Marenostrum Fuengirola, one of the most important live music series in southern Spain, has just become the first of its kind to obtain the Carbon Footprint Certificate for Events, awarded by AENOR (Asociación Española de Normalización y Certificación, or the Spanish Association for Standardization and Certification)
The recognition, which highlights the festival’s 2024 efforts, comes right as the Marenostrum celebrates its 10th anniversary with its biggest and most ambitious edition yet — featuring a lineup of over 100 artists — while doubling down on its growing commitment to sustainability.
“Achieving this milestone is a recognition of all the work Marenostrum Fuengirola has been doing since the beginning when it comes to sustainability, environmental responsibility, and supporting the community around the venue,” Daphne Martínez, the festival’s head of sustainable development goals, tells Billboard Español. “For us, it’s one of our most important pillars.”
Born in 2016 as an initiative by the Fuengirola City Council to boost cultural tourism in the city, Marenostrum Fuengirola has grown year after year to become one of the standout events of the summer music scene in Spain. The concerts take place from late April to mid-September at Castillo Sohail, a 10th-century fortress located by the sea in Fuengirola, Málaga province.
Over time, Marenostrum has established itself as a must-stop on the country’s concert circuit, attracting big names like Jennifer Lopez, Ricky Martin, Bob Dylan, Santana, Rod Stewart, and Bizarrap, along with more than 880,000 attendees. The ambitious 2025 edition spans genres from pop and electronic music to classic rock, flamenco, and reggaetón, with confirmed artists including Maná, Leiva, Ozuna, Chayanne, Lionel Richie, Bonnie Tyler, Thirty Seconds to Mars, and Juan Luis Guerra, among others.
Since 2019, Marenostrum eliminated single-use cups and became the first venue in its category to be free of disposable plastics. In its 2024 edition, it became the first music event in Spain to officially measure and offset its carbon footprint — a recognition granted by AENOR after verifying the impact of its emissions throughout the season — and doubled down on its efforts with initiatives like using 100% renewable fuels for its main generators, solar panels to power areas of the venue, and solar-powered mobile charging stations.
Additionally, the festival plants its own “Marenostrum Forest” every year as part of its emissions offset plan, and this year, even the staff wristbands were made from recycled ocean plastic.
“We hope this experience serves as a reference for other venues because environmental responsibility is a shared concern across the entire sector,” Martínez says. “We need to strengthen responsible practices with certifications like these, not just good intentions, contributing to the preservation of the environments where we carry out our activities.”
