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Manchester Evening News

Entertainment

Dianne Bourne

Coldplay deliver stunning show at Etihad Stadium - as Chris Martin makes sure to endear himself to Manchester crowd

Coldplay (Organization) Chris Martin Manc (Organization) Manchester Etihad Kenny Brown Debs

We are only one song in to Coldplay’s epic live return to Manchester - and it’s already a riot of colour, confetti, and bodies bouncing up and down across the Etihad Stadium.

Fresh from raucous opener Higher Power, the band releases their now signature giant bouncing balls into the crowds, while the wristbands everyone was handed on the way in are flashing in a multicolour symphony for Adventure of a Lifetime.

It’s an extraordinarily joyous scene under clear blue skies in Manchester on Wednesday night.

And it is a night that has clearly touched frontman Chris Martin and the band tonight too, back in the UK for their first concerts in a year amid their ongoing Music of the Spheres world tour.

Chris tells the crowd of 60,000 fans here: “This is show number 84 of our tour. We said we need to do 83 rehearsals to be good enough for Manchester.”

Chris Martin on stage at the Etihad (Kenny Brown | Manchester Evening News)

He adds: “It’s the f***ing best in the world to come to Manchester.”

Here in Manchester for the first of four huge, sold out concerts at the Etihad Stadium, some 240,000 fans will enjoy this show over the coming week.

And what a feast for the senses it is. All the more incredible is that the band has committed to powering this juggernaut of a show by 100% renewable energy.

Fans are handed battery wristbands on the way in that will help power upcoming shows - and these also flash into light throughout the concert.

Coldplay play to a sold out Etihad stadium. (Kenny Brown | Manchester Evening News)

Before the gig gets underway fans also get to feel all warm and fuzzy knowing all the things your ticket supports like conservation, green and clean tech and tree planting. All part of the band's efforts to put on the most sustainable gig the world has ever seen.

Once on stage, Chris is quick to thank the crowd for their efforts battling through traffic chaos to get here too. He says: “Thank you for making an effort with all the train strikes, the traffic and everything… all we can do is give you the best show of our lives.”

Over the course of the next two hours the band certainly deliver that. Chris calls it “the biggest singalong in the world” and he’s not wrong. When the band launches into Viva La Vida the “wa-hos” from the Etihad must have been heard as far as Old Trafford.

It’s a simply stunning spectacle of a show. Lord knows how they do it but during Human Heart, those flashing wristbands even form into red love hearts across the stadium - it’s just incredible and quite moving to witness it all.

There are bursts of fire, there are confetti bombs and yes there are fireworks. But at the heart of it all is the music and Chris, alongside Johnny Buckland, Guy Berryman and Will Champion, are in flawless form here 25 years since they first started their music journey.

Fan favourite Yellow is memorably brought to life with a sea of amber wristbands, My Universe with an entire sea of glistening lights.

“Manchester is the home of music,” Chris says, endearing himself further to the audience. He then tells us all to ditch our phones to switch to “human connection” instead by leading us all in a singalong for A Sky Full of Stars.

Although fat chance of the phones staying away when the song ends in a fizzing firework finale.

The band exit, and then return to stage for the encore to strut purposefully to the very far end of the stadium to the C stage giving all the fans at the back the best view of the night.

“Now we’re going to play a song like the first time we came to play here in Manchester,” Chris says. “It was back in 1998 at a place called Cuba cafe. Only two or three people came to see us and one of them was Debs from Manchester and she said: 'you’re going to be the best band in the world'. I’m pleased to say Debs is here tonight, and we’re so grateful to all of those people in Manchester who believed in us”.

Chris gave nods to playing at the Night and Day cafe and Manchester Academy before heading on to the bigger venues like Old Trafford (cue boos until he points out “come on it was the cricket ground!”)

There’s then an emotional acoustic performance from Chris of Sit Down by James - a song Chris says was a favourite ever since he “first heard it in 1990 and bought a t-shirt”. He says he chose it tonight remembering the One Love Manchester concert that the band performed at in response to the Manchester Arena bombing in 2017 saying it has not been forgotten: "How amazing that response was to an event so crazy and so terrible."

He adds a special guest had been due to join him but has unfortunately come down with Covid so we can only imagine what (and who) that might have been. Although 60,000 were in lusty voice to sing every word of the Manc anthem all the same.

Naturally there are more fireworks as the show builds to a final flourish with Fix You.

That was one almighty homecoming from Coldplay, and if you’re heading along to night 85, 86 or 87 here in Manchester, then you’re in for a treat.