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Time Out
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Time Out
‘This is their way of phasing us out': inside the busking battle in central London
It's a glaring hot afternoon and noise permeates Soho: shrieks of kids on school trips, '80s anthems blaring from pedicab speakers, the clumsy honks and growling engines of passing traffic. Turn the corner into Trafalgar Square and you're met with the sounds of amplified guitar strums and the sight of a growing crowd of couples tapping their feet, toddlers bobbing their knees and teenagers clapping their hands in time to a rendition of Coldplay's 'Viva la Vida'. Busker Johan Satre has them in a gleeful trance. After waiting in a queue of buskers since 8.30am before finally getting a slot at midday, Satre has a firm hold over his audience of around 40 to 50 people (a smaller crowd than normal, he tells me afterwards). After his grand finale ('Dancing Queen' by ABBA), the crowd line up to tap their phones onto his contactless machine as another busker starts to set up equipment within a large yellow circle marked on the ground – one of the few legal amplified busking pitches left in the borough. For as long as streets have existed, so have street performers. For centuries, fiddlers, troubadors, bards and one-man bands have serenaded the capital city, with the likes of Rod Stewart, Simon and Garfunkel and Ed Sheeran among those honing their trade on London's streets. At the same time, buskers have always been a divisive feature of the city. After several centuries of existence, they were only effectively legalised in the 1980s when British courts ruled buskers were in fact not committing an offence under the 1824 Vagrancy Act. In the past they've been dubbed vagrants, beggars and most recently, akin to 'psychological torture'. That's what a judge said in March during a court case between Westminster city council and Leicester Square businesses. Led by Global Radio (who own Capital, Heart and LBC radio stations) and the Hippodrome Casino, the companies and local residents took the authority to court for failing to 'abate a statutory nuisance' – in other words, failing to keep rowdy buskers and their amp volumes under control, particularly at night. Office workers complained of being 'plagued' by 'out of tune' musicians playing 'Sweet Caroline', being forced to take meetings in cupboards and to wear noise-cancelling headphones. The trial concluded with buskers being completely banned from Leicester Square – for now, at least. While that was a first of its kind case, a crackdown on central London's street performers has been stirring for several years. This is the buskers' side of the story. Now, it's a legal matter 'Singing a song is a criminal offence these days, apparently.' A month before the Leicester Square trial comes to a head, I'm chatting to singer-songwriter Harry Marshall over Zoom. Speaking in a mild Aussie accent, he's visibly despondent. After seven years of performing on the streets of Westminster, Marshall now holds criminal convictions for busking illegally. He had called Piccadilly Circus his second home, making a living singing and playing guitar there, since 2018. 'It was a great way to make music my full time job,' he says. 'Everyday I got to connect with hundreds of people emotionally and musically.' So, when he found out that a licensing scheme had been introduced by Westminster council in 2021 – with the aim to 'strike a balance between supporting performers and addressing issues related to noise, obstruction and inappropriate locations' – he dutifully applied. Under the new rules, buskers had to now pay to play in designated spots across the borough. It dictated that performances must end before 9pm, musicians have to play a 'varied repertoire' and only use amplifiers in designated spots. Prior to the scheme, the City of Westminster was home to seven amplified pitches. Once the rules were passed, that dropped down to four, though Marshall and several other seasoned buskers I speak to, say that half of those aren't worth playing on. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Harry Marshall (@harrymarshallmusic) '[The pitch at] Marble Arch is terrible because there's no foot traffic,' Marshall says. 'The only time you're not allowed to busk there is during Winter Wonderland when there are actually people there.' The other, he says, is King Charles Island, the small roundabout at the bottom of Trafalgar Square, which is 'wildly dangerous because there's moving traffic yet your job is to build a crowd.' That meant that suddenly, street musicians were queuing up for a 40-minute slot at one of the two viable amplified pitches remaining, marked by large yellow circles: one on Leicester Square and one at the top of Trafalgar Square. Demand for the limited pitches was high and it became harder to get enough slots to make a living. Marshall tells me that lots of performers who had been on the scene for decades simply gave up. He himself soon found that abiding by the rules wasn't going to be sustainable if he wanted to continue busking for a living. In protest, he decided not to reapply for a licence when his expired two years later. Then, he went back to play at the Piccadilly pitch that had been his stage for the best part of a decade. 'I got a lot of warnings from the council,' he recalls. 'But this was my way of saying: this isn't right. If I adhere to the licence [rules] I'm not going to be able to pay my rent.' A year and a half later, Harry was taken to court by Westminster Council. He pled guilty and slapped with eight charges of busking without a licence with the prospect of a £1000 fine per charge plus litigation fees. 'Luckily the judges saw sense and realised I'm a street performer, I don't have £10,000 in my account.' He says, resolutely, that the busking community in central London 'hate the licensing scheme' and it's widely believed that 'this is their way of phasing us out.' Four weeks later, amplified street performers were outlawed from Leicester Square. Press rewind For most of the UK and London, buskers don't need a licence – they simply have to adhere to a code of conduct (such as being mindful of noise levels and respecting the environment) and are kept under control through public space protection orders. But over the last four years, Westminster City Council has enforced some of the country's strictest rules around street performing. Like Marshall, keyboard player Elliot Herrington has witnessed the crackdown play out in real time. He moved to London from the south coast in 2017 and started regularly busking at Tottenham Court Road two years later. 'The busking scene at that point was amazing,' he recalls. 'It was completely free and on the 25-minute walk from the bottom of Tottenham Court Road all the way to Marble Arch, you'd probably see at least 10 buskers. Everyone was sharing spots, there was zero pressure from the council and people loved us, especially the tourists. 'I used to busk with a DJ and a sax player and we'd have three or four hundred people dancing in the street. They all stayed for hours – homeless people dancing next to people in suits, children next to grandparents. There was so much community and love. Now you go up Oxford Street and there's maybe one [busker], if you're lucky.' We used to have four hundred people dancing in the street When Herrington returned to his (now illegal) Tottenham Court Road pitch after lockdown, he was informed that he wasn't allowed to play without a licence and yet, in a catch-22, his application was denied on account of him having played before being made aware of the rules. He tried to continue without the permit but tells me that by 2024 'you could not busk once on any given day without someone from the council coming up to you'. That's when he began to give in: 'At that point they had started sueing loads of buskers. I had my last warning and because I'd seen my mates get actual convictions, I decided I'm just going to accept that I can't play there anymore. Then I moved to Camden and the same thing happened. It was so much hassle.' Shanilee Tordilla, a regular on the Leicester Square pitch pre-ban, tells me that even with the license, busking had been made harder. 'It didn't take long to realise that the licence wasn't benefitting us but doing the opposite,' she says. 'If you had the licence then you had more opportunities to be prosecuted. There are people who don't know about the licensing scheme and frankly they get away with it because they just come and go as they like.' Serena Kaos, a local busker and member of the Westminster Street Performers Association (WPSA) agrees that those who follow the rules responsibly and abide by the licensing rules are being lumped into the same category as the buskers that play at excessive volumes in antisocial hours and being made to suffer the consequences. 'The buskers that are part of the WSPA are typically very reasonable. We operate on community-based actions.' Amping it up But if noise is the problem, wouldn't the solution simply be to ditch the microphone, switch off the electric amplifier and perform acoustically? 'Go and stand in the middle of Leicester Square and tell me that if I played or sang completely acoustically that anyone would even hear me,' Harry says. 'You need a certain level of amplification. The art of street performance is about capturing people's attention and holding them for a short amount of time to impress them enough to drop a coin in your case. That is hard enough to do in itself, let alone without an amplifier.' Kaos echoes his argument: 'Music does not cut through more than one metre in a central location like Leicester Square. By taking amplification away, you're just taking away street musicians.' Two years after the licensing scheme had been introduced, Westminster Council released a policy review. It revealed that noise complaints had actually increased considerably since the rules had been implemented. Between April 2021 and May 2023 there were 5,070 complaints lodged, up around 1,000 compared to the two years before. It reported that 'some buskers argue that due to the limited opportunities, they can only get onto the Leicester Square pitch once in a day, so they must play louder to attract audiences and maximise their potential earnings. This has meant that the volume can be much louder than they would use normally.' Still, prior to the ruling, the WSPA and the council had been taking regular meter readings (buskers are allowed to play on designated amplified pitches at no more than 78 decibels) and, according to Kaos, had agreed that members weren't playing to levels that could be considered a nuisance. What's next? 'With all the venues shutting down can we at least let people play on the street? What sort of grey world are you trying to create?' Herrington asks. He struggles to be optimistic about busking's future in the city. 'I hate to say it but it's done. I think a lot of buskers are quite fragmented from each other so it's quite hard to get everyone to rally together.' Nevertheless, the WSPA plans to fight to get the Leicester Square pitch back or at least get another pitch to replace it, with intentions to protest on the square every fortnight or so. A spokesperson from the organisation told Time Out: 'The solution lies not in banning street performance altogether, but in working together to establish reasonable compromises around volume levels, speaker types and designated locations. Leicester Square is a cultural landmark – not just for tourism and commerce, but for expression, spontaneity, and opportunity.' When I stop by one of these demonstrations, they're met with mixed reactions. Some members of the public stop to read the WSPA's appeal and sign its petition, encouraged by a supporter who has been coming to the square specifically to listen to its musicians for the past eight years. But there is also some hostility, with one man interrupting a protester mid-song to voice his disapproval. View this post on Instagram A post shared by •SHANILEE• (@sshanilee) 'I understand. If I was working somewhere and there's someone playing ''Wonderwall'' all day long I would go crazy,' says Mary Valiaka, music director at What Does Not, an organisation that champions London's grassroots musicians and backs the WSPA's cause. 'But there needs to be a middle ground'. She argues that pushing performers off the street will have a detrimental effect on London's (already dwindling) live music landscape as a whole. 'With busking, you learn how to engage, be charismatic and have a good presence,' Valiaka says. 'And that's 50 percent of what makes a good live performer. With busking under threat, how are people going to learn how to be a good live performer?' Kaos adds that central London streets provide an important stage for musicians from less privileged backgrounds. 'Working-class musicians don't get the opportunity to be musicians for a living very often. As working class performers, it allows you to have a platform in the first place.' Herrington is one such success story. Through his street performing, he got the 'opportunity of a lifetime' to tour with rising star Myles Smith. He was seen by a scout on the street and now plays keys in Smith's band. This summer he'll be playing at Glastonbury and on stadium stages across the globe supporting Ed Sheeran. 'I'm doing all this crazy stuff and it has all come from busking. I cannot quantify how impactful playing on the streets has been for my music career. I would not be where I am today without it.' Westminster city council has now appealed the Global Radio court ruling and is awaiting a response. A spokesperson told Time Out: 'Our view is the effect of the abatement order is too restrictive in controlling all buskers for the whole of Leicester Square and instead should have been limited to the single amplified pitch that was the basis of the Global Radio case. 'We believe that, with sensible measures in place, we can find a fair solution that minimises disruption while allowing performers to do what they do best.'
New York Times
02-05-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
How Barcelona could do a treble of trebles across men's, women's, youth teams
'Triplete' is the Spanish word for a treble of major trophies — and in Barcelona, it is being repeated a lot. While most players do not want to talk about winning a clean sweep of trophies, the possibility hangs in the air. 'When you're at La Masia (Barca's famed youth academy), you always dream of winning the triplete,' midfielder Gavi said at the news conference before the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final against Borussia Dortmund. Advertisement On Saturday, Barca lifted the Copa del Rey after a 3-2 win against Real Madrid. During the celebrations, there was a subtle reference to the treble when the Coldplay song Viva la Vida played over the loudspeakers of the La Cartuja stadium — the soundtrack to the club's first treble under Pep Guardiola in 2008-09. Barcelona hold a four-point lead over Madrid in La Liga, with a Clasico at their temporary Montjuic home ground to come, and drew 3-3 in a madcap first leg of their Champions League semi-final against Inter. Winning all three competitions would give Barca the third treble in the club's history after Guardiola's first and another under Luis Enrique in 2014-15. Only eight men's teams have won their nation's league, domestic cup and the European Cup/Champions League in a single season and Barca could become the only team to do it three times (they and Bayern Munich are the only teams to have done it twice). But it is not just Hansi Flick's team who could lift a treble for Barcelona this season. The club's women's team are on course to achieve that feat for the second time in their history. And Barca's Juvenil A under-19s completed theirs on Monday when they beat Turkish side Trabzonspor in the UEFA Youth League final in Switzerland, adding the youth equivalent of the Champions League to league and cup finals already sewn up this campaign. It could even be a hat-trick of quadruples for Barca. The men's and women's teams have won their respective Supercopas de Espana — Spain's equivalent of England's Community Shield — and the Juvenil A team are aiming to claim the Copa de Campeones, where the winners of each regional league at that level meet in May to decide an overall champion. In any case, it is turning out to be a historic season for Barcelona. Here, we talk you through how each team got here, what stands in their way and the links between the sides. League position: 1st Closest challengers: Real Madrid (four points behind) Domestic cup: Won 3-2 after extra time vs Real Madrid (April 26) Champions League: Semi-final vs Inter (drew first leg 3-3 on April 30, second leg on May 6) This season was supposed to be a transitional one for Barca's men's team. Financial problems hang over the club, their squad is full of young players, the team are still playing away from the Camp Nou and they had to contend with the traumatic exit of club legend Xavi as coach at the end of last term. Advertisement But Flick has given the team a clear idea of how to play, with pressing from the front and an extremely high defensive line. Practically all the players have returned to form, with Raphinha, Ferran Torres, Frenkie de Jong and Jules Kounde transformed from the previous campaign. The other stars have been Pedri, Inigo Martinez and youngsters Pau Cubarsi and Lamine Yamal. Barca are four points ahead of second-placed Real Madrid in La Liga and have scored 12 goals in three games against them this season, across the league and the Supercopa de Espana and Copa del Rey finals. They meet again in La Liga at Montjuic on Sunday, May 11 and hold the head-to-head advantage over Madrid after their 4-0 win at the Bernabeu earlier in the season (if teams are tied on points, La Liga separates teams based on their results against each other rather than goal difference). That Clasico is crucial. Beating Madrid would virtually confirm Barca as champions: assuming they win their fixtures this weekend against Celta Vigo and Real Valladolid respectively, a win for the Catalans would put them seven points clear with three games left to play. That would mean a win in their following game against local rivals Espanyol on May 15 would make them champions. The Copa is already in the bag with that win against Madrid after extra time in Seville on Saturday, secured thanks to Kounde's last-gasp effort. 'If they (Madrid) score one or two goals, it doesn't matter,' Yamal told official club channel Barca One after that match. 'This season, they can't beat us.' He was asked about those comments in his first press conference for Barca on Tuesday, before the Inter game. 'While I keep winning, they can't say much,' he said. 'When they beat me, they will be able to.' It all seems to come down to the Champions League, then, where the semi-final is finely poised. Barca travel to Milan for the second leg on Tuesday, hoping to reach the final at Munich's Allianz Arena on May 31. They are looking to win the Champions League for the first time since 2015. In fact, this is the first time since Lionel Messi left the club that they have even reached the semi-finals. League position: 1st Closest challengers: Real Madrid (four points behind) Domestic cup: Final vs Atletico Madrid on June 8 Champions League: Final vs Arsenal on May 24 Barcelona Femeni have dominated women's football but this Liga F season has been one of the most evenly matched in recent years. Pere Romeu's team have lost two games in the league, against UD Levante and Real Madrid – the latter their only defeat to the club's arch-rivals in 19 attempts. Advertisement They have three league games left — against Deportivo La Coruna, Real Betis and Athletic Club. If they and Real Madrid win on the weekend, Barca could secure the league against Betis on May 11. Barca thrashed Chelsea 8-2 on aggregate in the semi-finals and will face Arsenal in the final in Lisbon on May 24. They will be looking to lift the title for the fourth time in five seasons, having reached the final five years in a row. If they have won the other two trophies, they could seal the treble on June 7 when facing Real Madrid in the Copa de la Reina final. Romeu's team are still considered strong favourites despite that recent loss to Madrid. Yamal and Gavi have been seen attending women's games this season. Yamal gets on very well with Vicky Lopez, the 18-year-old attacking midfielder with whom he shares a sponsor. Double Ballon d'Or-winning midfielder Aitana Bonmati regularly watches the men's Champions League matches in the Catalan town of Sant Pere de Ribes with a supporters group named after her, the Penya Barcelonista Aitana Bonmati. Bonmati has been one of Barca's star players again but Patri Guijarro, fellow two-time Ballon d'Or winner Alexia Putellas, Ewa Pajor and Claudia Pina have been key in this final stretch of the season. League position: Winners Domestic cup: Beat Real Zaragoza 5-0 in the final (March 16) Youth League: Beat Trabzonspor 4-1 in the final (April 28) Barca's under-19 team — coached by Juliano Belletti, the former Chelsea and Brazil right-back who scored the winner in Barca's 2006 Champions League final against Arsenal — have already won their treble. They were crowned youth Copa del Rey champions on March 16 after their rout of Zaragoza in the final, with striker Hugo Alba and winger Juan Hernandez both scoring twice. They secured the Division de Honor Juvenil league title on April 12 (they are 11 points ahead of second- and third-placed Mallorca and Catalan side Damm in their group) and lifted the Youth League title this week, inspired by 18-year-old Mali star Ibrahim Diarra. Advertisement The Juvenil A team — which is the age group below Barca's 'B' team, Barca Atletic — is where Cubarsi, Yamal and first-team midfielder Marc Bernal could be playing, given they were born in 2007, and there are plenty of links with the first team. Pau Victor's brother, Guillem, plays for them and the Barca backup striker is also good friends with Quim Junyent, a midfielder who has impressed for Belletti's team in the Youth League this season. Junyent and winger Jan Virgili have stood out. Belletti's team will play the Copa de Campeones quarter-finals against Valencia next month, with the tournament's final four taking place from May 26-June 1 in Ponferrada. They will be hoping to turn a treble into a quadruple. (Top photos: Getty Images)
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Korea Herald
29-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Korea Herald
[팟캐스트] (683) 콜드플레이의 내한과 한국 대통령의 빈자리
Coldplay's record-breaking Korea visit thrills fans with jokes, collabs, heartwarming vibes 기사 요약: 해외 아티스트로서는 이례적으로 30만명의 국내 관객을 동원한 콜드플레이가 유쾌한 퍼포스와 깜짝 콜라보로 팬들에게 즐거움을 선사했다. [1] During Friday's concert, front man Chris Martin cracked a joke that instantly lit up the audience, saying, 'Every time Coldplay comes to South Korea, there is no president.' The crowd erupted in laughter and cheers. crack a joke: 농담하다 erupt: 분출하다 [2] Coldplay's first concert in Korea was in April 2017, shortly after the impeachment of former President Park Geun-hye. The band has returned to Korea eight years later, this time coincidentally following the ousting of former President Yoon Suk Yeol. impeachment: 탄핵 ousting: 몰아냄 [3] Martin continued, 'I would like to suggest one person to be president of Korea. That is our drummer Will Champion! He is very kind, very fun, very strong. He is prepared to take on all the dictators, but be fair to all people.' The humorous yet keen joke about Korea's political landscape was met with another round of enthusiastic applause. dictator: 독재자 keen: 세심한 [4] One of Coldplay's most popular songs, 'Viva la Vida,' sings of the downfall of a king set to an uplifting melody, leading some fans on social media to nickname the group 'the impeachment band.'
New York Times
27-04-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
Barcelona have taken their first step towards a treble. Can they do it?
Jules Kounde had already been one of Barcelona's best players. It was extra time in an already intense match. Taking advantage of Ferran Torres' substitution for Pau Victor, he took a breather. He crouched down and then put his hands on his knees, clearly exhausted. He was spent. So were the three forwards. But he had enough strength left to become the unexpected hero. Advertisement He intercepted a pass from Luka Modric to Brahim Diaz — who slipped a second earlier — lifted his head, looked at Thibaut Courtois' goal and didn't think twice. He fired a powerful shot from outside the area with all of his soul. The Belgian couldn't stop it. The Frenchman took off the black band from his head that stopped his dreadlocks from falling on his face and ran towards the corner flag, shouting. It was 3-2 with four minutes to go. Ronald Araujo headed for the stands, throwing himself onto the fans who had carried them on their shoulders in Seville. He let them catch him. They were on the verge of taking the first step towards their goal: the treble. Barcelona ended up winning a match in which they were superior in the first half but were overwhelmed in the second after Kylian Mbappe came on. In finals, every team has its moment. When Hansi Flick's side had theirs, they failed to take advantage and went into the break with only a one-goal lead courtesy of Pedri after great individual play by Lamine Yamal. When Carlo Ancelotti's side had theirs, they didn't let up. Mbappe scored the first and Aurelien Tchouameni scored the second. They were pushed on by their half of the stadium. But Torres scored with six minutes to go, forcing extra time, and the rest is history. The resilience of this team showed. They never stopped believing and had the ability to overcome a series of challenges, even when they were behind on the scoreboard. This is not the first time they have done that this season. Take the win against Benfica in the Champions League group stage as an example. After Ronald Araujo and Marc-Andre ter Stegen lifted the cup, amid golden confetti and Queen's 'We Are the Champions', the players paraded around the pitch, each wearing their chosen accessories: Yamal with two pairs of sunglasses and his new blond hair, Marc Casado wrapped in the net in which Kounde scored the goal. Then the loudspeakers played another song. Advertisement The first bars of Coldplay's 'Viva la Vida' rang out and Barcelona's fans went wild. On the pitch, possibly more than half of the players didn't know why. Some because they weren't in Barcelona in 2009, others because they were less than five years old. That Coldplay song was the soundtrack to Pep Guardiola's treble, and since his departure, it has not been played again. The message was clear: this Barcelona team has a special aura once again. They won the Spanish Super Cup in January against Real Madrid — who they have scored 12 goals against in three games this season — they have now won the Copa del Rey, they are top of La Liga, and they are in the semi-finals of the Champions League. We shall find out in the coming weeks what happens in the European competition when they face Inter. In the domestic competitions, they are very well positioned. And what is most surprising is that there is talk of a treble in April, considering that this season was supposed to be a transitional one. Flick arrived at Barcelona after Xavi Hernandez's traumatic departure, which was handled poorly by the board, sacking him a month after officially confirming his contract renewal. The German's presentation press conference did not take place for months because Flick wanted to show respect to Xavi and also calm things down before starting his spell on the Barcelona bench. This team have not just gone through a few adversities. There have been many summers of financial juggling to alleviate a deep financial crisis that prevented them from signing players at will and even registering those they did sign, summer after summer. Last summer, it happened to Dani Olmo and Victor. And Olmo and Victor were the only players Barcelona were able to sign. Olmo and Victor could be registered until December because Andreas Christensen was injured, but at the end of the year, they were back in trouble. They were even deregistered from La Liga. It took a precautionary measure from the Superior Sports Council, ratified in March, to get them playing again. There was discontent among other clubs and La Liga itself. Advertisement While they watched Real Madrid finally sign Mbappe, they had to face the season with teenagers and those in their early 20s. It was a very talented generation, but a young one with no experience in big games. There was also no concept of whether they were cut out to play in finals, unlike Ancelotti's team. While these on-pitch issues have been going on, the team remains in exile at Montjuic, with no clear date set for their return to Camp Nou, which is being renovated. Barcelona have overcome all these difficulties during the season, displaying some of the best football seen in the city in a long time. When asked, several club sources all point to the same person responsible: Flick. He arrived in Barcelona with very clear ideas and a well-defined working structure. He relieved the players of the heavy pressure they were carrying on their shoulders by reminding them that it is only football, a job, and that they were there to enjoy themselves. The team enjoys itself on the pitch. That enjoyment is obvious. 'We are a family and it shows,' a source in the dressing room, who asked to remain anonymous to protect relationships, told The Athletic after the final. This squad is imbued with a new spirit. The past and Barcelona's difficulties in beating Madrid in finals has no place. 'The mentality the players have is fantastic. When I saw how they came back again… It was incredible. Jules did it. It's a perfect evening,' Flick said at his press conference. 'I told Ronald (Araujo) in the hotel: if they score one or two goals, it doesn't matter. They can't beat us this year. We've proven it,' Yamal told Barca One after the match, still wearing two pairs of sunglasses with his shirt back to front. This feeling spread to the fans. Fans who don't understand shades of grey and are either very pessimistic or very optimistic. For the first time, fans travelled to Seville en masse with widespread optimism. According to club figures, 26,000 travelled with tickets, but many others without tickets travelled to the city, too. To win the treble, Barcelona have two tasks ahead of them. One seems more achievable than the other. In La Liga, they are four points ahead of Real Madrid. They have five games left to play, one of them against Ancelotti's team. El Clasico could add excitement to the La Liga run-in if Madrid win, or it could seal the title for Flick's team. Advertisement In the Champions League, they face a tough semi-final. Inter are a rock-solid defensive team and have qualities that do not favour Barcelona's style of play. The problems the team have had this season have been against opponents who play like Inter. Against Madrid on Saturday, the team showed some defensive problems in the second half. They lost Alejandro Balde on the left. The defender is working to return for the first leg, but is an important part of Flick's plans, not only for his defensive duties, but also for his explosive attacking play. He helps in the build-up play because he is able to break through the opposition's first line of defence very easily. Robert Lewandowski is a notable absentee and is expected to return for the second leg in Milan. Torres is performing well and putting up decent numbers this season, but when the Poland international is not there, it shows. The players are also starting to show signs of fatigue and the team is feeling it. Flick's first season is going well, but he still has two difficult challenges ahead of him: winning the league and winning the Champions League. The next two weeks will be decisive. In the meantime, today the team is resting after the celebration party they had at the hotel in Seville with their families and friends, waiting for the sound of 'Viva la Vida', which continues to inspire them to achieve their third treble in their history. The first step has already been taken.
Korea Herald
20-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Korea Herald
Coldplay's record-breaking Korea visit thrills fans with jokes, collabs, heartwarming vibes
Global band spellbinds 300,000 fans with humor, sustainability, inclusivity Coldplay is currently in South Korea as part of its "Music of the Spheres" world tour, performing six shows in total. After completing three performances on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday, the band will return to the stage on Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. With an estimated 50,000 attendees per show, the tour is expected to attract a combined 300,000 concertgoers -- the most ever for a foreign musical act visiting Korea. From record-breaking attendance numbers to unexpected jokes about Korean politics, Coldplay's shows just outside Seoul have been dazzling thousands of music fans so far. The band has not only brought its signature heart-pounding sound to Korea, but also created unforgettable memories in humor, collaborations with K-pop stars and a continued commitment to sustainability and inclusivity. Presidential impeachment coincidence During Friday's concert, front man Chris Martin cracked a joke that instantly lit up the audience, saying, 'Every time Coldplay comes to South Korea, there is no president.' The crowd erupted in laughter and cheers. Coldplay's first concert in Korea was in April 2017, shortly after the impeachment of former President Park Geun-hye. The band has returned to Korea eight years later, this time coincidentally following the ousting of former President Yoon Suk Yeol. Martin continued, 'I would like to suggest one person to be president of Korea. That is our drummer Will Champion! He is very kind, very fun, very strong. He is prepared to take on all the dictators, but be fair to all people.' The humorous yet keen joke about Korea's political landscape was met with another round of enthusiastic applause. One of Coldplay's most popular songs, 'Viva la Vida,' sings of the downfall of a king set to an uplifting melody, leading some fans on social media to nickname the group 'the impeachment band.' Sharing stage with K-pop stars Naturally, in the home of K-pop, collaborations with local artists create unforgettable moments on stage. On Saturday, Jin of BTS made a special appearance, joining Coldplay to perform his solo debut single 'The Astronaut,' which was co-written, composed and performed by Chris Martin. The two artists sat side-by-side at the keyboard, singing together and sharing a warm, brotherly hug on stage. The performance was especially meaningful for fans who remembered Jin and Martin singing the same song together at a Coldplay concert in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in 2022, just before Jin began his military service. Jin also joined Coldplay for their joint track with BTS, 'My Universe.' While the first two shows featured BTS via videos playing on the screens during the song, Saturday's performance delighted the crowd with Jin and Martin sharing the stage. Twice -- the opening act for all six concerts -- has also been energizing the audience with hit songs like 'Dance the Night Away' and 'Cheer Up.' The group has been performing a collaboration with Coldplay for 'We Pray' as well, and on Friday a special version featuring Korean lyrics sung by Twice was officially released. Race to return wristbands A staple of Coldplay's concerts in recent years has become the dazzling sight of tens of thousands of LED wristbands glowing in sync with the music — an iconic part of the concert experience. Staying true to their commitment to sustainability, Coldplay encourages fans to return their wristbands after the show. Collection bins are set up at exits for fans to drop off the devices, which are reused to minimize waste and energy consumption. The band has been tracking return rates by country, and according to Coldplay's official Instagram, Friday's show in Seoul recorded a stunning 98 percent return rate. This surpasses previous No.1s: Tokyo and Helsinki at 97 percent and Hong Kong at 94 percent. With three shows still to go, fans are now rallying on social media to push South Korea to claim the top spot. Posts encouraging concertgoers to return their wristbands are spreading online, making sustainability a community effort. Inclusivity for all Alongside its environmental advocacy, Coldplay has made visible efforts to create an inclusive and welcoming space for all. During the performance of 2021's 'People of the Pride,' Chris Martin held a rainbow flag high above his head in a show of support for the LGBTQ+ community, drawing cheers from the crowd. The band also made a point to ensure the concert experience was accessible to the deaf and hard of hearing. A dedicated section within the standing area was equipped with sign language interpreters, and wearable vests that translate bass and drum vibrations into tactile sensations were provided to help participants feel the music through their bodies. Prior to the show, each audience member also received a pair of cardboard glasses called 'Moon Goggles,' lighting up in heart-shaped halos when worn. At one point, the phrase 'Believe in Love' lit up across the audience through synchronized wristbands, delivering a powerful message about the importance of love and unity.
