HARRY STYLES BEGINS LANDMARK WEMBLEY RESIDENCY IN FRONT OF PACKED CROWD
Harry Styles opened his Wembley Stadium residency on Friday night, the first of 12 scheduled performances at the iconic London venue. Thousands of fans turned out for the opening show, marking the start of one of the biggest concert runs ever staged by a solo artist at Wembley.
Harry Styles, Wembley Stadium, The Culture Digest.
Country music star Shania Twain supported the opening night, warming up the crowd with a set of her biggest hits before Styles took to the stage. The former One Direction singer delivered a career-spanning set, mixing tracks from Harry's House, Fine Line and his self-titled debut.
Before arriving in London, Styles completed a 10-night residency at Amsterdam's Johan Cruyff ArenA, where he launched his Together, Together world tour. The run saw him perform to more than half a million fans across the Dutch capital, with special guest Robyn joining him for each show before the residency moved to Wembley.
The opening night also included a tribute to British artist David Hockney, whose death at the age of 88 was announced earlier that day. Before performing Aperture, Styles displayed one of Hockney's quotes on the stadium screens: "What an artist is trying to do for people is bring them closer to something... art is about sharing." The moment carried added significance given the pair's connection, with Hockney having painted Styles' portrait for the National Portrait Gallery's Drawing from Life exhibition in 2023.
The Wembley dates coincide with Styles' role as curator of this year's Meltdown festival at the Southbank Centre, where he has brought together a diverse line-up of artists and is also set to perform a special one-off orchestral show at the Royal Festival Hall. The combination of the residency and his festival involvement has made it a particularly busy period for the singer in London.