Beyonce fans ‘so lucky’ to have tickets to first date of UK tour

The atmosphere around Cardiff’s Principality Stadium was described as “buzzing”, with Beyonce songs being played “in every bar” close to the Welsh venue.

Thousands of people descended on the area on Wednesday night for the concert, which followed other European dates in Stockholm, Sweden, and Brussels, Belgium.

Sian Blackham, a senior media manager for a charity, travelled from Gloucestershire to see Beyonce in Cardiff.

“The atmosphere is buzzing. So many happy people – Beyonce is being played in every bar. She’s an absolute icon,” she told the PA news agency.

Ms Blackham, 44, added: “I’m a huge Beyonce fan and have loved her since her career took off with Destiny’s Child.

“I’m with my best friend, goddaughter and her auntie. This is our fourth time seeing Beyonce together, the first since the pandemic.

“We feel so lucky to be at her first show in the UK and I’m super grateful to my best friend and goddaughter who secured the tickets – no easy feat.”

Ms Blackham said she hoped Beyonce would play her hit song Halo, which was played for the first dance at her wedding in September 2012.

She told PA that her husband Matt is now a Beyonce fan “by association”.

“(She has) so many hits but I just know she’ll give us a performance we’ll never forget,” Ms Blackham said.

Asked why Beyonce continues to garner so much support from fans, she said: “She’s a global icon, a powerhouse, such a talented and gifted artist.

The Renaissance world tour is Beyonce’s first in seven years and she is due to perform at other UK venues including London’s Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, Murrayfield in Edinburgh and Sunderland’s Stadium of Light.

She kicked off the tour in Stockholm with an explosive show that included video projections and animations as well as robotic devices, silver moon rovers and pyrotechnics.

The setlist spanned her two-decade career, with the singer shifting through several extravagant outfit changes.

US business magazine Forbes previously estimated the tour could earn Beyonce more than £1.6 billion.