S Poddar
Adele kicked off the long-awaited Munich residency on Friday, August 2, leaving 80,000 screaming fans in awe with a great performance at the ultramodern Messe Munich arena.
The concert setlist consisted of 20 songs, covering all the fan favorites, from “Hometown Glory” and “Chasing Pavements”—performed for the very first time since 2017—to her new album ’30’, which had representations with “Easy On Me” and “Hold On”. It marked the singer’s first performance in mainland Europe since 2016.
Running until August 31, the residency is housed in a specially designed pop-up venue created by Florian Wieder – fresh from working on the likes of Eurovision Song Contest and America’s Got Talent. The impressive set-up features a catwalk that’s 93-metres in length, a 200-metre semi-circle stage, and a mammoth screen that is 220 x 30 metres in size – costing an estimated £34 million. The outdoor space includes 400,000 square meters with “Adele World,” a series of themed attractions that will be part of the facility, including a pub in likeness to The Good Ship in Kilburn, London, and a bar entitled, “I Drink Wine.”.
Adele took to her Instagram account to share her elation over the residency and explained that it was the unique concept of a bespoke pop-up stadium that drew her in and made her take up the project, much more than anything else, while already feeling contented with the past shows performed in London and Las Vegas.
Meanwhile, with spectacular performances, Adele had nothing from her new material in her setlist, and she informed recently that she had no intention to record another album in the near future. “I want a big break after this and I think I want to do other creative things, just for a little while,” she shared.
The residency looks to be a real treat for fans: Adele’s classic vocals, executed with so much heart, in a really unique setting.
