Dozens of Harry Styles fans have been queuing overnight outside Wembley Stadium as the singer prepares for his 12-night residency, with hopes of getting to see the star up close.
Super fans arrive early
The 32-year-old hitmaker is due to start his London Wembley Stadium concerts tonight (Friday) as part of the tour. It will be the first of his 12-night residency at the arena.
Initially, there were six shows planned for London, until a huge demand saw them doubled to 12. The concerts follow the release of Harry's fourth solo album, Kiss All The Time. Disco, Occasionally, which was released in March.
Fans share their experience
Ahead of the first show, Press Association spoke to several fans who had arrived at the venue hours early to secure the best seats possible.
Kira, 18, and Alicia, 19, live in Wembley but started lining up at the stadium around 6am on Thursday. "We've got standing, so we want to get barricade, so we lined up and got a number," Kira said.
Although fans have been discouraged from camping there overnight, an unofficial queue formed hours before. "The queue kind of works where everyone who's there previously, you kind of get to know each other, and then it turns into like an official queue, and obviously you've got your friends, so you can just be like, 'can we go get changed and do our make-up and get ready?', and that's the basis of it really," Kira added.
The pair added that the goal was to get in early and secure a spot at the barricade. Alicia said: "We're very much concert people, and being in the front, I feel like we get to experience those memories kind of really up close rather than seeing it in a video or something like that, like it feels like you're actually living it. For me personally, when I go to a concert, I kind of black out a little bit, and in that moment when the artist is right in front of you, especially Harry, because he means so much to me, it's massive and I know I will never forget it."
Ella, 21, arrived from Liverpool on Thursday and stayed up all night in the queue, an experience she said was "not too bad". "I met people that I've met in previous queues before, so it's quite fun. It's like a fun little sleepover, a girly sleepover," she said. "I tried to go to sleep, but I am just too excited, so I stayed awake all night. I might get some sleep before I go into the stadium, but wasn't too bad overall."
Ella said that everyone in the queue was "really friendly" and "respected the process". "It doesn't work without the fans. If everyone gets on, it just makes everything easier." She went on to share that she would be seeing Styles five times, calling it a "dream come true". "I saw him on his last tour and it's just amazing to be here again. It's so surreal."
High costs for dedicated fans
Many of Styles's fans have spent hundreds – or even thousands – to see him on this tour. Rosie, 23, from Bolton, secured VIP tickets that set her back around £900. "When you tell people how much you've paid, they think you're stupid, but unless you've been here and you know what it feels like, then you wouldn't understand," she said.
"I think there's a mutual understanding of Harry and his fans, and I feel like within the fans as well, that you're meeting different people that are completely different to you, that on a normal day you probably wouldn't really have anything in common with them, but I feel like everyone has this sense of like coming together as soon as you get here, like, 'oh, we've all got Harry in common', and I think that's why it's just such a good vibe."
Meg and Katie, both aged 27 and from St Helens, estimate they've each spent "easily" over £1,000 each to see Styles too. However, they defended the cost, saying it felt like a "nostalgic" experience. "We've been doing this since we were 11 or 12 – we've got to keep going because we were big One Direction fans back in the day," they said.
Other fans estimated they'd spent up to £4,000 each as well. Michael, 22, is originally from Lincolnshire but now lives in Wembley. He called Styles his "favourite artist" and said his music "has got me through everything". "I struggle a little bit with anxiety, and I feel that his music allows me to feel I can be myself, and I feel like his lyrics are quite a comfort and show you can be yourself no matter what you are going through, or who you are, how old you are, or your race, gender or sexuality," he said.
Record-breaking residency
After his London residency, Styles will hold the record for the most performances by any artist in a single year at Wembley Stadium – surpassing Coldplay's 10-night run last summer. Doors for tonight's concert are due to open at 5pm, before support act Shania Twain plays at 6.55pm. Styles will then take to the stage at 8.15pm.
