Posted on by Hannah Abraham
Image credit: Steffi Irena

KPop sensations Blackpink kicked off the European leg of their Born Pink tour at London’s O2 stadium last week. 

Blackpink, who were recently named TIME Magazine’s Entertainer of the Year, visited London as part of their ongoing 45-stop concert schedule. The tour promotes their upcoming studio album Born Pink, which is due to be released in September. 

Blackpink take the stage at the O2
(Image credit: Steffi Irena)

Approximately 30,000 people attended the concert over two days. Attendees reported two hour delays on entering the concert venue. 

To celebrate the quartet being the first female KPop group to headline the venue, the O2’s tent and entrance sign were transformed to bright pink. 

Concert attendee Steffi Irena said that though the performances were high quality, her overall experience “could have been better,” citing crowd control complications as a major dampener. “This was my first Blackpink concert, and I would definitely see them again, but it was just not ideal,” said Steffi. 

The issues with managing the crowds pushed back concert opening tmes, and ticket holders had to queue up in the cold.

 

Fans line up outside the O2 (Image credit: Chunju Chuang)

Caption: Fans queueing outside the O2 (Image credit: Chunju Chuang)

Fans also reported on Twitter that the front of the standing section became uncomfortably crowded. Blackpink had to stop the performance and request fans to make room for people in the front. 

Blackpink had recently come under fire for their Born Pink shows in Seoul, with fans on Twitter saying the members were forgetting their choreography and not interacting with the crowd enough. However, concert attendee Chunju Chuang did not notice anything similar at the O2. 

“I was not expecting them to be 100 per cent accurate with their dance or anything. They are from YG, and YG artists are more known for focusing on enjoying their performances and relating with the fans,” she said. 

Blackpink is set to return to London in July 2023 for their show at British Summer Time (BST) Hyde Park.