Coldplay have played the first night of their four sold-out dates at Croke Park with front man Chris Martin welcoming the audience in Irish.
The singer greeted the capacity crowd on Thursday night on the band's Music of the Spheres World Tour, saying, "Céad mile fáilte go Croke Pairc" and added, "Tá áthas orainn anseo I Croke Pairc."
He also invited fans bearing banners on stage to join the band as he paid his respects to late Irish singers Sinéad O'Connor, Dolores O'Riordan and Shane MacGowan.
Coldplay kicked off their first show in Ireland since 2017 with Music of the Spheres, before performing Higher Power, Adventure of a Lifetime, Paradise, The Scientist, Viva la Vida and their debut hit Yellow.
The biggest moment of the first hour of the show was Higher Power, with Martin saying that playing Croke Park was "a privilege", adding, "We played 160 shows before today and I thought I was experienced but I really don't know how to handle a crowd this wonderful."
During the two-hour gig, Martin, guitarist Jonny Buckland, bassist Guy Berryman, and drummer Will Champion also performed Hymn for the Weekend, Everglow, Charlie Brown, Human Heart, and We Pray, Infinity Sign, Sunrise, and Sparks.
This Radiohead fan got more than he bargained for …😉 #Coldplay pic.twitter.com/w1hMJRG3XD
— Evelyn O'Rourke (@evelyn_orourke) August 29, 2024
Speaking about his surprise appearance on Grafton Street on Wednesday, where he sang We Pray with Burna Boy, Little Simz, Elyanna and Tini, Martin said, "I thought it would be quiet but the people of Dublin gave us the best video I've ever seen."
During the start of Sky Full of Stars, Martin stopped the song and said, "Goodnight, goodbye . . . we gotta go. Bono wants his stage back . . . enjoy Oasis" and ran off stage only to return with a laugh to continue the set.
The band's 20-song set also featured The Jumbotron Song, which was dedicated to Coldplay manager Phil Harvey to mark his birthday, Fix You, GOOD FEELiNGS, and feelslikeimfallinginlove.
We need your consent to load this rte-player contentWe use rte-player to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content.Manage Preferences
Earlier on Thursday, the band tweeted, "What a pleasure to be back in Baile Átha Cliath. Four shows in the temple of the GAA in front of 82,000 Dubliners in full voice is the perfect way to finish this leg of the tour. W. X."
Over 300,000 people are expected at Coldplay's four shows at Croke Park and fans began arriving at the venue early on Thursday afternoon.
Chris Martin now singing songs for random people in the crowd! Everyone having a ball here #coldplay pic.twitter.com/cD197r48QM
— Evelyn O'Rourke (@evelyn_orourke) August 29, 2024
Keeva (13) and Freya (13) from Castleknock in Dublin attended the concert with their mums and they told RTÉ News that they were very excited about the gig and had planned their outfits ages ago.
What a pleasure to be back in Baile Átha Cliath. Four shows in the temple of the GAA in front of 82,000 Dubliners in full voice is the perfect way to finish this leg of the tour. W. X pic.twitter.com/FCof3hgPhD
— Coldplay (@coldplay) August 29, 2024
The girls said they are were looking forward to the lights and the atmosphere, having watched video clips of the Coldplay show online.
Regular gig-goer Jennifer travelled from Newcastle in the UK to see Chris Martin and co and also to meet her granddaughter, who works as a roadie for the band.
Anna Kenny (14) and her mum Paula travelled from Mullingar for the gig and Anna said she had also been planning her outfit for the show "for ages."
Fans gathering in the warm sunshine here at Croke Park as excitement builds for 1st night of #Coldplay gigs - lots of mammies and daughters here .. with great sequin style!! @rtenews pic.twitter.com/vrrpfJJ0Df
— Evelyn O'Rourke (@evelyn_orourke) August 29, 2024
Dublin r'n'b singer Aby Coulibaly and American singer-songwriter Maggie Rogers played support to Coldplay on Thursday night.
#ColdplayDublin pic.twitter.com/UUjB3178PG
— Coldplay (@coldplay) August 29, 2024
Coldplay arrived in Dublin yesterday and Chris Martin got into the swing of things when he was joined by Burna Boy, Little Simz, Elyanna, and Tini for a surprise appearance on Grafton Street last night.
The stars performed their just-released collaboration We Pray to the delighted crowd - with fans posting on social media that it was for a new promo video.
Earlier on Wednesday, Martin shared a video of himself enjoying a trip to Dún Laoghaire ahead of the band's sold-out shows in Croke Park.
Coldplay continue their shows at Croke Park tonight, Sunday and Monday.
Additional reporting: Alan Corr
