Europe’s largest surf lagoon is set to open

Fancy surfing with a view of the skyline of the Spanish capital, Madrid? Close to Atlético Madrid’s football stadium, Europe’s largest surf lagoon, ‘Gemswell Surf Madrid’, is being built. In future, surfers will no longer necessarily have to travel to the seaside to ride the waves. The major project is expected to attract over 500,000 people a year.

However, the new facility isn’t just designed for surfers, but also for people who don’t want to get on a board. Additional leisure and lifestyle facilities are being developed around the surf park. These include several swimming pools, a skate park, various restaurants and event spaces. Plans also include a social club with a pool, a gym, yoga and Pilates classes, and a spa area.

The highlight of ‘Gemswell Surf Madrid’, however, is the huge surf lagoon covering an area of 23,000 square metres. Divided into two zones, there will be a ‘Bahía’ specifically for beginners and a ‘Reef’ for experienced surfers.

The wave machine, supplied by the Basque company ‘Wavegarden’, produces a new wave every eight seconds. It can generate 20 different types of waves, the highest of which is expected to reach up to two metres. An in-house surf school and courses for children aged four and above are also in the pipeline, as reported by the «Reisereporter».

Construction work is currently about halfway complete. The facility is due to be completed in early 2027 and will then undergo a period of testing before the first guests can be welcomed in spring 2027.

The facility’s maximum capacity is 2,850 guests at any one time. To ensure everything runs smoothly, 860 parking spaces will be built and between 180 and 200 new jobs created. The project is costing around 60 million euros.