A mild Tuesday evening in Cardiff, illuminated by Pink kicking off her Summer Carnival European tour at the city’s Principality Stadium – and a night to remember for some 50,000 people. The American pop giant had announced, just a few hours before the show, that she was going through a stomach bug – you’d hardly have known it from the spectacle she served us.
An energetic set from tour DJ Kid Cut Up got people hyped, and Texas’ Gayle delivered a mix of her own songs – including 2021 hit ABCDEFU – and covers like Queen’s We Will Rock You, her powerful voice the common denominator. With the stadium now filling up and the atmosphere intensifying, cue The Script to deliver a hit-laden performance. Hall Of Fame and I’m Not Moving hit nostalgically hard, people sing along, the tone for the evening is set – time to hold your breath and watch the stage as the crew prepare for the main event.
The time comes, the lights dim, anticipation is paramount: the powerhouse headliner takes the stage, and Pink’s Summer Carnival opens with a bang. Emerging from a large mouth at the top of the stage and treating us to some signature acrobatics amidst stunning visuals and pyrotechnics, Get The Party Started sends its message loud and clear as the singer and her ensemble of backing vocalists and dancers light up the stage.
The set is a pitch-perfect mix of Pink’s greatest hits and newer tracks – plus a couple of covers, with 4 Non Blondes’ early 90s smash What’s Up? having the audience screaming their lungs out along with her. It’s not just P!nk’s singing that ignites the atmosphere, either: her interactions with her band come off as warm and heartfelt.
Song-wise, then, highlights of the night include a rendition of Just Give Me A Reason, a great performance of Raise Your Glass, and a touching tribute to her family with Cover Me In Sunshine – for which daughter Willow joins Pink on stage halfway through. Sharing stories and moments of gratitude, making the massive stadium feel intimate, Pink tells us that knowing people feel safe with her is the biggest compliment she could get, adding that making people laugh is a decent bonus.
Notwithstanding a few problems with the teleprompter, Summer Carnival’s production is nothing short of spectacular, with each song accompanied by dazzling choreography, colourful set designs and mesmerizing light displays. It’s a show full of surprises – one of them in the audience, as two couples get engaged right in front of Pink, who reacts with loud encouragement. Her shoes get given away, to fans’ delight, and fruit snacks are thrown to the audience.
The show concludes with an acrobatic performance of So What, Pink flying around the stadium as she sings to head-turning effect. At pains to highlight each of her band members, singers and dancers – she loves to surround herself with the best of the best, we’re told – this Summer Carnival debut was a great opening to Pink’s tour.
P!nk, The Script, Gayle + Kid Cut Up, Principality Stadium, Cardiff, Tue 11 June
words EWA PAŁKA photos ANTHONY JAMES
