One of the most celebrated bands in the world reaffirmed their legendary status with a breathtaking stadium spectacle, proving why they reign among rock’s finest live acts.
Few bands in the world can command the devotion of over 80,000 fans with such effortless ease, but for Coldplay, it has become almost routine. Since launching in March 2022, the Music of the Sphere’s World Tour has circled the globe, breaking records, making headlines, and radiating the boundless joy of a band cherished worldwide. After first touching down in London in August 2022, the tour has now returned on an unprecedented scale: a 10-night residency beneath the iconic Wembley arch, a feat reserved only for the true giants of the music industry.
Tuesday night in London proved that, even three years on, the highest attended tour in rock history has lost none of its brilliance. If anything, it stands among some of their most euphoric and jubilant shows to date. It was pure rock mastery.
A palpable buzz of enthusiasm swept down Olympic Way as thousands poured towards the stadium, the atmosphere perfectly matching the magnitude of the occasion. Fans arrived sporting everything from fresh tour merch, glittering outfits, and an explosion of colour; everything geared towards making it a night to remember. Inside, as the stadium steadily filled during supporting sets from Gustavo Dudamel & The Simon Bolivar Symphony Orchestra of Venezuela, Chloe Qisha, and Elyanna, the excitement only intensified. By half-past eight, the roar of anticipation had reached a level I’d never experienced before but was simply breathtaking.
Coldplay’s 10-night run at one of London’s most prestigious venues is nothing short of historic. At the time of writing, they’re on course to break the joint record held by Take That and Taylor Swift, who each staged eight shows under the arch. Across this marathon residency, the band is revisiting highlights from all ten of their albums, starting with Parachutes and journeying through to 2024’s Moon Music. On night three, Chris Martin declared it “An X&Y kind of night,” a playful nod towards upcoming tracks from their third album, midway through the first act of the show.
The opening was staggeringly brilliant, with the band launching straight into a crowd ready to party. Confetti & fireworks erupted during Higher Power, giant balloons bounced above the standing pit in Adventure of a Lifetime, and the now-iconic LED wristbands lit up Wembley in a dazzling display, one of live music’s most impressive sights. The stadium pulsed with colour, joy, and love in a spectacle only Coldplay could deliver, and we were only half an hour in.
That the band could open with a string of some of their biggest hits and still have a catalogue full of others left for later speaks volumes about the scale of their discography and live performances. Wembley was rocking with voices raised to the “Whoa Oh Oh’s” of Viva La Vida, and the air turned magical as more confetti rained down during Hymn for the Weekend. They tugged at heartstrings with an intimate, acoustic rendition of Til Kingdom Come, performed alongside two fans during the show’s “songbook” section; for me, this was a standout of the night. Their brief journey through X&Y continued with the rarely performed Speed of Sound, a gift for the London crowd, as wristbands across the stadium lit up in a birdlike pattern. I could help but pause to take it all in; the atmosphere was truly special.
The setlist overflowed with rock staples that have become synonymous with Coldplay’s live legacy. Yellow and Clocks both bathed the stadium in a sea of glowing wristbands as fans sang in unison, whilst People of the Pride unleashed the band’s heavier, industrial side. Packing so many colossal anthems mid-show kept the crowd guessing what might come next, a masterclass in pacing. Palestinian singer Elyanna and Zimbabwean rapper Shone joined the band for We Pray, setting the tone for one of the standout parts of the show. Dubbed “The Lightclub”, the stadium erupted with dazzling light before Martin & co. united the crowd with Something Just Like This. Martin delivered the opening verse in sign language, while each band member wore an alien mask; a surreal yet moving moment that perfectly encapsulated the tour’s sense of creativity and inclusivity.
“Phone in your pocket, hands in the sky”, urged Martin after jokingly halting A Sky Full of Stars after the first verse to call for stadium-wide unity. When the song kicked back in, the energy surged to an entirely new level, the crowd dancing in unison with unbridled joy. It was a mind-blowing moment of pure magic as fireworks soared overhead, making it an ethereal and cinematic experience. No feeling could compare to being present in that moment.
There’s always a sense that anything could happen with a show of this scale. As the cameras turned on the 80,000 fans for the infamous Jumbotron Song routine, there was a collective hope that tonight’s headlines would be joyous rather than unexpected. Happily, the highlight came when one of Coldplay’s earliest fans appeared onscreen and proved to be the main moment. The set also dipped back into X&Y with the rarely played gem The Hardest Part, before Martin returned to the main stage for a heartfelt, stadium-wide singalong to Fix You. In that moment, countless fans embraced each other as Wembley became a sea of lambent lights and shared tears.
The night closed with Feelslikeimfallinginlove, unleashing the final cascade of confetti, streamers and fireworks in an unimaginable burst of colour. Fans, wearing their ‘Moon Goggles,’ watched as lights transformed into hearts and stars in an unforgettable sight. A wholehearted sing-along to All My Love brought the evening to its poignant conclusion, the lyrics appearing onscreen as thousands of voices joined in one last moment of unity. As Wembley emptied into the night, a firework display lit up the London sky, the perfect finale to a truly unparalleled show.
The Music of the Spheres World Tour is far more than a concert; It’s an intricately crafted spectacle, a whirlwind of non-stop anthems, remarkable visual artistry, and Chris Martin’s boundless charisma shaping a biblical atmosphere that felt nothing short of magical. Decades into their career, the wonder and unity that define Coldplay remain undiminished: if anything, they burn brighter than ever.
