Few Australian tours carry the weight of Bad Bunny’s first-ever shows in the country. In May last year, the Puerto Rican artist, born Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, announced his only Australian performances at Sydney’s Engie Stadium ahead of a run of career-defining milestones, including being named Spotify’s most-streamed artist globally in 2025, a historic win at the 2026 Grammy awards and a zeitgeist-capturing Super Bowl half-time show whose message of unity was largely lost on the political right.
At the Grammys, his 2025 album Debí Tirar Más Fotos became the first predominantly Spanish-language album to win album of the year. In his acceptance speech, Bad Bunny directly criticised the Trump administration’s harassment of immigrants and dedicated the award to “all the people that had to leave their homeland, their country, to follow their dreams”. That sentiment resonated deeply with Latin American and Caribbean diasporas worldwide, including in Australia.
“The reason we’re so excited is that Latin artists don’t usually see Australia as a market to visit,” says Uruguayan Australian content creator and “self-appointed Bad Bunny correspondent” Pedro Cuccovillo Vitola. After posting a photo with the star outside a Sydney cafe, his inbox flooded with messages from fans travelling from across Australia and the world for the shows (Bad Bunny has skipped the US on this world tour for fear of ICE raids). Cuccovillo Vitola cites recent tours by J Balvin and Nicky Jam as groundwork for the arrival of Latin music’s biggest star: “For us, it’s like Christmas.”
That festive atmosphere is in full effect at Olympic Park in the hours before the Saturday show, with bars at capacity and impromptu street parties spilling into the precinct. “This is a very emotional moment that’s been years in the making,” says Marisela, born in Puerto Rico and living in Sydney for the past 12 years. “I became a citizen of Australia, but continuing that connection with the Caribbean, Latin America and the US is really important, and I pass that along to my son.” She adds that Bad Bunny’s decision to tour during the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras speaks to his allyship of the LGBTQ+ community.
Lorena has travelled from Canberra with a sprawling contingent of more than 20 Chilean Australians. “Have you ever been to a concert three hours early and felt this vibe?” she asks, just as a chant of “¡Viva Chile!” breaks out. “We all fucking love Benito. He’s made people feel so proud of being Latino.”
Eating a vegan hotdog near the food trucks, Franca, 68, explains she decided to buy a single ticket two weeks ago after discovering Bad Bunny in her Zumba classes. “I watched the Super Bowl in bed on YouTube and thought, ‘I know all these songs! This guy is hot, and I could be his mother’. So I’ve done my research – right down to the Calvin Klein underwear.”
Standing nearby, proud Puerto Rican Aleida, 62, has just arrived from Miami with a small group, after also attending Bad Bunny’s recent concert in Brazil. “We didn’t realise we’d lose a day flying here, so we thought the concert was tomorrow,” she says. “We’re zombies, but we’re going to enjoy it.”
The can’t-quite-believe-it excitement carries into the stadium, where fans of all ages mingle, sporting traditional Puerto Rican straw hats, or pavas, and waving flags from across Latin America. From the first notes, the vibe feels more party than concert: Puerto Rican openers Chuwi earn a warm reception, followed by a spirited stadium-wide sing along of Los Hijos del Sol’s beloved Cariñito over the PA and restless chants of “Benito”.
When the man of the hour finally appears, surrounded by fans in the up-close Los Vecinos sections, the enormous stage screen captures his awed expression – and blindingly white teeth – in super high definition. Dressed in a crisp cream suit, Bad Bunny opens in crooner mode with the likes of La Mudanza and Nuevayol, flanked by a charismatic salsa band, while camera lanyards handed out at the gate light up across the stadium.
The second phase of the show unfolds at La Casita, a stage built like a traditional Puerto Rican home, where Bad Bunny delivers party-ready reggaeton and Latin trap, including Tití Me Preguntó and Me Porto Bonito, surrounded by a throng of VIPs.
Throughout the two-and-a-half hour show, which crescendos back on the main stage with hits like the Bomba Estéreo-featuring Ojitos Lindos, fans experience all sides of Bad Bunny, from the political charge of El Apagón, named for Puerto Rico’s rolling blackouts, to his all-out, forget-the-world party anthems. While an interlude featuring his signature Sapo Concho mascot playfully lists Australian delicacies like chicken parmy, Vegemite and lamingtons, the star addresses the crowd almost entirely in Spanish to appreciative cheers, including a final call to live in the moment and “love without fear,” before launching into the joyous, firework-streaked closers of DTMF and Eoo.
As the crowd streams into the rainy night, some braving long commutes home, strangers swap stories and videos from a night in Bad Bunny’s world – a place where a sense of togetherness transcends language.
Bad Bunny’s Debí Tirar Más Fotos World Tour continues in Sydney on 1 March
