K-pop idols Blackpink wow BST Hyde Park as part of 2023 world tour to mark major UK festival milestone
Blackpink have made history as the first Korean group to headline a major music festival in the United Kingdom.
The K-pop girl group consists of Jisoo, Jennie, Rose and Lisa and first debuted in 2016 with their hit singles Whistle and Boombayah.
The group performed in front of a sold-out crowd of 65,000 fans at London’s BST Hyde Park stage over the weekend.
They were met with screams and pink fireworks shooting up from the stage when they emerged to greet the crowd on Sunday.
The group came out against a neon pink background while dressed in white.
“What’s up Hyde Park?” Rose asked the fans, who did most of the talking during the London set, before each of the girls introduced themselves.
The girls then performed their hit track How You Like That, which has now been streamed more than one billion times on YouTube.
During the show, the girls also had a troupe of male dancers who performed during an interval before the set transitioned into its second act, in which each member performed their solo songs in individual outfits.
Jennie, who is also known for her role in the controversial HBO show The Idol, was first up to perform solo.
The singer and actress took to centre stage as her name flashed across the screen and sang You & Me and SOLO for her fans.
Jisoo also performed her latest hit, Flower, before Rose sang the ballad Gone, the most sombre moment of the night, and then launched into the more upbeat On The Ground.
The last solo act was Lisa, who showed her dance skills and vocals for her track Money.
Before the show, Jisoo and Rose shared their excitement on social media.
“See you tonight London BST HYDE PARK LET’S GOOO,” Rose posted in her Instagram story, while Jisoo shared a selfie of the two of them before the gig.
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Pic: Instagram story from Rose & Jisoo
The K-pop group have won many awards over the years since their debut, including the MTV Video Music Award for the Best Song of the Summer in 2020 and the People’s Choice Award for Favourite Music Video in 2019.
Their latest album, which was released in 2022, featured hits including Pink Venom, Shut Down, Typa Girl and Yeah Yeah Yeah.
Is there a Blackpink tour in 2023?
Blackpink have had a busy 2023. Back in April, they headlined the well-known Coachella festival in the US.
But what if you’ve only just heard of the band after their Hyde Park appearance?
They do have a number of other performances coming up soon as part of their Born Pink world tour.
Next up for Blackpink is a massive performance in Paris, at the Stade de France on Saturday 15 July.
Judging by the Ticketmaster website, however, only some very expensive tickets are still available for that gig.
Then it’s on to the US for the K-pop stars, with gigs in East Rutherford (11 and 12 August), Last Vegas (18 August), San Francisco (22 August) and Los Angeles (26 August).
These are again at large stadium venues – showing just how much the band have rocketed to global fame.
Entertainment
Snoop Dogg becomes co-owner and investor of Swansea football club saying it’s ‘an underdog just like me’
Police are taking no further action over Kneecap’s performance at Glastonbury.
Officers said they had investigated “comments about a forthcoming court case made during Kneecap’s performance” at the festival on 28 June.
However, after Crown Prosecution Service advice, they decided there is not enough evidence “to provide a realistic prospect of conviction for any offence”.
The Avon & Somerset force started investigating the Irish group’s show last month, as well as comments by punk-rap duo Bob Vylan.
It said they were looking at a possible public order incident.
Police said on Friday that the investigation into Bob Vylan’s performance was ongoing.
The London duo were widely criticised – and caused a BBC crisis – after leading on-stage chants of “death to the IDF” (Israel Defence Forces).
Kneecap’s Liam Og O Hannaidh appeared at Westminster Magistrates’ Court in June. Pic: PA
Kneecap posted a photograph on Instagram, which the group said was an email from police announcing the case was being dropped.
They said their packed Glastonbury gig was a “celebration of love and solidarity” and reporting used “wildly misleading headlines”.
Fears over what Kneecap might do or say during the performance had prompted the BBC not to show it live.
The group said: “Every single person who saw our set knew no law was broken, not even close… yet the police saw fit to publicly announce they were opening an investigation.”
“There is no public apology, they don’t send this to media or post it on police accounts,” they added.
The police statement on Friday said they had informed Kneecap of their decision to drop the case.
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One of the group’s members appeared in court in June charged with a terror offence.
Liam Og O hAnnaidh is accused of displaying a flag in support of Hezbollah, a proscribed organisation in the UK, at a gig last year.
He was released on unconditional bail ahead of a second court appearance in August.
Entertainment
Tomorrowland: ‘Devastating’ blaze destroys main stage at major festival – two days before it was due to begin
A huge fire has destroyed the main stage of a major festival in Belgium – two days before it was due to begin.
Tomorrowland is a dance music event as big as Glastonbury – and David Guetta was due to perform.
Footage showed flames and thick plumes of black smoke engulfing the stage and spreading to nearby woodland on Wednesday.
The fire gutted the main stage
Fire crews attempt to bring the blaze under control
The annual festival in the town of Boom, north of Brussels, is one of the biggest in Europe and attracts about 400,000 people over two consecutive weekends.
It is famous for its immersive and elaborate designs and attracts big names within dance music – including Guetta, best known for tracks When Love Takes Over and Titanium.
Dutch DJs Martin Garrix and Charlotte de Witte were also due to perform, along with the likes of Swedish House Mafia, Eric Prydz and Alok.
Black smoke could be seen rising into the sky
The festival’s website described the creative elements which went into the elaborate main stage.
The theme, described as Orbyz, was “set in a magical universe made entirely out of ice” and “full of mythical creatures”.
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Organisers said no one was injured in the blaze but confirmed “our beloved main stage has been severely damaged”, adding they were “devastated”.
Spokesperson Debby Wilmsen added: “We received some truly terrible news today. A fire broke out on the Tomorrowland site … and our main stage was essentially destroyed there, which is truly awful.
“That’s a stage that took years to build, with so much love and passion. So I think a lot of people are devastated.”
Spokesperson Debby Wilmsen told reporters ‘a lot of people are devastated’
Despite the fire, Tomorrowland organisers said they were still expecting 38,000 festivalgoers at DreamVille, the event’s campsite.
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