"A falta de pan, buenas son tortas."
When there's no bread, cakes will do — beggars can't be choosers.
A bright Wednesday dawns over the capital, and Madrid is already in full motion. Free EMT buses and BiciMAD are now in effect across the city as we enter the final 72-hour countdown to Pope Leo XIV's historic arrival on Saturday. Spain's National Police today announced a blanket ban on unauthorised civilian drones over Madrid, Barcelona and the Canary Islands for the duration of the papal visit — fines reach €225,000. Over at La Nave in Villaverde, South Summit 2026 opens its doors with 20,000 entrepreneurs from 134 countries, while Bad Bunny prepares for his second consecutive sold-out night at the Riyadh Air Metropolitano. El Retiro is still alive with book lovers at the 85th Feria del Libro, the giant screens have been installed at Plaza de Cibeles, and PHotoESPAÑA 2026 is now open across the city's galleries. Summer is here, and Madrid is the centre of the world. Vamos.
Spain's National Police announced today that temporary flight-restriction zones and a blanket ban on civilian drones will cover Madrid, Barcelona and parts of the Canary Islands during Pope Leo XIV's apostolic visit from 6 to 12 June. The measure, published in the Boletín Oficial del Estado, prohibits all unauthorised unmanned aircraft — including recreational, commercial and logistics drones — within a 10-kilometre radius of all papal venues. Business-jet slots and sightseeing flights will also face curbs, and violators face administrative fines of up to €225,000. The air-space restrictions are the strictest ever imposed for a papal visit to Spain, reflecting the government's highest-level security designation. Companies operating drone fleets for photography, surveying or delivery have been advised to ground operations until 13 June or relocate to areas outside the restricted zones.
The fifteenth edition of South Summit, Europe's premier entrepreneurship and innovation event, opened this morning at La Nave in the Villaverde district. Co-organised with IE University, the three-day summit (3–5 June) brings together 20,000 attendees, 430 speakers, 140 investment funds and startups from 134 countries — all records for the event. Mayor José Luis Martínez-Almeida and IE University's president Santiago Íñiguez inaugurated the conference, which zeroes in on artificial intelligence, climate tech, fintech and the future of work. One hundred finalists will pitch in the Startup Competition before a jury of international investors. South Summit alumni have raised more than €17 billion since the event's founding, cementing Madrid's ambition as southern Europe's leading technology hub.
The Ayuntamiento de Madrid activated its free-transport operation at midnight. All EMT municipal buses and BiciMAD bikes will be free from today through Tuesday 9 June, with Metro de Madrid reinforcing service by up to 125% on lines 1, 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10. Tonight the metro will run until 2:30am for the Bad Bunny concert; on Saturday the same extended hours apply for the Pope's youth vigil at Plaza de Lima. The first of several giant outdoor screens was installed at Plaza de Cibeles ahead of Sunday's Corpus Christi Mass, which is expected to draw up to 1.5 million faithful. Traffic restrictions are already in place on Paseo de la Castellana and around Plaza de Lima and Plaza de Cibeles, with further street closures expected from Friday. The Ayuntamiento continues to urge businesses to promote teleworking from Friday to Monday to ease congestion during what officials are calling the most logistically complex weekend in Madrid's modern history.
Madrid's cultural calendar is ablaze this June. The 85th Feria del Libro continues in El Retiro Park through 14 June with more than 350 bookstalls, author signings and literary debates — Argentina is this year's guest of honour. PHotoESPAÑA 2026, the city's premier photography festival, opened this week across museums and galleries with exhibitions exploring memory, landscape and identity; highlights include 'Nostalgia/Utopía' by Ana Locking at the Museo del Traje and a major retrospective of Latin American documentary photography at the Círculo de Bellas Artes. Meanwhile, Bad Bunny plays his second of ten historic nights at the Riyadh Air Metropolitano tonight, with Metro de Madrid reinforcing Line 7. The confluence of the papal visit, South Summit, the Feria del Libro and the Bad Bunny residency makes this the most densely packed cultural fortnight the city has ever seen.