business leaders such as Antonio Garamendi, Javier Tebas, Ramón Calderón, Javier Hidalgo and Félix Revuelta.

Two hours of classics, from “Infatuation” to “Maggie May”

Rod Stewart made his debut on this stage to a full house. He opened with “Infatuation” and spent two hours running through his back catalogue: “Sailing”, “Do Ya Think I’m Sexy?”, “Forever Young”, “Heartache” and “Maggie May”, among others, with the audience on its feet from start to finish. He signed off with the festive “Merry Xmas”, a fitting choice for the winter edition. At almost 80, the British singer kept the trademarks of his entire career intact: the raspy voice, the blond mane and an energy on stage that time has not worn down. His concert had been announced in September 2023, when the artist himself said: “I’m really excited to perform again for my wonderful friends in Spain. I’ll give them my greatest hits and, of course, there will be plenty of exciting surprises.”

Oro Viejo by DJ Nano to close the first night

After the concert, the party moved to the lounge area with the Oro Viejo by DJ Nano after party. The Madrid-born DJ took the crowd through the history of dance music in Spain with the most recognisable tracks of several decades, in a set that has long worked as a brand of its own rather than just a party. It was the first of the edition’s late-night sessions: Juan Magán, Fedde Le Grand and the Blue Party by Michenlo completed the after party line-up. For one week, Starlite Occident Madrid combined concerts, a food offering that included three-Michelin-star proposals in the box area, and parties until the early hours, bringing the Marbella festival’s format to the capital at Christmas for the first time.

Rod Stewart’s concert was the starting point of Starlite Occident Madrid: the first night of the first edition, with a full auditorium from the very beginning.

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