Mad Cool have shared a new site map and a series of key updates for this year’s festival – check them out below.
The 2026 edition of the festival will run next month between July 8 and 11 at the Iberdrola Music Villaverde site, and will see Pulp, Foo Fighters, Florence & The Machine, and Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds perform at the 10th anniversary instalment.
This year’s milestone event is set to bring together the biggest names in music, including Twenty One Pilots, Lorde, CMAT, Wolf Alice, Jennie, Moby, The Last Dinner Party, Kings Of Leon, The War On Drugs, Halsey, Teddy Swims, Pixies, The Black Crowes and David Byrne.
Joining them will be Liens Très Dengereux, Yulie, Ksal, and Color, whose addition to the line-up follows them winning the Mad Cool DJ Talent presented by Vibra Mahou.
Among the major changes at the bash this year is that the number of stages will now be reduced to five along with a complete reconfiguration of their positioning across the site to “deliver a premium live sound experience” while also improving crowd flow throughout the festival.
Mad Cool is also moving away from the dual-main stage format of previous years.
The Main Stage will see significant upgrades including an expanded screen set up totalling 480 square metres alongside an “enhanced visual design that will provide audiences with a more immersive concert experience”.
In addition, Stage 2 Orange will move to a new location in the south-west area of the venue, will be larger and will feature upgraded audio visual production, including 90 square metres of LED screens.
Stage 4 Mahou Cinco Estrellas and Stage 5 Mahou Reserva will also see an increased audience capacity.
Food and beverage areas in the festival’s chill-out zones will be expanded and there will be a 40 per cent increase in shaded areas across the site.
You can check out what to look out for during the biggest sets with NME’s Mad Cool headliner bingo here.
Elsewhere, in one recent schedule shake-up, it was announced that The Vaccines would now be performing on Wednesday 8 July, following a change to proceedings.
Last year’s festival saw performances from Olivia Rodrigo, Noah Kahan, Nine Inch Nails, Iggy Pop, Alanis Morrisette, Weezer, Thirty Second to Mars, Gracie Abrams, St. Vincent, Justice, Bloc Party, Kaiser Chiefs, The Wombats, Jet, Glass Animals and many more.
You can revisit all of NME’s coverage from the 2025 festival with our round-ups of the best moments from day one, day two and day three. You can also check out the performance times for the 2026 edition here.