Foro Sol opened in November 1993 as a multipurpose stadium built inside the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez racetrack in eastern Mexico City, with Madonna headlining its inaugural concerts. Over the following three decades it grew into the second-largest concert venue in Mexico City, trailing only Estadio Azteca, and became known as one of the highest-rotation touring stops in Latin America.
The stadium’s distinctive layout pairs two long tiers of concrete bleachers with a flat asphalt field once used for baseball and, briefly, Formula 1 activity tied to the surrounding racetrack. Following an extensive renovation, the venue reopened in mid-2024 under a new naming-rights deal as Estadio GNP Seguros, though longtime fans and locals still commonly refer to it by its original name, Foro Sol.
Stats at a Glance
- Location: Iztacalco, Mexico City, Mexico
- Type: Open-air multipurpose stadium
- Opened: November 1993
- Capacity: About 65,000 (concert configuration)
- Current name: Estadio GNP Seguros (since 2024)
- Famous for: One of Latin America’s busiest touring stadiums
A Racetrack-Adjacent Concert Giant
What sets Foro Sol apart from most stadiums is its location: it sits inside the grounds of the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, the racetrack that has hosted the Mexican Grand Prix since Formula 1 returned to Mexico City in 2015, with part of the circuit’s final sector running directly through the stadium’s footprint. For most of the year, though, the venue functions purely as a concert ground, with its twin bleacher sections and open asphalt floor accommodating tens of thousands of fans for a single show.
The stadium’s roofed upper tiers offer rain protection for a portion of the crowd, a practical touch in a city known for summer downpours, while the general-admission floor lets the venue flex its capacity depending on the production.
Decades of Landmark Shows
Since Madonna’s 1993 opening run, Foro Sol has hosted an enormous roster of international acts, including Paul McCartney, Oasis, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Depeche Mode, Arctic Monkeys, and The Smashing Pumpkins, alongside Mexican acts like Café Tacvba and Molotov. Multi-night residencies have become a hallmark of the venue, with artists such as Daddy Yankee, Shakira, and Bad Bunny each staging strings of consecutive sold-out shows there in recent years.
The 2024 rebrand to Estadio GNP Seguros came with renovated seating, upgraded sightlines, and modernized production infrastructure, and the reopened venue marked the occasion with three sold-out concerts from Bruno Mars.
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Foro Sol FAQs
Is Foro Sol still called Foro Sol?
Officially, no — following a 2024 renovation and naming-rights deal, the venue is now called Estadio GNP Seguros, though many locals and longtime fans still refer to it by its original name, Foro Sol.
How many people does Foro Sol hold?
In its concert configuration, the stadium holds about 65,000 people, making it the second-largest concert venue in Mexico City after Estadio Azteca.
Where is Foro Sol located?
It sits inside the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez complex in the Iztacalco area of eastern Mexico City, the same grounds that host the Mexican Grand Prix.
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Photo: ProtoplasmaKid / CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.