Coldplay arrived on stage to fireworks and probably the most colourful lighting display to have ever graced the eyes of a South African audience. Gareth Cameron was there to see the musos live in action, check it out…

It was a 9 month wait for the arrival of the Grammy Award winning band Coldplay to bless the 61 000 people which gathered at the FNB stadium in Soweto.  The evening was opened with a fantastic performance by the South African band the Parlotones, which set the mood for what was going to be a special night under a clear moonlit African sky.

Beach balls and balloons where sent into the crowd and confetti fell from the top of the stage, it was a sight to behold and an opening to a concert which made a mark that said to the audience they were about to witness something very special.

The performance is what took the concert to the next level, two songs in and Coldplay were already singing Yellow, it was one hit after the other.  The entire concert was a symphony of sound coupled with the lighting display, beach balls, balloons and confetti made for an overall performance which dare I say topped U2.

Whilst in South Africa Coldplay were in the process of shooting the music video for their new single Paradise of which they shot the ending during the concert. The whole band was dressed in elephant heads, it was a site to see but what is more exciting is that it is the South African tour that is the destination for the music video with the concert in Johannesburg as the ending.   

What will sit in the memory bank of the 61 000 people is the entirety of the evening. It was a recipe for success, a clear moonlit African sky in a historic stadium that played host to the final of the 2010 Fifa World Cup with Coldplay bringing out everything that they had, created an atmosphere of which I’d love to experience over and over again. It is only fitting that the ending of the Paradise music video will be taken from the concert.  As the saying goes ‘all good things come to an end’ but long may this live in the memories of the lucky few that got to witness a truly spectacular concert. In February U2 set a bench mark of which was thought would never be matched, well Coldplay just took it a step further. Yes the U2 spectacle was far greater then Coldplay but judging the performance Coldplay were nothing short of spectacular.