Dua Lipa's Radical Optimism Tour at Wembley Stadium
By Bethany M
On Saturday, the 21st of June, Dua Lipa set the stage for night two of her sold-out run at Wembley Stadium in London, England. Over 90 thousand people made their way to celebrate one of the biggest weekends of Dua Lipa's Radical Optimism Europe Tour. Including special guests, the rising stars Alessi Rose and Dove Cameron, we were in for an amazing night of live music.
Alessi Rose (Alessandra Rose Jones) is a 22-year-old rising star from Derby, England. She has recently broken through after opening for Noah Kahan and embarking on her own "For Your Validation" tour earlier this year. This autumn, she is on Tate McRae's North American leg of the "Miss Progressive" tour and her own tour for her upcoming project "Voyeur." Alessi took the stage to open for this entire leg of the Radical Optimism Tour, which included this historic weekend at Wembley Stadium. She released her newest single, "That Could Be Me," on Friday, the 20th of June, which happened to be on the first night at Wembley Stadium. "That Could Be Me" is about desire for a person who has feelings for someone else. As a long-time fan of Alessi, seeing her open at one of the largest stadiums in Europe was a full-circle moment.
Following Alessi's act was singer and actor Dove Cameron. Famous for her leading roles in shows and movies like Liv and Maddie and Descendants, she has recently started releasing music. Dove put on an incredible theatrical performance, including her hit single "Boyfriend." This weekend at Wembley was one of her first performances in years, as she was only opening for select cities across the United Kingdom and Ireland. She also performed her new single "Romeo" days before the release on the 27th of June. Her set was raw, theatrical, and another perfect addition to the evening.
Dua Lipa took the stage just around 9 p.m. and included four acts. The first act included the songs "Training Season," "End of an Era," "Break My Heart," and "One Kiss." Four amazing and upbeat songs to start the evening. Already within the first section of the concert, everyone was dancing and singing every word. The vibe and atmosphere of Wembley was incredible. Not one seat was empty, and barely anyone was sitting or standing still.
To keep the energy going was act two. After a short break, Dua started off this act with her hit singles "Whatcha Doing," "Levitating," and one of my personal favorites, "These Walls." She then replaced "Hotter Than Hell" with "IDGAF," which hasn't made a tour appearance since her self-titled tour. After "IDGAF," was her cover portion of the concert. She picks a local artist from the area to perform a cover or a collaboration. For night two at Wembley, she sang "360" with English singer Charli XCX prior to Charli's headline spot at the Glastonbury Music Festival. As a fan of Charli XCX, this was the cherry on top. She ended act two with her song "Maria."
To begin act three was a short intermission, followed by "Physical," "Electricity," "Hallucinate," and "Illusion." I really enjoyed this act, especially "Physical." She sang a lot of act 2 and act 3 on the B stage towards the back of the rear pitch, so it was really close to me. She continued with act 4 also at the B stage and along the barricade with songs "Falling Forever," "Happy for You," her hit single "Love Again," "Anything for Love," and finally finishing the acts with "Be the One."
After a short encore intermission, the vibes were immaculate. She took the main stage again with "New Rules," a shortened version of the Barbie single, "Dance the Night," "Don't Start Now," and finished out an amazing set with fireworks and the hit "Houdini." I ended up being drenched in confetti and streamers and with a full heart. I got to check off one of my dream venues off my bucket list as well as seeing Alessi Rose after meeting her back in September of 2024 at a park. Dua Lipa was one of my favorite concerts ever. It was a night full of incredible live music, vibes, and tons of confetti and fireworks. The Europe leg of the tour just closed, but for anyone seeing her on the North and South American leg, they are in for the best night ever.
