List of music concerts at the Millennium Stadium

The £20 million stage, dubbed The Claw used on the U2 360° Tour at the stadium.

Music concerts have been held at the Millennium Stadium, Cardiff, Wales, since the stadium's opening in 1999. The musicians who have played at the stadium include The Rolling Stones, Rod Stewart, Paul McCartney, Madonna and Rihanna. The highest music concert audience at the stadium was 73,354, who saw U2 in 2009.[1] The stadium's total seating capacity for sporting events is 73,434.[2]

History

Mural at the stadium of acts that performed at Tsunami Relief Cardiff. Top left, clockwise: Kelly Jones, Liberty X, Eric Clapton and Aled Jones

The first concert held was on New Year's Eve 1999 when the Manic Street Preachers headlined Manic Millennium, followed two days later by a concert for the BBC's Songs of Praise programme, with Cliff Richard performing his UK number-one single "The Millennium Prayer". This event attracted an attendance of 66,000.[3]

The Millennium Stadium with the roof closed during Paul McCartneys Up and Coming Tour with the Arena Partition Drape System

During 2003, the stadium established a new in-house promotions and events department to attract major concerts to the stadium, taking over from SJM Concerts. The stadium's General Manager Paul Sergeant at the time said of the change, "We looked at the current way our business was run, (and) realized that if we do it ourselves and have direct contact with the event owners and promoters...we will be able to offer an improved service".[4]

At the end of January 2005, the stadium hosted a Tsunami Relief Cardiff, a tsunami relief concert, in aid of victims of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, with Eric Clapton headlining the event. On 22 August 2009, U2 played at the stadium as part of their European leg of their U2 360° Tour, playing to a record-breaking concert attendance for a concert at the stadium of 73,354.[1]

In 2005 the stadium installed an "Arena Partition Drape System" — a 1,100 kg black curtain made up of 12 drapes measuring 9 m (30 ft) x 35 m (115 ft) — to vary the audience from a capacity of over 73,000 down to between 12,000 and 46,000, depending on the four different positions that it can be hung. The curtains can be stored in the roof of the stadium when not in use. The £1m cost of the curtain was funded by the stadium, the Millennium Commission, its caterers Letherby and Christopher (Compass Group) and by the then Wales Tourist Board.[5] The curtain was supplied by Blackout Ltd.[6]

It was feared that music concerts and sporting events would take business away from local shops, however, David Hughes Lewis, chairman of Cardiff Retail Partnership, said in 2005 that "despite initial concerns that major events in the Millennium Stadium hit trading in the shops, it now believed such events had a positive impact...When people come to Cardiff for the concerts, they more often than not arrive the night before and they'll spend the morning shopping".[7]

Concerts
Year Day/month Headline artist Name of concert or tour Supporting artists Notes Ref(s)
1999 31 December Manic Street Preachers Manic Millennium Super Furry Animals, Feeder, Shack, and Patrick Jones. This was the first rock concert held at the new stadium. There were safety concerns prior to the concert that there may be a "ripple effect" if the crowd started to jump up and down at the same time, although there was no danger of the stands collapsing. It was thought that the sway might panic the crowd into stampeding. Special props were put in place to support part of the stand before the concert. The 57,000 tickets were sold out a month before the concert and set a European indoor crowd record. The DVD Leaving the 20th Century was made of the event. [2][8]
2000 2 January Cliff Richard Millennium Songs of Praise. Bryn Terfel, Daniel O'Donnell, Andrew Lloyd Webber and the Band of the Welsh Guards. The concert was made for the BBC television programme Songs of Praise. It was the largest broadcast event in the programme's history, with 66,000 attending the event and was simultaneously broadcast live on BBC One. [3][9]
9 July Tina Turner Twenty Four Seven Tour Lionel Richie Tina Turner said of the Twenty Four Seven Tour that, "This will be my final big stadium rock tour". Turner has subsequently toured again in her 50th Anniversary Tour throughout Europe and North America. [10][11]
2001 17 June Bon Jovi One Wild Night Tour Matchbox Twenty, Delirious [12]
14 July Robbie Williams Weddings, Barmitzvahs & Stadiums Tour Toploader [2]
15 July
21 July Stereophonics A Day at the Races The Black Crowes, Ash, and The Crocketts. An open-air concert was originally set for Chepstow Racecourse, called "A Day at the Races" and it was expected to attract a record crowd of 80,000 fans. On 18 April 2001, the concert was moved to the Millennium Stadium, because the racecouse was within the foot-and-mouth infected area. The concert was part of the Just Enough Education to Perform (J.E.E.P.) Tour. The DVD A Day at the Races was made of the event. [13]
20 October Atomic Kitten Showtime @ The Stadium S Club 7, A1, Steps, Charlotte Church, Sinéad O'Connor, Petula Clark, Russell Watson and Damage A charity concert to raise funds for the Red Hot Aids Charitable Trust and Children in Need. [14][15]
2003 20 December Stereophonics You Gotta Go There to Come Back Tour Feeder, Ocean Colour Scene, and Adam Masterson [16][17]
2004 23 June Red Hot Chili Peppers By the Way Tour James Brown and Chicks On Speed
2005 22 January Eric Clapton Tsunami Relief Cardiff Jools Holland's Rhythm and Blues Orchestra, Badly Drawn Boy, Camera, Charlotte Church, Craig David, Embrace, Feeder, Goldie Lookin' Chain, Katherine Jenkins, Aled Jones, Kelly Jones, Keane, Lemar, Liberty X, Lulu, Manic Street Preachers, Brian McFadden, Raghav, Heather Small and Snow Patrol. The concert raised £1.25m and 61,000 people attended the event at the stadium. The concert was, at the time, the biggest charity concert held in the United Kingdom since Live Aid in 1985. The main tickets sold out in just 3 days with a further 3,000 tickets issued selling out in 20 minutes. [18]
29 June U2 Vertigo Tour The Killers and Starsailor
10 July R.E.M. Around the Sun Tour The Zutons, Idlewild, and Jonathan Rice
10 December Oasis Noise and Confusion in Cardiff
(part of Oasis' Don't Believe the Truth Tour) 		Foo Fighters, Razorlight, The Coral, The Subways, Nic Armstrong & The Thieves, and Yeti [7]
2006 21 June Take That The Ultimate Tour Sugababes and Beverley Knight
25 June Eagles Farewell I Tour No support act [19]
30 July Madonna Confessions Tour Paul Oakenfold [20]
29 August The Rolling Stones A Bigger Bang Tour The Kooks 48,988 attended the event
2007 7 July Rod Stewart Rockin' In The Round Tour Pretenders [21][22]
19 October The Police Reunion Tour Mr Hudson and the Library, Fiction Plane, and Coco Sumner
2008 14 June Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band Magic Tour No support act 48,500 attended the event [23]
19 June Neil Diamond Neil Diamond Solo Acoustic Tour No support act 26,000 attended the event [23][24][25]
23 August Madonna Sticky & Sweet Tour No support act [26][27]
2009 12 June Oasis Dig Out Your Soul Tour Kasabian, The Enemy, Twisted Wheel and The Peth
16 June Take That Take That Present: The Circus Live James Morrison and Gary Go [28]
17 June
22 August U2 U2 360° Tour Glasvegas and The Hours U2 played to a record-breaking concert attendance at the stadium of 73,354. A £20M stage, dubbed The Claw, was used for this concert. [1][29]
2010 26 June Paul McCartney Up and Coming Tour Manic Street Preachers and The Joy Formidable This was Paul McCartney's first concert in Wales for 35 years. [30]
29 September Shirley Bassey Welcome to Wales Katherine Jenkins, Lostprophets, Only Men Aloud! and Shaheen Jafargholi This concert was held two days before the first match of the 2010 Ryder Cup golf tournament at Celtic Manor Resort in Newport. This event replaced the traditional gala dinner at the beginning of the event. The event was broadcast a day later on the television channel Sky2 with a programme title of "The Ryder Cup Concert". [31][32][33][34]
2011 14 June Take That Progress Live Pet Shop Boys Over 50,000 tickets were sold out within three hours of going on sale [35][36][37]
15 June
8 October Beyoncé (on a live video link), Christina Aguilera and Cee Lo Green Michael Forever – The Tribute Concert Jackson Brothers, Alexandra Burke, Yolanda Adams, 3T, Alien Ant Farm, Pixie Lott, Diversity, Craig David, JLS, Ne-Yo, Jamie Foxx, Gladys Knight, La Toya Jackson, Leona Lewis and Smokey Robinson. A benefit concert dedicated to Michael Jackson to celebrate the 40th anniversary of his solo career.
2013 10 June Rihanna Diamonds World Tour David Guetta
23 July Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band Wrecking Ball World Tour No support act [38][39]
2015 5 June One Direction On the Road Again Tour McBusted
6 June
2016 30 June Beyoncé The Formation World Tour DJ Khaled 49,215 people attended the sold out concert. [40][41]
2017 21 June Robbie Williams The Heavy Entertainment Show Tour Erasure [42][43]
11 July Coldplay A Head Full of Dreams Tour [44]
12 July
Cancelled concerts
Year Day/month Headline artist Name of concert or tour Supporting artists Reason for cancellation Ref(s)
2001 27 October Coldplay Farm Aid Reef and Toploader. This concert was arranged as a 2001 foot-and-mouth benefit concert to aid farmers. It was cancelled "Due to the horrendous events (the September 11 attacks) in America". [45][46]
2006 28 January The Strokes One Earth Concert Manic Street Preachers, The Darkness, Super Furry Animals, Elbow and Embrace. The organisers of the event, Climate Change Now, but did not provide a reason why the event had been postponed, but did say "We apologise wholeheartedly for any inconvenience caused by the change of date...but we can assure those who have already purchased tickets that the event will still take place at the Millennium Stadium." The event never did take place. [47][48]
2008 25 August R.E.M. European Tour 2008 Editors and Guillemots Due to poor ticket sales, the concert was transferred to Cardiff International Arena. [49][50]
2016 16 June Rihanna Anti World Tour The Weeknd and Big Sean Logistical reasons. [51]

See also

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 James, Gemma (2009-08-23). "U2 Rock to Record-Breaking Crowd". Millennium Stadium. Retrieved 2010-08-26.
  2. 1 2 3 "Stadium Celebrates Its Fifth Anniversary". Millennium Stadium. 2004-06-25. Retrieved 2010-09-05.
  3. 1 2 "Royals Join Millennium Prayers". BBC. 2000-01-02. Retrieved 2010-09-05.
  4. ↑ "Stadium Opens New Promotions And Events Dept". Welsh Rugby Union. 2003-11-03. Retrieved 2010-09-05.
  5. ↑ "REM Bring Curtain Up On New Arena". BBC. 2005-07-11. Retrieved 2010-09-05.
  6. ↑ "Gallery, Millennium Stadium Cardiff". Blackout Ltd. Retrieved 2010-09-05.
  7. 1 2 "Concert Tops City's 'Busiest Day'". BBC. 2005-12-10. Retrieved 2010-09-05.
  8. ↑ "Safety concerns over Manics gig". BBC. 1999-12-14. Retrieved 2010-09-05.
  9. ↑ "Princes Attend Songs of Praise Celebration". BBC. 2000-01-02. Retrieved 2010-09-05.
  10. ↑ "Tina's Final World Tour". BBC. 1999-10-28. Retrieved 2010-09-09.
  11. ↑ "Tina Turner Ready To Shake Up Stage One Last Time". VH1. 2000-02-08. Retrieved 2011-02-21.
  12. ↑ "2001 One Wild Night Tour Tour Guide: Concert Information". BBC. Retrieved 27 December 2011.
  13. ↑ "Stereophonics' Gig Moves To Stadium". BBC. 2000-04-18. Retrieved 2010-09-05.
  14. ↑ "It's Showtime!". NME. 2001-08-11. Retrieved 2010-09-27.
  15. ↑ "Showtime at The Stadium - Cardiff, Wales 20 October 2001". CharlotteChurch.net. Retrieved 2010-09-27.
  16. ↑ "Cable On Life After Stereophonics". BBC. 2009-04-15. Retrieved 2010-09-05.
  17. ↑ "Millennium Stadium Cardiff Concert Setlists". setlist.fm. Retrieved 2010-09-05.
  18. ↑ "Live Aid's Legacy of Charity Concerts". BBC. 2005-06-30. Retrieved 2010-09-05.
  19. ↑ "Eagles "Long Road Out Of Eden World Tour" - dates at London O2 Arena". Band Weblogs. 2008-01-14. Retrieved 2010-09-14.
  20. ↑ "Oakenfold Tours with Madonna and Rane". Sennheiser. 2006-09-24. Retrieved 2011-09-22.
  21. ↑ "The Pretenders To Play European Summer Shows". Smiler Magazine. 2007-04-29. Retrieved 2010-09-05.
  22. ↑ "No More Stadiums for Rod". Smiler Magazine. 2007-07-07. Retrieved 2010-09-05.
  23. 1 2 "Extra Wembley Arena date added to Neil Diamond's UK Tour!". BBC. 7 August 2008. Retrieved 2011-02-21.
  24. ↑ "Extra Wembley Arena date added to Neil Diamond's UK Tour!". Band Weblogs. 2008-02-29. Retrieved 2010-09-14.
  25. ↑ "Neil Diamond Presents: 'Home Before Dark'". OpenArticle.com. 5 July 2008. Retrieved 2012-04-10.
  26. ↑ "Madonna gig will bring £5m into Cardiff". Media Wales. 2008-08-20. Retrieved 2011-02-21.
  27. ↑ "Can Madonna still cut it?". BBC. 2008-08-28. Retrieved 2011-02-22.
  28. ↑ Miloudi, Sarah (2009-06-19). "Take That's "Circus" rolls into Cardiff". Media Wales. Retrieved 2010-09-05.
  29. ↑ Norman, Katie (2009-08-24). "Ecstatic Fans Give U2 Gig The Edge in Cardiff". Media Wales. Retrieved 2010-09-11.
  30. ↑ Henry, Graham (2010-06-27). "Sir Paul McCartney Wows the Millennium Stadium". Media Wales. Retrieved 2010-09-11.
  31. ↑ "Ryder Cup Concert To Replace Gala Dinner". Media Wales. 2010-02-15. Retrieved 2010-09-11.
  32. ↑ Fisher, Daniel (2010-08-20). "Lostprophets are Added to Ryder Cup Bill". Media Wales. Retrieved 2010-09-11.
  33. ↑ James, Gemma (2010-09-12). "Dame Shirley headlines Ryder Cup concert". Millennium Stadium. Retrieved 2010-09-12.
  34. ↑ "The Ryder Cup Concert". TV Pixie Ltd. Retrieved 2010-10-03.
  35. ↑ "Take That announce Millennium Stadium date". Media Wales. 2010-10-26. Retrieved 2011-01-17.
  36. ↑ "Pet Shop Boys join Take That on Progress UK tour". BBC Radio Newsbeat. BBC. 4 April 2011. Retrieved 14 April 2011.
  37. ↑ "Take That tickets released". Millennium Stadium. Retrieved 2011-06-25.
  38. ↑ "Live Dates". Bruce Springsteen. Retrieved 2013-01-08.
  39. ↑ "Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band". Millennium Stadium. Retrieved 2013-01-08.
  40. ↑ "Beyonce's Formation tour support act announced as DJ Khaled". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 2016-07-20.
  41. ↑ "Billboard Boxscore :: Current Scores". Billboard. August 9, 2016. Archived from the original on 9 August 2016. Retrieved August 9, 2016.
  42. ↑ "Robbie Williams to play Cardiff's Principality Stadium next summer". WalesOnline. Retrieved 2016-11-08.
  43. ↑ "Erasure to support Robbie Williams on The Heavy Entertainment Show tour in 2017". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 2016-11-08.
  44. ↑ "Coldplay choose Cardiff for only UK date for 2017 European tour". WalesOnline. Retrieved 2016-10-04.
  45. ↑ "Big names Snub Farm Aid". BBC. 2001-09-05. Retrieved 2010-09-05.
  46. ↑ "Farm Aid Cancelled: The event at Cardiff's Millennium Stadium will not now take place". NME. 2001-09-14. Retrieved 2010-09-11.
  47. ↑ "Embrace, Elbow Join Stadium Bill". BBC. 2006-01-10. Retrieved 2010-09-05.
  48. ↑ "One Earth Concert Postponed: The Millennium Stadium gig is off for now". NME. 2006-01-11. Retrieved 2010-09-05.
  49. ↑ Michaels, Sean (2008-08-11). "REM Forced To Downsize Stadium Gig". The Guardian. Retrieved 2010-09-05.
  50. ↑ "Review: REM at Cardiff International Arena". Media Wales. 2008-08-26. Retrieved 2011-02-22.
  51. ↑ Sands, Katie (2016-02-19). "Rihanna cancels Cardiff Principality Stadium gig due to logistical reasons". WalesOnline. Retrieved 2016-02-21.

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