Bad Bunny kicks off European leg of tour in Barcelona

MEXICO CITY, MEXICO - DECEMBER 10: Puerto Rican rapper Bad Bunny performs during his World's Hottest Tour at Estadio Azteca. On December 10, 2022 in Mexico City, Mexico. (Credit: Jaime Nogales/ Eyepix Group/Future Publishing via Getty Images)

Hundreds of Bad Bunny fans braved long queues and the heat of Barcelona on Friday as the Puerto Rican superstar kicks off the 29-concert European leg of his world tour.

Bad Bunny devotees, some holding umbrellas to guard against the sun, lined up outside the Spanish city’s Olympic stadium hours ahead of the show on Friday night to try to secure a spot close to the stage.

“We’ve been here for two hours waiting, but really, how long have we been waiting for Bad Bunny here in Catalonia, in Barcelona?” journalist Adria Capdevila, 22, told AFP.

“We don’t know if we’ll ever get to see him again... since it might be the last time, you live it with maximum energy, maximum enthusiasm,” he said.

Bad Bunny’s world tour began last year with a 31-concert residency in San Juan in support of his latest album, “Debi Tirar Mas Fotos” (“I Should Have Taken More Photos”), which blends traditional Puerto Rican music with reggaeton and trap.

The European tour includes two nights in Barcelona and two in Lisbon before moving to Madrid for 10 concerts at Atletico Madrid’s Metropolitano Stadium.

The tour will then continue through Germany, the Netherlands, Britain, France, Sweden, Poland and Italy before concluding in Brussels on July 22.

It has already taken in Latin America, Australia and Japan but he did not play in the United States to shield fans from potential raids by immigration authorities.

Bad Bunny appeared in the Super Bowl halftime show in February, but supporters of U.S. President Donald Trump criticized him for performing only in Spanish.

The 32-year-old rose from the Puerto Rican underground music scene to become one of the world’s biggest acts, helping push reggaeton and Latin trap into the global mainstream.

He took home three Grammy awards in February including for album of the year.