BLACKPINK Paints London's Hyde Park in Shades of Pink, Fans Say, 'We Want to Visit Korea'
London's Hyde Park was awash with hues of pink this summer night as the K-pop girl group, BLACKPINK, took the stage.
For the first time, a K-pop act headlined at the renowned British musical festival, 'Hyde Park British Summertime Festival,' on July 2nd, local time. The band launched their performance around 9:13 PM, under the concert title 'Pink Venom.'
Excitement electrified the air as fans, who had been waiting since daytime, erupted into cheers at the sight of the band members clad in white, spotlighted by pink stage lights. As music filled the park, fans danced in place and waved their pink light sticks adorned with hearts.
The group rolled out songs including 'How You Like That,' 'Pretty Savage,' 'Kick It,' and 'Whistle,' with some fans seen singing along word-for-word in Korean. As the sun gradually set, the stage glowed brighter and the atmosphere grew more electric. Individual performances by each member, including Jennie's unreleased solo track 'You and Me', Jisoo's 'Flower', Rosé's 'Gone' and 'On The Ground', and Lisa's 'Money' followed.
Returning to the stage in black outfits, BLACKPINK continued to captivate the crowd with their hits 'Boombayah', 'Lovesick Girls', 'Playing with Fire', 'Typa Girl', 'Shut Down', and 'Tally.' The members frequently interacted with their fans, expressing their surprise at the fans' vibrant energy and encouraging them to sing along.
Throughout the performance, sign language interpretation was displayed on the screens along with the live stage.
The show, spanning roughly 80 minutes, concluded with 'DDU-DU DDU-DU' and 'Forever Young.' The band introduced their live band and signed off in Korean, expressing gratitude and introducing themselves as "Jennie, Jisoo, Lisa, Rosé, BLACKPINK."
Hyde Park has hosted the music festival since 2013, attracting a broad array of pop stars and approximately 65,000 spectators across various genres, such as rock, hip-hop, electronic, and R&B. This year's festival, running from June 23rd to July 9th, featured BLACKPINK along with Billy Joel, Bruce Springsteen, Take That, and Guns N' Roses as the headliners.
Parents accompanied by their daughters, from kindergarteners to high schoolers, were seen in the crowd, giving the event a funfair-like vibe. Girls were spotted randomly waving their light sticks in different parts of the venue, and middle-aged men who seemed oblivious to K-pop were seen hoisting their young daughters on their shoulders to get a better view of the stage.
Several stories from attendees were noted. One 8-year-old named Ally, who traveled from Ireland with her mother, confessed her admiration for BLACKPINK since last year and her fondness for Jennie. Ally's mother shared that Ally had bought her own ticket using the money she had saved.
A 14-year-old high school student who had journeyed an hour from north London with her mother and friend expressed her love for BLACKPINK since hearing Jennie's 'Solo' in 2018 and her wish to visit Korea.
Visibly coordinated families, such as a mother and daughters wearing matching pink dresses and two little sisters sporting identical pink hats, added to the atmosphere. Men in BLACKPINK-logoed T-shirts or pink socks complied with the event's unofficial 'dress code.'
One 25-year-old male fan dressed in a pink shirt mentioned that he and two friends from his school days in Brighton, an hour and a half south of London, attended the event together, as they are all BLACKPINK fans who wish to visit Korea.
Interestingly, BLACKPINK fans seemed particularly interested in Korean cuisine, as the food stand selling 'Korean Street Food,' including burgers and Korean chicken tenders, attracted a long line, even when other food stands had none.
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