Coldplay's Sky Full of Stars takes over Barcelona Olympic Stadium

British rock band Coldplay travels to a new universe with the release of their latest album 'Music of the Spheres' released in 2021, but fans in Barcelona just kept making human waves at the group before the gig started in a sold-out Olympic Stadium. 

Wednesday marked the first concert of four the band performs at the Catalan capital.

And just not to deceive the public, the group went big with the repertoire. From songs from their first album, 'Parachutes,' to giving what fans really wanted: 'Viva la Vida', which made the stadium sign united to one of the songs that FC Barcelona fans will link to the time Pep Guardiola coached the male team.

But the show just started with musicians appearing in the middle of the arena, obviously surrounded by big security measures, but at the time, the stadium became a sea of flashlights combined with the interactive braçalets. Just speechless.

And Chris Martin's Spanglish is definitely worth mentioning, he started with a 'todos abajo por favor' definitely understood by everyone. And that was a start for a magnificent 'Paradise' followed by a remixed version of Acappella between Chris Martin and the public. Just to lower revolutions down with 'The Scientist' that had the face of Martin in black and white in the big screen.

"Estamos tan felices de estar aquí con vosotros esta noche," he said after wishing 'Bona nit' to everyone and continue to thank everyone for just "come to our show" despite the trafic, and "los baños extraños (the weird bathrooms)."

"Vamos a tocar el mejor show de vuestras vidas," and dedicated the show to Tina Turner, who passed away minutes before the show started.

'Viva la Vida' was followed by 'Something Just Like This,' with its fire and its confetti, and the public went crazy. 

But the excitement did not last long, as Martin brought straight after a fan to the stage to sing 'Fly On', and despite her trying to FaceTime her mother, there was no signal, so Coldplay's singer suggested that everyone start filming, so she could see it later.

With the night well entered, the band played 'Yellow' or at least attempted to because Martin was distracted by a girl doing 'Castellers' human tower, so he interrupted the song just for her to be the center of attention for a minute with her face appearing in the middle of the screens. Once learned what Castellers are, the song restarted again, and the stadium danced, painted in yellow as the bracelets each person had lighted up in the color the song praises.

And from there, the show just kept growing and growing and growing with 'My Universe' and straight after 'A Sky Full of Stars.'

However, the speakers went silent just before the chorus, and all the audiovisuals switched off. But just for Martin to tell the audience to leave their phones aside, enjoy, and sing along in a stadium full of stars and fireworks.

Third stage

With "love and respect to Tina Turner" Coldplay started playing in a third stage, as two were not enough. The third one was located at the other side of the stadium, a small area where the band started with a 'Proud Mary,' one of the most known songs sung by the artist to honor her legacy.

And then a performance of flamenco with Martin enjoying every sound of it and a 'Bamboleo' sung by one of the Gipsy Kings, who followed with 'Volaré.' Bringing rumba back to the Olympic Stadium, as was the case during the 1992 Olympic Games closing ceremony.

History in Barcelona

Wednesday marks the start of history writing for Barcelona, as Coldplay has become the only artist to fill four Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys.

Tickets for two concerts sold out in August in a matter of hours, with promoters having to announce a third and later a fourth one, which also sold out instantly. 

The capacity of the stadium is around 55,000 people.

And the fact is that the British rock band formed in 1997 in London with its five members: Chris Martin, guitarist Jonny Buckland, bassist Guy Berryman, drummer Will Champion, and the creative director Phil Harvey is worth seeing.

Sign language

Coldplay is taking steps to improve the experience of deaf people at the four concerts. The rock band is offering both Catalan and Spanish sign language interpretation at all shows and provides vibrating backpacks to those with hearing loss so that they can enjoy a "complete" experience.

The accessibility measures are implemented by the Associació Socio-Cultural Encantades, with a team of four interpreters who simultaneously offer both sign languages.