SINGAPORE (ANN/THE STRAITS TIMES) – British band Coldplay transformed the National Stadium in Singapore into a dazzling spectacle on Tuesday, marking the first of six concerts at the 55,000-capacity venue—the first act to achieve this in the island-state.
Their consecutive performances continue on January 24, 26, 27, 30, and 31. Following suit, Taylor Swift is poised to match this achievement with six sold-out nights at the National Stadium in March.
Coldplay kicked off their electrifying set at 8.35 pm, following opening performances by Singaporean singer Jasmine Sokko and Indonesian artist Jinan Laetitia.
During the performance, singer Chris Martin encountered a brief piano hiccup on “The Scientist” but swiftly recovered, delivering a memorable night with guitarist Jonny Buckland, bassist Guy Berryman, and drummer Will Champion.
The fans, all of whom wore LED wristbands that changed colours in time to the music, sang along to rousing pop and rock hits from the last two decades, such as Paradise and Viva La Vida.
Undergraduate Sheryl Chow, 26, was among the first fans to enter the venue when security checks started at 4pm. She had arrived at the stadium two hours earlier.
“Coldplay songs like Fix You and The Scientist helped me through some of the difficult times, like when I was failing my subjects in school and going through relationship problems,” she said.
While waiting for the concert to start, many fans were seen buying merchandise ranging from SGD60 T-shirts to SGD45 bucket hats.
Some jumped on kinetic energy floors and rode on stationary bicycles near the stage that helped to generate electricity for the concert.
Tickets for the six concerts priced between SGD68 and SGD1,098 had sold out soon after they went on sale in June 2023.
According to concert promoter Live Nation, the band broke the record for the most tickets sold by an artiste in a single day in Singapore. In December, a limited number of tickets priced at SGD28 – for randomly allocated spots in the venue – were also released.
The Singapore shows are the band’s longest Asian stint in their Music Of The Spheres world tour, which included two nights each in Taiwan, Japan, Thailand and the Philippines, as well as one night each in Indonesia and Malaysia.
Coldplay last performed in Singapore in 2017, playing two nights at the same venue. The band also performed at the Singapore Indoor Stadium in 2001 – a double bill with Scottish band Travis – 2006 and 2009.
Among the concertgoers on January 23 were many who travelled from neighbouring countries.
Sales manager Jalyne Rodriguez from Manila spent about PHP100,000 (SGD2,400) on tickets and other expenses such as flights and a six-night hotel stay.
“I wanted… the Singapore show instead of their concert in the Philippines because I think the venue here is much nicer,” said the 40-year-old, adding that she is a big fan of Martin.
Indonesian fan Anton S, who is in his 30s and works in the banking industry, failed to get tickets to the band’s concert in Jakarta last November.
He was happy when he managed to score tickets for the Singapore show.
“I’ve been a fan for more than 20 years and this is the first time that I’ll get to see them live, so this is very special for me.”
