Coldplay to break Taylor Swift's Wembley record

Chris Martin of Coldplay
Coldplay have taken a lead in developing sustainable touring technology [Reuters]

Coldplay are to play an unprecedented 10 nights at London's Wembley Stadium next summer, breaking a record held by Taylor Swift and Take That.

The band originally announced a six-night run at the stadium next August, but added four extra shows in September due to "phenomenal demand" during a fan-only presale on Thursday morning.

The general ticket sale begins at 9am on Friday, 27 September, with prices starting at £20 (plus fees).

Unlike Oasis, the band have declined to use Ticketmaster's dynamic pricing model - where prices are adjusted according to demand. A message on the company's website stated, “all ticket prices for these concerts are fixed at the advertised rate".

The 2025 tour dates are in support of the band's 10th album Moon Music, which is due for release on 4 October.

As well as Wembley, the band will play two nights at Hull's Craven Park Stadium.

Fifty per cent of the tickets for those shows will go to local fans, who live in the HU, YO, DN or LN postcodes.

The 12 concerts will be the band's only European dates of 2025. Ten per cent of the proceeds will be donated to the Music Venue Trust, which supports small, grassroots concert halls around the UK.

Earlier this year, the band headlined the Glastonbury festival, where they were joined on stage by Back to the Future star Michael J Fox, and a host of other musicians including rapper Little Simz, Nigerian musician Femi Kuti and Palestinian-Chilean singer Elyanna.

In a series of five-star reviews, The Independent called the show "the spectacle of a lifetime" and The Guardian said it would be "churlish" not to be swept up by a set full of "cartoonish good fun".

Film star Tom Cruise, who watched the set from a VIP area at the side of the Pyramid Stage simply branded the concert "awesome".

During the set, the band also previewed songs from their upcoming album, which frontman Chris Martin has hinted could be their last.

"Our last proper record will come out in 2025 and after that I think we will only tour,” he told BBC Radio 2's Jo Whiley in 2021.

"Maybe we'll do some collaborative things but the Coldplay catalogue, as it were, finishes then."

However, he subsequently backtracked those comments, telling the NME the band had another two records left in them.

"We're going to make 12 albums. Because it's a lot to pour everything into making them,” he explained. “I love it and it's amazing, but it's very intense too."

Coldplay aat Glastonbury 2024
Coldplay are the only band to have headlined Glastonbury five times [BBC]

Pre-sale tickets for Coldplay's 2025 tour went on sale on Thursday morning for fans who had placed advance orders for Moon Music.

According to social media messages, the first tranche of dates sold out in about 20 minutes.

One fan reported a message on the Ticketmaster website flashing up at 09:22, stating: "UPDATE: There are currently no available tickets in this pre-sale."

Recognising the demand, Coldplay added four extra dates at Wembley, with pre-sales starting at 2:30pm BST.

The 10-date residency means Coldplay will become the act to have played the most nights at the world-famous stadium in a single year.

Taylor Swift and Take That were previously tied for the record, playing eight nights apiece.

Swift still holds the records for the most dates by a solo artist, and by an international artist - overtaking Michael Jackson during her Eras Tour this summer.

Coldplay previously played six nights at Wembley during the 2022 leg of their world tour - which means that, in total, their tour will have doubled the previous record.

The band have made efforts to reduce the environmental impact of their concerts - and announced earlier this year that they had achieved a 59% reduction in carbon dioxide emissions compared with their previous world tour.

They also made efforts to combat rising ticket prices by offering £20 "Infinity tickets" for every show.

They are sold in pairs and can be placed anywhere in the venue - including the very best seats.

For the Wembley dates, a pair of tickets will cost around £52, once fees - including the stadium's £2.75 sustainability fee - are added.