"A buen entendedor, pocas palabras bastan."
To a good listener, few words suffice — a word to the wise is enough.
A warm Thursday dawns over Madrid with just 48 hours to go until Pope Leo XIV touches down in the capital. Tonight at midnight, Plaza de Cibeles closes entirely to traffic as the city's biggest-ever stage takes shape for Sunday's Corpus Christi Mass. La Asamblea de Madrid is set to approve the new Ley de Vivienda Protegida today, aiming to unlock 18,000 new public homes across the region. The F1 Madring legal battle intensifies as a German court grants Dromo partial injunctive relief against Tilke in the copyright dispute over the circuit design. Meanwhile, Uber and Chinese autonomous-driving firm WeRide have chosen Madrid as the launch city for their first European robotaxi service, and Real Madrid's presidential election is heating up with Pérez promising the return of Mourinho and Konaté. South Summit wraps up tomorrow at La Nave, the Feria del Libro is in full swing at El Retiro, and the city is buzzing with anticipation. Vamos.
The Assembly of Madrid is expected to vote through the Law on Urgent Measures for the Increase in the Supply of Public Housing this Thursday, propelled by the PP's absolute majority. The legislation increases buildability and density allowances on public land, streamlines licensing with positive-silence provisions, and reclassifies underused tertiary and office plots for residential development. Regional housing minister Jorge Rodrigo defended the package as the fastest route to 18,000 new protected homes, citing the successful conversion of 8,000 former office units. Opposition parties Más Madrid and PSOE criticised the law as headline-grabbing rather than structural, arguing it fails to cap rents or tackle illegal tourist apartments. The plenary session also includes a control session with president Isabel Díaz Ayuso, a debate on universal school canteens proposed by Más Madrid, and questions on ALS care funding and heat-wave preparedness in schools.
The legal battle over the design of Madrid's Formula 1 circuit — known as the Madring — escalated this week as a German court in Cologne granted Dromo SL injunctive relief against Tilke Ingenieure, the rival firm that replaced Dromo as circuit designer. The court found that Tilke may have unlawfully used Dromo's copyrighted technical documentation, and imposed restrictions within German jurisdiction. Ifema, the fairground operator behind the Grand Prix, mobilised the Comunidad de Madrid's legal services under a cooperation agreement to defend its position, arguing that Dromo's fees were paid in full and no further licence is required. Dromo's CEO Jarno Zaffelli is preparing a separate multi-million-euro claim in Spain. Despite the legal turbulence, F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali confirmed the Spanish Grand Prix will go ahead as planned in September, with three-shift construction now under way at the circuit site.
At midnight tonight, Plaza de Cibeles and its surrounding arteries — including Paseo de Recoletos, calle Alcalá between Cibeles and Plaza de la Independencia, and the northbound Paseo del Prado — will close to all traffic as final preparations begin for Sunday's Corpus Christi Mass officiated by Pope Leo XIV. The closure follows the earlier sealing of Plaza de Lima and the central lanes of the Paseo de la Castellana. EMT buses remain free across the city alongside BiciMAD, and Metro de Madrid has extended Line 4 service by 60 minutes for the occasion, deploying a commemorative 'Alzad la mirada' branded train. The Ayuntamiento expects up to 1.8 million pilgrims for the weekend's events and continues to urge teleworking through Tuesday. In the Lucero neighbourhood, residents have watched a sudden deployment of street-sweepers, gardeners and asphalt crews prepare the route the Pope will take to visit the CEDIA homeless shelter on Saturday — a clean-up they say is welcome but reveals chronic neglect the rest of the year.
Uber and Chinese autonomous-driving company WeRide have selected Madrid as the European launch city for their commercial robotaxi service, set to begin as a pilot project later this year in partnership with the regional government of Madrid. The service will deploy WeRide's GXR vans — equipped with 20 sensors including LiDAR, high-resolution cameras and RTK inertial navigation — initially with safety drivers behind the wheel. Spanish fleet operator Avomo, part of the Moove Cars Group, will manage day-to-day operations. Uber and WeRide already run the same model in the United Arab Emirates. The Madrid pilot is expected to scale to hundreds of fully autonomous vehicles over time, targeting central urban districts. The announcement positions Madrid alongside Dubai, San Francisco and Shanghai as a testbed for autonomous mobility, and reflects the regional government's push to position the capital as a hub for next-generation transport technology.