Billie Eilish 'enforces' plant-based menu at London gigs as staff 'met with eye rolls'
An exclusively plant-based food policy is said to have been "enforced" by Billie Eilish at the O2 Arena as part of her latest international tour. The singer-songwriter has been performing at the venue in London over the last week.
Billie, 23, who's referred to herself as vegan, began the Hit Me Hard and Soft tour last year. She headed to the UK this month on the tour, through which she has been promoting a plant-based diet and some environmental concerns.
The Grammy Award winner opened at the O2 Arena last Thursday and has continued to perform at the venue since then, with her final show there taking place tonight. Billie is said to have "enforced a completely vegan food policy" at the arena.
According to the Daily Mail, every food vendor has been required to offer 100% plant-based options for her shows, with it expected that they remove all animal products from the arena. The menu for the shows has reportedly included a halloumi wrap, chipotle tacos, pizzas and pancakes.
Billie, who reportedly narrated a short film about veganism and the environment prior to the concert, appears to have divided opinion over the apparent decision. One fan wrote on X this afternoon: "Billie Eilish having her concert be a vegan food only event in efforts for the environment and animal welfare is possibly the coolest thing I've ever seen."
Whilst she's attracted some praise on social media, it's reported that some concertgoers at the O2 Arena weren't impressed by the menus. One attendee told the outlet: "Punters were less than impressed with the vegan options - a mixture of pizzas, cauliflower bits and loaded fries - with more than one asking, 'did they run out of meat or something?'"
They added: "When venue staff explained that the directive had come from Billie, they were largely met with eye rolls and groans. The curated drinks menu was more well-received, but no doubt plenty of fans will have resorted to ordering a takeaway when they got home."
The O2 Arena's website confirmed that it would offer plant-based options for Billie's shows. It reads: "In addition to efforts to decrease waste through reducing or eliminating single-use plastics and diverting landfill waste with compost and recycling, venues will be offering plant-based food options at all shows."
Following her final show at the O2 Arena in the capital city tonight, Billie will head to Manchester for her next four gigs. She's scheduled to open at the Co-op Live on Saturday, before returning on Sunday, Tuesday and Wednesday.
The arena has already announced that it will have a fully plant-based menu. It states on its website: "Co-op Live will commit to a fully plant-based food menu, in alignment with [Billie's] dedication to environmental action. This one-off initiative underscores both the artist's and the venue's shared mission to lead the future of sustainable live entertainment."
Speaking to Vogue for an interview published in April, Billie said that she grew up vegetarian and "never had any meat," but described dairy as having been her "favourite thing". The performer added that she went vegan "a few years" after her family did.
Billie said that she initially changed her diet to lose weight but then "learnt all about" the dairy industry and animal agriculture. She said: "Everyone's allowed to do and eat whatever they want. But the misconception that it isn't completely, unreasonably inhumane to abuse and slaughter animals just for the pleasure of something that tastes good is silly and thoughtless to me."
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