Coldplay bid farewell to Britain at Sentebale concert with Prince Harry at Kensington Gardens
Two days after headlining for a record fourth time at Glastonbury festival, Coldplay say goodbye to London and the UK from a much smaller stage than the Somerset farm’s Pyramid. According to frontman Chris Martin they aren’t set to play again in Britain for a long time.
The charity concert, in aid of Sentebale (the organisation founded by Prince Harry and Prince Seeiso in 2006 following Harry’s gap year to Lesotho in 2004), takes place on the the royal lawn of Kensington Gardens, where most of the crowd paid the exorbitant price of £500 to enjoy the show. It goes without saying that royals and VIPs populate the event, including Harry himself and princesses Beatrice and Eugenie.
Before the headliners take the stage, charity ambassadors Joss Stone and Laura Mvula warm up the lucky audience of 3,000. The two R’n’B singers are sufficiently entertaining, but when Prince Harry introduces the four-piece – and apologises for the statue of his ancestor Queen Victoria who “is probably the only one that ever showed their back to a Coldplay show” – everything changes.
As the rain starts to pour heavily on the park, the notes of A Head Full of Dreams warm up the cold Sunday night. The 11 songs on the setlist are the cream of the crop, the highlights of a tour that is already overflowing with hits. Yellow and The Scientist don’t make an appearance tonight but Paradise, Fix You, Viva la Vida, Adventure of a Lifetime and A Sky Full of Stars send the audience crazy.
Martin takes the opportunity to joke about the prince’s presence throughout the set: during the cover of Heroes he sings “I will be king”, then clarifies “not technically”, and in Adventure of a Lifetime, he requests “everybody get down…everybody get down…Prince Harry get down!”.
The evening ends with a heart-warming moment as the Basotho Youth Choir and Harry join the band to sing Up & Up as fireworks light up the sky.
Filippo L’Astorina, the Editor
For further information about Sentebale visit here.
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