Controversy in Chile: The repair of a stadium was not finished and the authorities suspended a concert by Metallica

The concert is scheduled for April 27 at the Estadio Nacional, located in the commune of Ñuñoa in the metropolitan region of Santiago, a venue that is usually used for large events. However, the stadium is undergoing repairs for the Pan American and Parapan American Games in Santiago 2023, tasks that were not completed.

The National Sports Institute issued a public statement stating that “as a result of the problems that occurred in the execution of the 'National Stadium Park' project during 2021, which led to the start of administrative summaries, there was a delay in works that led the IND to extend the construction deadlines beyond of the date of the event. Against this background, DG Medios was told on March 7 that it was not possible to perform the Metallica recital”.

They added “unfortunately, the latest evaluation carried out confirmed that the National Stadium is not in a position to host a massive event, because there are risks to the safety of people and compromise the continuity of the work of the works considered at the Pan American and Parapan American Games in Santiago 2023. This determination was reported to DG Media on April 6.”

From the production company in charge of the event DG Medios responded that “we have been working for years to hold the Metallica concert in this venue, complying with all the guarantees and prepared to hold an event with the highest quality standards in the world. But we are again faced with adversity.”

In this regard, they pointed out that “if this concert is not held at the National Stadium, the effect could be devastating for the culture industry and live shows, generating more than 700,000 jobs in a year, many of which still cannot return to normal. In addition to this, Chile is in danger as a place for events of this magnitude to continue to be held, given the uncertainty of artists regarding the feasibility of being able to work in our country.”

The production company stated that they have made all the efforts and guarantees regarding the technical feasibility to develop the Metallica concert in Chile.

The general manager of DG Medios Carlos Geniso, in conversation with La Tercera, was emphatic: “If there is no National Stadium, there is no Metallica in Chile”. “There are all the tickets sold two years in advance, there are 62 thousand people who paid for a show at the Nacional. We are in an opening stage, where masks will no longer be worn in open places and where there will be no capacity limit for cultural events. And despite all that, are we now going to have to tell all that many people that they can't go to Metallica?”

Although the IND pointed out that the institution “is fully willing to collaborate with the evaluation of other alternatives that DG Media may propose, which are different from the National Stadium and that guarantee the safety of people”, there is still no venue for receiving artists and all possibilities are being evaluated, since that the Monumental Stadium, in Colo Colo, has a match date against Racing on the same day. KEEP READING