List of concerts at the Millennium Stadium explained

Concerts have been held at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, Wales, since the stadium's opening in 1999. The musicians who have played at the stadium include Tina Turner, Beyoncé, Spice Girls, The Rolling Stones, Rod Stewart, Paul McCartney, Madonna and Rihanna. The highest concert audience at the stadium was 73,354, who saw U2 in 2009.^[1] In 2018 Ed Sheeran performed for a record-breaking 4 nights at the Stadium on his ÷ Tour. The stadium's total seating capacity for sporting events is 73,434.^[2]

History

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]

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.

In 2005 the stadium installed an "Arena Partition Drape System" – a 1,100 kg black curtain made up of 12 drapes measuring 9m (30feet) x 35m (115feet) – 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".

Concerts

Concerts
align=center width="40"	Year	align=center width="65"	Day/month	align=center width="100"	Headline artist	align=center width="150"	Name of concert, tour or event	align=center width="nowrap"	Supporting artists	align=center width="nowrap"	Notes	align=center width="5"	Ref(s)
1999	31 December	Manic Street Preachers	Manic Millennium	Super Furry Animals, Feeder, Shack, and Patrick Jones.		^[7]
2000	2 January		Millennium Songs of Praise.	Bryn Terfel, Daniel O'Donnell, Andrew Lloyd Webber and the Band of the Welsh Guards.		^[8]
	9 July	Tina Turner		Lionel Richie		^[9] ^[10]
2001	17 June		One Wild Night Tour	Matchbox Twenty, Delirious		^[11]
	14 July	Robbie Williams	Weddings, Barmitzvahs & Stadiums Tour	Toploader
	15 July
	21 July	Stereophonics	A Day at the Races	The Black Crowes, Ash, and The Crocketts.		^[12]
	20 October	Atomic Kitten	Showtime @ The Stadium			^[13] ^[14]
2003	20 December	Stereophonics	You Gotta Go There to Come Back Tour	Feeder, Ocean Colour Scene, and Adam Masterson		^[15] ^[16]
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.		^[17]
	29 June	U2	Vertigo Tour
	10 July	R.E.M.	Around the Sun Tour	The Zutons, Idlewild, and Jonathan Rice
	10 December	Oasis		Foo Fighters, Razorlight, The Coral, The Subways, Nic Armstrong & The Thieves, and Yeti		^[18]
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			^[20]
	29 August	The Rolling Stones		The Kooks
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 & E Street Band	Magic Tour	No support act
	19 June	Neil Diamond	Neil Diamond Solo Acoustic Tour	No support act		^[23] ^[24] ^[25]
	23 August	Madonna	Sticky & Sweet Tour	No support act		^[26] ^[27]
2009	12 June	Oasis	Dig Out Your Soul Tour
	16 June	Take That				^[28]
	17 June
	22 August	U2	U2 360° Tour			^[29]
2010	26 June	Paul McCartney	Up and Coming Tour			^[30]
	29 September			Katherine Jenkins, Lostprophets, Only Men Aloud! and Shaheen Jafargholi		^[31] ^[32] ^[33] ^[34]
2011	14 June	Take That	Progress Live	Pet Shop Boys		^[35] ^[36] ^[37]
	15 June
	8 October		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.
2013	10 June	Rihanna	Diamonds World Tour	David Guetta
	23 July	Bruce Springsteen & E Street Band	Wrecking Ball World Tour	No support act		^[38] ^[39]
2015	5 June	One Direction	On the Road Again Tour	McBusted		^[40]
	6 June
2016	30 June	Beyoncé	The Formation World Tour	DJ Magnum		^[41] ^[42]
2017	3 June	Black Eyed Peas	2017 UEFA Champions League Final			^[43]
	21 June	Robbie Williams	The Heavy Entertainment Show Tour	Erasure		^[44] ^[45]
	30 June	Justin Bieber	Purpose World Tour	Halsey		^[46]
	11 July	Coldplay	A Head Full of Dreams Tour	AlunaGeorge and Embrace		^[47]
	12 July
2018	6 June	Beyoncé Jay-Z	On the Run II Tour	DJ Tom Clugston
	15 June	The Rolling Stones	No Filter Tour	Elbow		^[48]
	21 June	Ed Sheeran	÷ Tour (Divide Tour)	Anne-Marie		^[49] ^[50] ^[51]
	22 June
	23 June
	24 June
2019	27 May		Spice World - 2019 UK Tour	Jess Glynne		^[52]
	8 June	Take That	Greatest Hits Live	Rick Astley
	20 June		Beautiful Trauma World Tour
2022	26 May	Ed Sheeran	+–=÷x Tour (Mathematics Tour)	Maisie Peters		^[53] ^[54]
	27 May
	28 May
	17 June	Stereophonics	We’ll Keep A Welcome	Tom Jones, Catfish and the Bottlemen		^[55] ^[56]
	18 June
	30 June	Rammstein	Europe Stadium Tour	Duo Abélard
	8 October	AJ Tracey	FIM Supercross World Championship British Grand Prix			^[57]
2023	17 May	Beyoncé	Renaissance World Tour			^[58] ^[59]
	6 June	Coldplay	Music of the Spheres World Tour	CHVRCHΞS, Elana Dara, Hana Lili, Bridgend Male Voice Choir, Kelly Jones (guest)		^[60] ^[61]
	7 June
	20 June		Love On Tour	Wet Leg		^[62] ^[63]
	21 June
2024	5 May	Bruce Springsteen & E Street Band	Springsteen and E Street Band 2024 World Tour	No support act		^[64]
	11 June	P!nk	Summer Carnival	Gayle, KidCutUp, The Script		^[65]
	18 June	Taylor Swift	The Eras Tour	Paramore		^[66]
	25 June	Foo Fighters	Everything or Nothing at All Tour	Wet Leg, Himalayas		^[67]
	9 August	Billy Joel	Billy Joel in Concert	Chris Isaak		^[68]
2025	1 August	Catfish and the Bottlemen				^[69]
Cancelled concerts
Year	Day/month	Headline artist	Name of concert or tour	Supporting artists	Reason for cancellation	Ref(s)
2001	27 October	Coldplay	FarmAid 2001	Reef and Toploader.		^[70] ^[71] ^[72]
2006	28 January		One Earth Concert	Manic Street Preachers, The Darkness, Super Furry Animals, Elbow and Embrace.		^[73] ^[74]
2008	25 August	R.E.M.	European Tour 2008			^[75] ^[76]
2016	16 June	Rihanna	Anti World Tour	The Weeknd and Big Sean		^[77]
2020	14 June	Rammstein	Europe Stadium Tour
2021	16 June
	17 December	Stereophonics	We’ll Keep A Welcome	Tom Jones, Catfish and the Bottlemen		^[78]
	18 December

See also

• Music of Cardiff
• List of events held at the Millennium Stadium
• List of concerts at the National Stadium, Cardiff Arms Park
• List of highest-grossing concert tours

External links

• Upcoming events at the Millennium Stadium website

Notes and References

1. Web site: U2 Rock to Record-Breaking Crowd . . 2009-08-23 . James . Gemma . 2010-08-26 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20110719002912/http://www.millenniumstadium.com/news/22051.php . 19 July 2011 .
2. Web site: Stadium Celebrates Its Fifth Anniversary. Millennium Stadium. 2004-06-25. 2010-09-05. https://web.archive.org/web/20110719002920/http://www.millenniumstadium.com/news/21437.php. 19 July 2011. dead.
3. Web site: Royals Join Millennium Prayers . BBC. 2000-01-02 . 2010-09-05.
4. Web site: Stadium Opens New Promotions And Events Dept. Welsh Rugby Union. 2003-11-03. 2010-09-05.
5. Web site: REM Bring Curtain Up on New Arena . BBC . 2005-07-11 . 2010-09-05.
6. Web site: Gallery, Millennium Stadium Cardiff. Blackout Ltd. 2010-09-05. https://web.archive.org/web/20100806181856/http://www.blackout-ltd.com/gallery/gallery11.html. 6 August 2010. dead.
7. Web site: Safety concerns over Manics gig . BBC. 1999-12-14 . 2010-09-05.
8. Web site: Princes Attend Songs of Praise Celebration . BBC. 2000-01-02 . 2010-09-05.
9. Web site: Tina's Final World Tour . BBC . 1999-10-28 . 2010-09-09.
10. Web site: Tina Turner Ready To Shake Up Stage One Last Time. https://web.archive.org/web/20080513023832/http://www.vh1.com/artists/news/621066/20000207/tina_turner.jhtml. dead. 13 May 2008. . 2000-02-08. 2011-02-21.
11. Web site: 2001 One Wild Night Tour Tour Guide: Concert Information . BBC. 27 December 2011.
12. Web site: Stereophonics' Gig Moves To Stadium . BBC. 2000-04-18 . 2010-09-05.
13. Web site: It's Showtime!. NME. 2001-08-11 . 2010-09-27.
14. Web site: Showtime at The Stadium - Cardiff, Wales 20 October 2001 . CharlotteChurch.net . 2010-09-27.
15. Web site: Cable on Life After Stereophonics . BBC. 2009-04-15 . 2010-09-05.
16. Web site: Millennium Stadium Cardiff Concert Setlists . setlist.fm . 2010-09-05.
17. Web site: Live Aid's Legacy of Charity Concerts . BBC . 2005-06-30 . 2010-09-05.
18. Web site: Concert Tops City's 'Busiest Day' . BBC . 2005-12-10 . 2010-09-05.
19. Web site: Eagles "Long Road Out of Eden World Tour" - dates at London O2 Arena . Band Weblogs . 2008-01-14 . 2010-09-14 . https://web.archive.org/web/20100103004331/http://bandweblogs.com/blog/2008/01/14/eagles-long-road-out-of-eden-world-tour-dates-at-london-o2-arena/ . 3 January 2010 . dead .
20. Web site: Oakenfold Tours with Madonna and Rane . Sennheiser. 2006-09-24 . 2011-09-22.
21. Web site: The Pretenders To Play European Summer Shows . Smiler Magazine . 2007-04-29. 2010-09-05.
22. Web site: No More Stadiums for Rod. Smiler Magazine. 2007-07-07 . 2010-09-05.
23. Web site: Extra Wembley Arena date added to Neil Diamond's UK Tour!. BBC. 7 August 2008. 2011-02-21.
24. Web site: Extra Wembley Arena date added to Neil Diamond's UK Tour!. Band Weblogs. 2008-02-29. 2010-09-14. https://web.archive.org/web/20101213083711/http://bandweblogs.com/blog/2008/02/29/extra-wembley-arena-date-added-to-neil-diamonds-uk-tour/. 13 December 2010. dead.
25. Web site: Neil Diamond Presents: 'Home Before Dark'. OpenArticle.com. 5 July 2008. 2012-04-10.
26. Web site: Madonna gig will bring £5m into Cardiff. Media Wales. 2008-08-20 . 2011-02-21.
27. Web site: Can Madonna still cut it? . BBC. 2008-08-28 . 2011-02-22.
28. Web site: Take That's "Circus" rolls into Cardiff . Media Wales. Miloudi . Sarah . 2009-06-19 . 2010-09-05.
29. Web site: Ecstatic Fans Give U2 Gig The Edge in Cardiff . Media Wales . Norman . Katie . 2009-08-24 . 2010-09-11.
30. Web site: Sir Paul McCartney Wows the Millennium Stadium . Media Wales. Henry . Graham . 2010-06-27 . 2010-09-11.
31. Web site: Ryder Cup Concert To Replace Gala Dinner . Media Wales . 2010-02-15 . 2010-09-11 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20121011131102/http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/2010/02/15/ryder-cup-concert-to-replace-gala-dinner-91466-25838073/ . 11 October 2012 .
32. Web site: Lostprophets are Added to Ryder Cup Bill . Media Wales . Fisher . Daniel . 2010-08-20 . 2010-09-11 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20120408164930/http://www.walesonline.co.uk/cardiffonline/cardiff-news/2010/08/20/lostprophets-are-added-to-ryder-cup-bill-91466-27099300/ . 8 April 2012 .
33. Web site: Dame Shirley headlines Ryder Cup concert . . James . Gemma . 2010-09-12 . 2010-09-12 . https://web.archive.org/web/20110719003036/http://www.millenniumstadium.com/news/24399.php . 19 July 2011 . dead .
34. Web site: The Ryder Cup Concert . TV Pixie Ltd . 2010-10-03 . https://archive.today/20110717120100/http://tvpixie.com/tv-listings/30-sep-2010-2100/sky2/the-ryder-cup-concert . 17 July 2011 . dead .
35. Web site: Take That announce Millennium Stadium date. Media Wales. 2010-10-26 . 2011-01-17.
36. Web site: Pet Shop Boys join Take That on Progress UK tour . 4 April 2011 . BBC Radio Newsbeat . . 14 April 2011.
37. Web site: Take That tickets released. Millennium Stadium. 2011-06-25. https://web.archive.org/web/20110927025638/http://www.millenniumstadium.com/news/26608.php. 27 September 2011. dead.
38. Web site: Live Dates . . 2013-01-08.
39. Web site: Review: Bruce Springsteen at Cardiff Millennium Stadium. WalesOnline. 24 July 2013 . 2016-12-19.
40. Web site: One Direction Cardiff Review: Millennium Stadium hosts a show to end all shows. WalesOnline. 5 June 2015 . 2016-12-19.
41. Web site: Beyonce's Formation tour support act announced as DJ Khaled . . 2016-07-20.
42. Billboard Boxscore :: Current Scores. 9 August 2016. Billboard. https://web.archive.org/web/20160809185044/http://www.billboard.com/biz/current-boxscore. 9 August 2016 . 9 August 2016.
43. Web site: The Latest: Real Madrid lifts Champions League trophy again. . 2021-03-22.
44. Web site: Robbie Williams to play Cardiff's Principality Stadium next summer. . 7 November 2016 . 2016-11-08.
45. Web site: Erasure to support Robbie Williams on The Heavy Entertainment Show tour in 2017. . 2016-11-08.
46. Web site: Justin Bieber Purpose World Tour hits Cardiff's Principality Stadium next year. . 9 December 2016 . 2016-12-16.
47. Web site: Coldplay choose Cardiff for only UK date for 2017 European tour. . 3 October 2016 . 2016-10-04.
48. Web site: UK, IRE AND EU NO FILTER TOUR ANNOUNCED! | the Rolling Stones . 27 February 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20180617071342/http://www.rollingstones.com/2018/02/26/uk-ire-eu-no-filter-tour-announced/ . 17 June 2018 . dead .
49. Web site: Ed Sheeran announces huge 2018 UK and European stadium tour. NME. 28 June 2017 . 2017-06-28.
50. Web site: Ed Sheeran has done something no music act has done before. . 8 July 2017 . 2017-07-14.
51. Web site: Ed Sheeran announces fourth Cardiff Principality Stadium gig for summer 2018. . 10 July 2017 . 2017-07-14.
52. Web site: Spice Girls tour 2019: Tickets, prices and details revealed. . 2021-09-13. 2019-05-24.
53. Web site: Ed Sheeran announces two huge gigs at Cardiff's Principality Stadium. Media Wales. 2021-09-19 . 2021-09-20.
54. Web site: Ed Sheeran adds extra Cardiff Principality Stadium date to 2022 world tour. Media Wales. 2021-09-27 . 2021-09-28.
55. News: Stereophonics tickets are on sale for six times their value. BBC News . 11 September 2021 . 2021-09-13.
56. News: Stereophonics and Sir Tom Jones to play festive Cardiff show. BBC News . 6 September 2021 . 2021-09-13.
57. Web site: AJ Tracey Will Perform at The FIM World Supercross British Grand Prix This October. 2022-10-14. broadwayworld.com/. Wild, Stephi. 2022-07-29. 2022-07-29. https://web.archive.org/web/20220729110430/https://www.broadwayworld.com/uk-regional/article/AJ-Tracey-Will-Perform-at-The-FIM-World-Supercross-British-Grand-Prix-This-October-20220729. live.
58. Web site: 2023 . Year-End Top 300 Concert Grosses . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20240226172312/https://data.pollstar.com/Chart/2024/01/121123_ye.top300.concert.grosses_digital_1040.pdf . 26 February 2024 . 26 February 2024 . Pollstar.
59. Web site: Beyoncé Renaissance World Tour . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20230201162811/https://www.principalitystadium.wales/event/beyonce-renaissance-world-tour/ . 1 February 2023 . www.principalitystadium.wales.
60. Web site: Coldplay announces second Cardiff date after rush for tickets for Principality Stadium gig. Media Wales. 2022-08-25 . 2022-08-28.
61. Web site: Coldplay: Kelly Jones and choir join band in Cardiff gig. BBC. 2023-06-07 . 2023-06-07.
62. Web site: Harry Styles is bringing his Love On Tour to Cardiff's Principality Stadium. Media Wales. 2022-08-26 . 2022-08-28.
63. Web site: Harry Styles adds new date to Cardiff 2023 'Love on Tour' as thousands buy presale tickets. Media Wales. 2022-09-01 . 2022-10-09.
64. Web site: Bruce Springsteen and E Street Band to play Principality Stadium. Media Wales. 2023-10-31 . 2023-12-03.
65. Web site: Pink in Cardiff: General-sale timings, codes, ticket prices and seating plan for Principality Stadium tour date in 2024. Media Wales. 2023-11-30 . 2023-12-03.
66. Web site: Taylor Swift announces Wales show for The Eras global tour. Media Wales. 2023-06-26 . 2023-12-03.
67. Web site: Foo Fighters announce UK tour with dates in Cardiff, London, Manchester, Birmingham and Glasgow. Media Wales. 2023-06-27 . 2023-12-03.
68. Web site: Billy Joel announces only 2024 European tour date in Cardiff. Media Wales. 2023-12-08 . 2023-12-08.
69. Web site: Catfish and the Bottlemen announce huge Cardiff and London stadium shows. Media Wales. 2024-08-19 . 2024-08-19.
70. Web site: Big names Snub Farm Aid . BBC . 2001-09-05 . 2010-09-05.
71. Web site: Farm Aid Cancelled: The event at Cardiff's Millennium Stadium will not now take place . NME. 2001-09-14 . 2010-09-11.
72. Web site: Coldplay, cows and charity . . 2001-09-15 . 2017-03-29.
73. Web site: Embrace, Elbow Join Stadium Bill . BBC . 2006-01-10 . 2010-09-05.
74. Web site: One Earth Concert Postponed: The Millennium Stadium gig is off for now . NME. 2006-01-11 . 2010-09-05.
75. Web site: REM Forced To Downsize Stadium Gig . . Michaels . Sean . 2008-08-11 . 2010-09-05.
76. Web site: Review: REM at Cardiff International Arena. . 2008-08-26 . 2011-02-22.
77. Web site: Rihanna cancels Cardiff Principality Stadium gig due to logistical reasons. . Sands. Katie . 2016-02-19 . 2016-02-21.
78. Web site: Stereophonics postpone Cardiff stadium gigs in light of the evolving public health situation. . 8 December 2021 . 2021-12-09.