“This is my first show in the rain,” Beyoncé says smiling as she takes the stage at Edinburgh’s Murrayfield for the second UK date of her Renaissance World Tour.
The superstar’s infectious positivity throughout her almost three-hour set would have kept the tens of thousands of fans packed into the stadium in high spirits even if the steady rain through the evening had devolved into a classic Scottish downpour.
The last time Beyoncé appeared in the capital was almost exactly 20 years ago, and it’s funny to think how far she has progressed from her already-legendary status in 2003.
Her pristine set eschews global noughties hits such as ‘Déjà Vu’, and ‘Single Ladies’ — the latter of which gets just a nod in one of the evening’s many immaculate interludes — in favour of covers of songs such as ‘I’m Going Down’ by Rose Royce.
It’s a risky gambit that pays off by letting Beyoncé showcase her incredible vocals in a way that she couldn’t singing her classic pop songs. While there are of course multiple dance breaks, the Renaissance World Tour is about Beyoncé’s vocals first and foremost.
That confidence in her own performing skills allows her to let loose and have fun in a way that only a legend at the peak of their powers could.
Whether stopping to wish a fan in the audience a happy birthday, pulling purposefully goofy faces while singing ‘Energy’ and ‘Move’, or laughing along with the audience as she accidentally mispronounces Coco Chanel during ‘Heated’, she has Edinburgh in the palm of her hand.
As charming and brilliant as Beyoncé herself is though, it is the sheer scale of the production that impresses most.
The enormous circular backdrop is a disco ball brought to life, with mirrors and sequins dazzling the audience at every conceivable angle.
The props and costumes are flawless too, perfectly complementing the retro-futuristic aesthetic of the visual interludes, from the sci-fi looking robotic arms that move metal frames around the singer in ‘Cozy’ to the wonderfully camp bee dress she dons to sing ‘Pure/Honey’.
For the crowd, though, nothing comes close to the moment during a dance interlude when one of the dancers bursts out on stage donning a kilt.
Even after all that, the show’s show-stopping finale manages to take things up one more notch.
As the beat of the Donna Summer-sampling ‘Summer Renaissance’ kicks in, Beyoncé emerges from the centre of the stage riding a sparkling disco horse, before being lifted into the air by wires and flying around the stadium for a final mic drop.
Beyoncé’s first Edinburgh concert in two decades wasn’t just worth the wait, it also proved what her fans have known all along: that she is the world’s greatest living performer.
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