Adele at Wembley Stadium: The Finale

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**Warning – spoilers**

Last night I went to see Adele perform at Wembley Stadium. It was the final leg of her 124 date tour (we were at performance 120) that has seen her go through Europe, America, Australia and New Zealand, and with an audience of 98,000 people she had broken the record for a concert of that size at the venue. My sister (who had bought the tickets as a wedding present) had also booked us into a hotel on the Wembley Complex for two nights, so it became a three day mini break and I was ridiculously excited.

It turned out to be a brilliant decision – our hotel was so close that we could hear the sound checks going on the day before and on the evening of the concert we had taken our time to get ready for about 6.00pm as it was a two-minute walk away. As we were stood outside the hotel there were hundreds of people who were already walking up to the stadium and had obviously had to battle on the train and tubes. In light of the events at Manchester Arena there were enhanced security checks with metal detectors, body and bag searches, (the woman who was patting us down was quite short so my rather tall sister had to slouch down so this woman could pat down her shoulders) so it took us about 45 minutes to get in. I have to admit, while I tried to remain calm I was a little anxious, which was a shame, and my sister and I even went as far as to organise where we would meet should something happen and we were to become separated. Silly I know, but it helped to make me feel a little safer.

The performance area was in the centre, with 4 large screens forming a circle above the stage with an image of Adele’s eyes that were closed and our seats were fantastic with a brillaint view. Before she began, there was a video about the Grenfell Tower tragedy (which she attended on the night of the fire and has continued to be involved ever since) with a text number to donate £5 to in order to help the victims who have lost everything. (For those of you that want to help, you can text UNITE to 70005 to make a donation). She finished the appeal by saying “Wish me luck, I’m sh*tting myself!” in her broad London accent, reminding me of how down-to-earth she actually is.

After waiting for a little while, we saw a large box being wheeled to the front and my sister pointed it out, explaining that Adele is normally taken to the stage in this way, so I expected that she would appear in the centre, but all of a sudden the eyes opened on the screen, the crowd went ballistic and she appeared… right in front of us. She explained later that she couldn’t face getting in the box and so sent it up as a decoy, preferring to do her opening song ‘Hello’ as she walked down to main walkway in front of the fans in the golden circle area.

What an absolutely incredible night. She performed all of my favourite songs, with the screens changing between showing videos specifically created for the event for individual songs (before one of them in particular she jokingly warned us that she looked f*cking amazing) to then streaming live footage of Adele on stage. She shot signed T Shirts into the crowd, had written a special note and a picture and left it underneath one of the seats high up in the stadium, made appeals for Grenfell throughout the night and talked about what her plans were after the tour had finished. She talked about watching the Spice Girls and George Michael at Wembley and did a little tribute to George Michael on the screens. What made the evening even more momentous for me was that she was obviously quite emotional at the enormity of the concert, and she said that she’s not sure whether she would ever tour again, making me realise that I was possibly attending one of the last ever tour performances that she ever gives. There was fireworks, enormous amounts of confetti blasted into the air and the live band, backing singers and choir (a male choir that she brought on for Skyfall) were amazing. AND SHE DIDN’T DROP A SINGLE NOTE ALL NIGHT – I could have been listening to one of her songs on iTunes and the only difference would have been the screaming of the crowd. She was warm, witty and open with the audience without a single hint of arrogance, and it would have been easy to sit there and listen to her sing and talk all night.

She finished the performance with ‘Someone Like You,’ a song that she explained that she wrote in 20 minutes but thought that this would be the one she would be remembered for, discussing how the performance of it at the Brit Awards changed her life overnight. A London black cab reversed up the walkway towards the end and she got in, waving bye to the fans, and that was when my sister and I left.

We got back to the hotel within about ten minutes, and then we watched as 90,000 people rushed to get the train and tube home. There were tens of thousands of people literally stood in line waiting in front of us and from the reports I saw on Twitter the next day that was where they stayed for several hours.

And yet, if I asked them, I’m sure that most would say that it was totally worth it. It was truly the best stadium concert I have ever been to. A fabulously memorable evening and a brilliant few days.

Want to see some videos of the concert? You can find them on my Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/suzie81speaks

91 thoughts on “Adele at Wembley Stadium: The Finale”

  3. How incredible!! I loved the videos on your page and rushed over to read your post here. I am certain it was a concert to always remember, as most concerts are. Would love to see her live, but doubt I ever will, especially if she doesn’t tour again. I am so glad you had this time, what wonderful memories you have made and I know you will cherish them in your heart forever. ❤ Thank you for sharing this with all of us.

    • Thanks lovely! There was so much going on that I’m sure every member of the audience took something different from it – definitely a once in a lifetime chance for me!

  7. I echo every word you say…..it was the most incredible performance and show…every note a pitch perfect dream…and her key changes were sensational …Adele’s ‘live’ voice was even better than her ‘studio recorded’ voice…..we left right after the taxi pulled away and joined the throng to Wembley Park…..extra trains had been laid on and we were moving by 10:40…..

    • Oooh that’s not bad – I saw from some on Twitter that they were stuck there for two hours! Glad you had a good time too – where were you in the stadium?

  8. Sounds like an amazing night Suzanne! I’m not a huge Adele fan but i can certainly appreciate her voice and her passion. Love a good live gig whoever it is!

    • It was amazing – it isn’t often that i go to live gigs but when I do they’re usually the big stadium ones… I need to go to more local ones more often I think…

  9. Beautifully written Suzie, I felt I was there. What a wonderful wedding pressie from your lovely Sis. xX

    • Yeah, she said that touring doesn’t agree with her and she isn’t sure that she would do it again, but you never know… I reckon after a year or two and another album she may think about it…

  13. Lucky you. I love her work, but my eldest son is an even bigger fan. When listening to her sing though, you forget she has the London accent and so I am always surprised (in a good way) to hear it when she speaks. I agree she does seem very down to earth. Well as down to earth as any huge music star can be.

    • I think someone else said in the comments here that she has the voice of an angel, but the speaking voice of someone who would shank you for a pasty… How true!

  14. OMG. Huge huge huge fan, ever since her breakout album. So glad to hear that she is as witty and warm onstage as she is in that fab James Corden Carpool Karaoke segment! Goid for you that you got to see her live. Your sister is an amazing person for treating you like this !

  15. This sounds so amazing! Adele is truly a beautiful singer and you’re so lucky that you got to see her perform live! It’s so lovely that she was encouraging people to donate as well!
    Jas xx

    • It was so great of her – she did a video at the beginning, put up the donation text details a few times, dedicated songs to the victims and had one of the victims there with her… Amazing what a difference one person can make!

  17. My God, I actually felt a tad emotional reading that. Bloody hell, it just sounded like such an amazing show she put on for everyone. Did you cry at any point? I think I probably would’ve done. Imagine being one of the people got assigned t-shirt.

    PS Please can your sister be my sister?

  19. I am so jealous. I love my city but it is a flight anywhere to see a big name. Would have to head to Toronto as an example. Your post was incredible as not just about the concert but the experience/feelings. Thank you.

    • Thanks lovely! It was one of those things where you could have your own moment and appreciate where you were and what was happening. I had to travel down to London, which is only about 1 1/2 hours on the train, so it wasn’t a massive trip as such. Totally worth it!

  20. I’ve not gotten too into Adele myself but I do think it’s a waste if she doesn’t tour again! I completely understand why an artist would go that route but she has such a powerful voice and such devoted fans!! Our stadiums here are only about 1/3 of that size in Canada, so I can’t even imagine 90,000 in one place 😮

    • The biggest crowd I had been a part of before was Bon Jovi at Hyde park – that was about 80,000, but this was something of epic proportions! I think she had reached the point where she was tired and needed a break…

  25. Wow that soundss as though it was a brilliant concert. Adele has such a beautiful voice and ‘Sonmeone Like you’ always makes me want to cry with the emotion of it!
    I read today that she hass had to cancel some of the tour now as she has a problem with her vocal cordss so it does sound as if you were probably at one of the last concerts if not the last concert.

    • Yeah, we went to the concert on the Wednesday, she did another performance on Thursday and then she had to cancel the final two shows on the Friday and Saturday – we were so lucky! She was talking about Someone Like You during the concert – she said that she performed it at the Brit Awards, got on a plane and by the time she had landed her life had changed forever because the performance was so good…

  27. Difficult to comprehend how many concerts she is doing, tiring!. Happy for fellow NZer’s who will have the chance to go to her concert! We won’t be there! What an excellent wedding gift, very thoughtful sister!

    • She did – we found out that she had had to cancel as she has damaged her voice, and we couldn’t believe how lucky we had been to see her on the first night!

  31. This emotional piece made me feel like I was there, and wish I really had been. Thanks for sharing the experience.

  36. So happy for you, and what an amazing sister you have! It sounds like one of those experiences you will always treasure. I love Adele. She is amazing.

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