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August 2024 concert residency by Adele From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Adele in Munich was the second concert residency by English singer Adele held in a purpose-built outdoor arena at Munich Messe in Munich, Germany. Concert promoters Klaus Leutgeb and Marek Lieberberg encouraged Adele to perform in Europe in a temporary stadium designed by Florian Wieder. The ten-date concert residency, consisting of two performances per week, began on 2 August 2024 and ended on 31 August 2024. She performed 20 songs at the Adele Arena in front of a total audience of 730,000.
| Residency by Adele | |
Promotional poster for the residency | |
| Location | Messestadt Riem, Munich, Germany |
|---|---|
| Venue | Adele Arena, Munich Messe |
| Associated album | 30 |
| Start date | 2 August 2024 |
| End date | 31 August 2024 |
| No. of shows | 10 |
| Attendance | 730,000 |
| Adele concert chronology | |
The stadium was surrounded by a catering and attraction area named Adele World, which included additional stages for support acts and Late Night Karaoke, and personal memorabilia on display. Adele in Munich set a world record for the largest temporary outdoor LED video screen. The string of dates in Munich broke the record for the highest attendance of any concert residency outside of Las Vegas. It also broke the Billboard Boxscore attendance record for a concert engagement. Audience spending brought in more than half a billion euros for the city. These were Adele's only concerts in Europe for 2024.
In 2016, Adele embarked on her third concert tour, Adele Live 2016, which ran through multiple continents and lasted 121 shows.[1][2] She closed the tour with a series of shows at Wembley Stadium, during one of which she passed a handwritten note to attendees admitting she may not tour again: "Touring is a peculiar thing, it doesn't suit me particularly well. I'm a real homebody and I get so much joy in the small things [...] I wanted my final shows to be in London because I don't know if I'll ever tour again and so I want my last time to be at home."[3][4] Adele cancelled the final two performances due to medical advice after she damaged her vocal cords.[5][6] She would keep a low profile during the following years.[7]
Adele announced her fourth studio album, 30, on 13 October 2021, and announced it would be released on 19 November of the same year. On the day following the announcement, "Easy on Me" was released as the lead single from the album.[8] In a November interview, Adele stated that she really wanted to tour in support of 30 but would most likely not do it: "This album? No, probably not. I'd love to. [...] It doesn't sit right with me putting an album out this year and then touring it in 2023."[9] She further denied rumours of an impending concert residency in an interview with Rolling Stone.[10]
However, on 30 November, Adele announced the residency Weekends with Adele. It was planned to take place between 21 January and 16 April 2022, with Adele performing two shows at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas every weekend (24 total shows).[11] The 100,000 tickets that went on sale sold out within six hours, resulting in an average gross of US$2.2 million (1606000 British pounds) per show.[12][13] The Guardian's Ben Beaumont-Thomas commented that since Vegas residences had been frequent among artists who were past their commercial peak, Adele was an outlier. But he thought it suited her situation due to its proximity to her son and his father's residence, her aversion to touring giant venues, and the intimate material on 30 which would resonate better with a smaller audience.[14] It was also meant to circumvent the challenges posed to traditional concert tours by the COVID-19 pandemic.[15]
Having not appeared on a concert stage in Continental Europe since 2016, Adele had not planned to return to perform there but was influenced by concert promoters Klaus Leutgeb and Marek Lieberberg.[16] It originated when Leutgeb approached Adele's agent, Lucy Dickins. He made a series of propositions for Adele to come to Europe, but nothing concrete came to fruition.[17] The Austrian needed someone for the "production", and called on his "friend and mentor" Lieberberg, who, according to Süddeutsche Zeitung's Michael Zirnstein, has been "one of the most seasoned" organisers.[18] Adele's two sold-out performances at London's Hyde Park in July 2022 and the Las Vegas residency were intended to be her only live appearances following the release of 30.[19]
Subsequently, improvements to Leutgeb's propositions were made, accompanying the recommendation of a purpose-built stadium, illustrated by a sketch from Florian Wieder,[17] a production designer.[20] The upgraded offer was submitted to Dickins, who examined it. "I knew questions would be asked, like, why Germany? Why Munich?" she recollected afterwards. The Oktoberfest held in Munich was decisive, as was her evaluation of the urban infrastructure system supporting this event in a city geographically located in the heart of Central Europe. Persuaded, she presented the concept in 2023 to her brother, Jonathan Dickins, who expressed interest in the project.[17] He has been Adele's manager since 2006.[21] As with the Las Vegas residency, he became "centrally" involved in the undertaking.[22]
In conversation with Adele in the United States, Wieder valorised the infrastructure of the Messe München (lit. 'Munich Trade Fair') exhibition centre. Nevertheless, she asked him about their selection of Munich, and he argued that the city also functions effectively even during significant events, citing Oktoberfest. She found these arguments "madly convincing", said Wieder.[23] Messe München, known to English speakers as "Munich Messe",[24] is located in Messestadt Riem.[25] Adele accepted the offer after seeing Wieder's designs for an impermanent stadium. Lieberberg admitted they had to "overcome a lot of hurdles and put a great deal of work into convincing her".[16] Leutgeb later recalled visiting Adele in America in August 2023 and telling her, "You are the Queen of Music, we will build you your own stadium". Adele responded, "Let's do it!"[26] Matt Askem, Adele's creative director since 2016, worked closely with her; thus, the project's progress accelerated in the autumn of 2023.[22]
The appraisals highlighted the project's value, which would require a significant financial investment. Live Nation then joined the project. It materialised thanks to the support of Live Nation's chief executive officer (CEO), Michael Rapino, and vice president (VP) of touring, Omar Al-joulani.[22] A senior source in the British music industry said, "somebody's put a lot of money on the table. Not only have they got Adele, but they have her as a European exclusive". The Times journalists said the custom-built venue on a vast outdoor space at the exhibition centre would be the "world's largest pop-up stadium", "far" exceeding the 44,000-capacity temporary stadium built for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.[16]
Meanwhile, Clemens Baumgärtner, head of Munich's council Department of Labour and Economy and director of Oktoberfest,[27] had to conduct "countless conversations" and carry out "enormous" trust-building work at the exhibition centre for a year and a half in advance because the concerts of Andreas Gabalier, Helene Fischer, and Robbie Williams, which Leutgeb organised at the exhibition grounds, received "negative feedback" during the summer of 2022.[28] There were positive responses, but Munich Messe's suitability as a concert spot remained questionable due to the ground being strewn with imposing stones. Security was problematic for the German edition of Rolling Loud 2023, also held at Munich Messe and organised by Live Nation GmbH and Leutgeb Entertainment Group.[29] Improvements had nevertheless been made. For these reasons, Augsburger Allgemeine's Felicitas Lachmayr wondered what organisational strategy would be implemented for Adele's concerts, saying, "And now?"[30]
Although Munich's Olympiastadion can accommodate 70,000 people, it had never been requested to host Adele concerts. Due to the Olympiastadion's ongoing renovation work, which would be interrupted by construction phases, the concerts would only take place in limited time slots. A spokesperson for the Olympiapark said that ten Adele concerts in a one-month window were not feasible. Another element that made the use of the Olympiastadion unlikely was the exclusive contract of Leutgeb's Global Event and Entertainment GmbH, which gave it priority for organising concerts at Munich Messe, valid for July and August.[31]
Members of the Christian Social Union in Bavaria (CSU), a party on the Munich City Council, jubilantly praised their colleague Baumgärtner when the Adele project was adopted. Ralf Niemczyk of Rolling Stone Germany later wrote: "Various bureaucratic hurdles would have been cleared aside with a sense of proportion." Niemczyk commented that this political reaction denoted a "trend in the global live business", as Adele is part of the slogan "1% artists", those who are capable of generating "mega-sales" during their tours and having a considerable economic impact on the cities that host them, through concert series in the same place.[28]
By January 2024, Leutgeb and Lieberberg had been "courting" Adele for two years.[16] On 31 January, it was announced that the event would be a concert residency at Munich's "bespoke" stadium. She posted a promotional poster titled "Adele in Munich" on her Instagram account that day.[32] The press also issued two stadium images showing several "Adele" in bright capital letters around the perimeter of the exterior façade. Rolling Stone Germany journalists thought the stadium looked like a one-handed clock from above.[33] Looking back on the two years spent developing the project, Leutgeb said in February, "I had a vision that drove me forward".[34] Before performing in Munich, Adele had to complete a leg of her concert residency in Las Vegas, which ended on 15 June.[35]
A press conference was held on 16 July 2024 in hall C6 of Munich Messe, during which the media received information and visuals about the venue's layout.[36][37] Adele was not present. Leutgeb said at the press conference that the idea had germinated two and a half years earlier while sitting next to Wieder in Munich. Jonathan Dickins commented it would be "the total opposite of the very small shows in Las Vegas".[36] Lieberberg described Adele in Munich the same day as "the most expensive undertaking of all time. And the most extensive project in my 50 years in the music business".[37]
Leutgeb Entertainment Group organised the Munich concert residency in cooperation with Live Nation Concerts Germany,[38] led by Lieberberg, who serves as CEO.[39] Apart from her concerts in Munich, Adele had no further appearances planned in Europe.[40] She stayed in Germany in July 2024 before beginning her summer concert series.[41] She resided in Munich with her son until the end of August, a context that suited her.[36] Adele rented a 451 square metres (4,850 sq ft) floor of a luxury hotel for €30000 (equivalent to $33,000 in mid-2024) per night.[42][43]
Wieder designed both the stadium and the adjoining Adele World area, which were open-air for audiences.[44][45] Unlike Wieder's other works, the stadium design was perfected based on the "needs of a single artist". "That's a statement!" Wieder said.[36] Stufish Entertainment Architects,[46] Adele's long-standing collaborative firm,[47] was entrusted with the stage design in the autumn of 2023.[lower-alpha 1][22] Stufish developed the stage and LED video screen concepts.[49]
Ray Winkler, CEO and design director of Stufish,[50] and his team met briefly with Adele on 23 October 2023, when "lots of sketches and lots of ideas were circulating". When discussing the screen's design, the Stufish team anchored the concept of a "big scroll", and Winkler insisted that it should embody the idea of "the embrace", applied both "metaphorically" and "practically".[22] The screen would later be described as resembling an "unrolled film reel".[30]
Askem led the conception of all video footage projected on the LED video screen specifically for the Munich residency, and Treatment Studio produced this creation.[50] This was the largest screen he had worked with; "It's big so that you feel that sense of intimacy", he commented. Askem found it challenging to combine pre-shot segments, the "general imagery", with live footage appearing on the screen's "continuous surface". In contrast, both visual renderings are transposed onto several smaller screens in other shows. Still, the LED video screen made "a great canvas to play on", he said. Adele advocated for four songs not to be filmed live, an option Askem had not previously prepared for. He developed different scenarios to achieve the visuals while filming with Adele on six distinct days in Los Angeles. A scenario contained a performance under many rain curtains and grated floors that she had accomplished in the studio. The visuals for "Love in the Dark", "Send My Love", "Skyfall" and "Water Under the Bridge" included content from these video shoots.[22]
Solotech,[lower-alpha 2] a Quebec company Adele chose to manage the video technology for Weekends with Adele,[51] worked this time for the Munich residency. For over a year, the Brompton Technology team worked with Solotech on the LED screen project as part of a close collaboration. Brompton's Adam Callaway said Adele's Las Vegas residency served as the basis for "rigorous testing and validating workflows" in conjunction with testing in the United Kingdom.[52]
Audio system engineer Johnny Keirle, responsible for the audio setup throughout Weekends with Adele, was assigned to the German residency.[50][53] From "an audio perspective", according to Keirle, everything was "tailored specifically" to the German residency while "targeting unique design criteria ... specific to both the venue and the creative/performance requirements".[50] Keirle studied Munich atmospheric condition trends and modelled "extreme potential" weather variations using the Soundvision and Network Manager programs to prepare and electronically manage any meteorological disturbances on-site. The audio team and Britannia Row [Productions] collaborated to "custom-engineer and manufacture wind bracing solutions" to limit wind-induced stress on each "PA hang" in the venue. The creative team requested work on the audio system around the LED screen trim, which became a "key challenge" due to its height and thus influenced an unconventional design.[53] After Adele's first Messe stage appearance, Lieberberg commented, "The whole planning has been going on for over a year now", adding that "4,000 people have worked with us" on the project.[54]
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On 31 January 2024, Adele was announced to perform four shows on 2, 3, 9, and 10 August.[55] She added four additional shows on 2 February, scheduled for 14, 16, 23, and 24 August.[56] At this point, 2.2 million people had registered for ticket sales.[57] Registrations for a presale were possible on the Adele website until 5 February 2024.[58] On 6 February, due to "unprecedented demand", two final dates, 30 and 31 August, were added to the run of shows.[59]
Presales began on 7 February on Ticketmaster and staggered in different phases.[60] The general sale began via Live Nation and Eventim on 9 February. Ticket prices were only revealed during the sale; no price range had been provided beforehand.[58] People were faced with standard tickets ranging in price from €74.90 to €689 (equivalent to $83 and $760 in mid-2024).[61] VIP packages ranged in price from €488 to €1252 (equivalent to $543 and $1,392 in mid-2024).[62] The cheapest price categories sold out quickly.[63] Ninety-five percent of tickets had been sold by mid-July. Then, Ticketmaster sold limited quantities of Lucky Dip tickets at €35 (equivalent to $39 in mid-2024) every Monday morning, but buyers did not know their places until they arrived at the stadium. Tickets were usually sold out within half an hour. Some stated that the "bargain-basement prices" were "unfair" given the amounts they paid at the start of the sale, although the Rolling Stones had previously used this method of Lucky Dip tickets.[46] 730,000 tickets were sold, according to the organisers.[64][65]
Two electrical transformer booths in this part of the exhibition area caused problems due to their placement and could not be technically dismantled. The stadium's production manager, Sebastian Pichel, said he then decided to rotate the stadium 180°. Other existing transformer stations, light poles and loudspeakers were dismantled. A specialist used a detection dog to search for possible unexploded ordnance (UXO), as a former airport located in the area had been bombed during wartime. The discovery of UXO would interrupt ongoing work. Construction work began in May 2024 and lasted twelve weeks with a team of 1,000 people. To begin, the construction workers dig especially deep into the ground to install a particular stage element.[66] According to technical designer Malcolm Birkett, a Weekends with Adele team member, the vast hole dug was intended for "the lifts", where the B-stage would be situated. A network of tunnels was also created. The space already had an infrastructure network, including electric power, optical fibre, water supply, and waste pipes.[22]
The entire site covered 400,000 square metres (4,300,000 sq ft), the equivalent of 60 football pitches.[37][46] According to Adele's veteran production manager, Paul English, the logistics behind the German residency included 60 trucks containing black-coloured steel for the staging, 350 crew members required for loading-in, and 200 on concert days. Other structures and scenic materials required were 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) of trussing and 1.3 kilometres (0.81 mi) of LED stage lighting.[22]
Live Nation and Leutgeb Entertainment Group were responsible for the Aufbau (lit. 'structure'). Construction work on the stage began at the beginning of July 2024. Adele visited the stadium construction in mid-July and wrote on her own Instagram: "It's all a bit bloody exciting."[67] The organisers poured 75,000 square metres (810,000 sq ft) of water-permeable asphalt in front of the stage to ensure spectators' comfort in the event of rain.[31][68] The "Adele Arena" would be divided into eleven zones, totalling eighty-five blocks. Placed directly next to the autobahn [A 94] (highway), the stage allowed complete noise isolation by creating a physical barrier.[36] A construction team of 700 persons worked on the stage. The site had three entrances, allowing seamless arrivals and departures.[37] By mid-July, the assembly of the entire stage and part of the stands had progressed significantly. After an initial visit to the construction site, as part of the press conference, Lachmayr wrote, "The dimensions of the project are gigantic". Jonathan Dickins said Adele "has brought a lot of ideas, the site carries her DNA". He emphasised that one of her most important concerns would be creating a "'cosy' atmosphere", but Lachmayr thought this was difficult to conceive given the sizeable daily attendance expected.[30] The deepest and widest points of the stadium were 200 metres (656 ft) deep and 400 metres (1,312 ft) wide, commented Keirle.[53] Lieberberg highlighted the stadium's appearance, entirely black and without advertising, "just with Adele signage".[17]
The stage structure spanned 4,000 square metres (43,000 sq ft) and was integrated into the €40 million (equivalent to $44,160,000 in mid-2024) LED video screen.[37][46] Solotech supplied the LED screen,[69] which used Brompton Technology LED processing. For three days, Brompton partnered with Solotech on-site to ensure trouble-free implementation of a series of tasks required for the 4K Tessera SX40 LED processors. The screen comprised 6,200 tiles of ROE CB5 MKII, each calibrated using Hydra, Brompton's measurement system. It had a total of 26 Tessera SX40 and over 100 Tessera XD 10G data distribution units.[lower-alpha 3][52] During July and August, the LED video screen was described as measuring 220 metres (721 ft 9 in) wide and 30 metres (98 ft 5 in) high, and organisers predicted it would be the largest screen of all time used for a stage show.[37][46] Journalists at Der Spiegel and Die Welt gave the height as 17 metres (55 ft 9 in), while the width of 220 metres remained consistent.[70][71] Winkler later said attempting to break a world record in creating the LED video screen was not premeditated. The objective was different, as the screen's "curvaceous form" enabled her to achieve the "embrace" aspect and the proximity she wanted with her audience.[50] The screen's wavy shape ensured good visibility for the crowd and those in the back rows.[30]
The main stage was coupled to a 93-metre (305 ft) "catwalk" and a 200-metre (656 ft) semi-circle stage, allowing Adele to get closer to the audience.[44] The semi-circular "walkway" led to a "second stage" (B-stage).[46] The configuration of the performance space permitted Adele to move to the B-stage to perform there, then walk along the peripheral "passerelle" (walkway) to return to the main stage within her usual environment with her musicians. Although the Adele Arena was larger than the Colosseum at Caesars Palace, the dimensions within the proscenium were identical.[50]
To achieve the desired sound quality, Keirle requested more audio delay towers at Munich, as they are typically deployed in fewer quantities in a setup the size of Adele Arena. Fourteen delay towers were deployed in the stadium, including eight traditional large delay towers and six custom-made mini "lamppost" towers. All were equipped with L-Acoustics speakers, which he claimed were of the "finest" quality the brand could provide.[50] Each of the fourteen positions featured two L-Acoustics elements, one L2 and one L2D, while the eight traditional delay towers were equipped with three additional KS21 subwoofers. Behind the L2, the eight KS21 suspension systems were arranged in a cardioid configuration to "increase low-frequency resource" and provide "improved directivity control".[53] These audio delay towers did not obstruct the LED screen or the spidercam system, which captured the entire area live. Keirle said that the discreet design of the custom mini-lamppost delay towers was necessary to maintain a correct line of sight, resulting in minimal seat loss. He designed the delay systems, each powered by a single amplifier. He commented on placing the amplifier under the delay platform to achieve a "clean and tidy footprint".[50] Above the LED video screen, the main hangs of L-Acoustics K1SB and K1 loudspeakers were positioned, separated from adjacent K2 hangs.[53]
Lieberberg, who brought the original idea to fruition, called the enterprise "Adelepolis", which he said was made up of meetings, determination, exploration, and inspiration.[50]
In August 2024, Billboard reported that production had cost more than $100 million, including construction costs.[72] In late August 2024, Guinness World Records certified the video screen as "the Largest Continuous Outdoor LED Screen (temporary) ever built".[69][73] Official data gave a screen area of "more than 4,159 square metres (44,770 sq ft)".[64]
During the press conference on 16 July 2024, more than two weeks before the residency's start date, a temporary hospitality area that would be built surrounding the stadium was unveiled.[36] The outdoor environment, designed according to Adele's ideas and dubbed "Adele World",[31] included an I Drink Wine bar, a Ferris wheel, a swing carousel, a beer garden, and multiple food and beverage options. Münchner Merkur's Katja Kraft described the presentation of Adele World as being of "high quality". Every detail was adapted to Adele's songs, such as the employees' polo shirts emblazoned with the "Hello. How can I help?" logo.[75] The 70,000 square metres (750,000 sq ft) of Adele World was a "gastronomy city" and an "experience area" with 13,000 to 14,000 seats.[37][68] Its doors opened at 3:30 pm and closed at midnight. Lieberberg said Adele World was "one of the three supporting pillars" of the event, alongside the Adele Arena and the concert itself.[36]
Adele World also housed a reproduction of a British pub. The English press initially indicated that it would be a replica of the pub The Good Ship in Kilburn, London, where she performed "some of her earliest gigs".[44] Despite what was reported in the press, the replica of this pub was not found on opening day. Instead, it was a replica of the Duke of Wellington pub in West London, where Adele signed her first recording contract.[76] Adele's "favourite drink" was also offered there.[31] Typical fast food dishes were unavailable, but truffle pasta was instead, while the Aperol Spritz was "abundantly" served.[77] The German confectionery manufacturer Haribo created Adele's own custom packs of gummies, which were sold on-site and bore the inscriptions "For Someone Like You" and "Haribo Loves Adele".[78]
The type of telephone booth featured in the "Hello" music video was among the memorabilia items on display at Adele World.[79] A journalist at Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung compared Adele World to a mini-Volksfest and Oktoberfest due to the attractions, the brass music, and free beer coming out of a barrel transported on a brewery horse-drawn carriage. By contrast, the pub and the red telephone box were considered the "British references".[80] Open before and after the concerts, Adele World aimed to offer audiences an "immersive experience", according to the organisers. An additional stage was set up in Adele World, where covers of Adele songs were performed.[30] The Spice Girls Experience, a Spice Girls tribute act, also performed on the Adele World stage, followed by DJ Mad.[75][81] German Florian Zimmer's magic acts could also be seen.[82] After each concert, the Late Night Karaoke began,[83] during which people were encouraged to perform covers of "classic pop songs". Maggie Rogers unexpectedly appeared on the karaoke stage on 16 August.[84]
A 3 by 2.5 metres (9.8 ft × 8.2 ft) portrait of Adele was painted in Adele World by a trio of German graffiti artists: Markus Henning, Melander Holzapfel, and Nils Jänisch. Adele's management commissioned Henning to work after noticing an empty storage container wall and decided to spruce it up during the final inspection before the start of the first concert. The essential elements of the theme to be painted on the wall were predetermined: a portrait of Adele smiling on a black background, with planets and the phrase "Guten Tag, Babes!" (lit. 'Good afternoon, babes!'). People queued up to have their photos taken in front of the wall, which was "a real selfie spot" and a common practice at every concert date. Two touch-ups were necessary due to the large number of people touching the paint. Television and newspapers reported on the painting of the façade.[85] René Hofmann of Süddeutsche Zeitung wrote that Adele World was a "theme park".[86]
The VIP tickets area was situated in hall C6 of Messe.[36] Three-star German chef Christian Jürgens worked in the VIP hospitality area, which could accommodate 1,000 guests.[68]
At the launch of the concert residency, the "engagement" was already expected to break Coldplay's previous Billboard Boxscore "attendance record for a concert engagement", with 627,000 people drawn to ten concerts in Buenos Aires in 2022.[72] According to Live Nation, in early September 2024, Adele's Munich residency "registered the highest attendance of any concert residency outside Las Vegas", with "over 730,000 tickets" for ten consecutive nights.[69][87]
80,000 people per concert were initially targeted, but the Munich authorities approved only about 74,000.[36] This figure had to be revised downwards due to safety requirements.[88][89] Bavarian State Police's Polizeipräsidium München (Munich Police Presidium) also warned that "traffic chaos" was feared.[90] GQ Germany's Daniel Bilinski compared the initial estimated 800,000 total attendees to Frankfurt am Main, Germany's fifth-largest city, which has a population of 775,000.[77]
Jonathan Dickins stated that the concerts would occur in all weathers: "If the fans get wet, Adele will get wet too and keep playing." An emergency plan was prepared to evacuate people to the exhibition halls in the event of violent storms.[30] A meteorologist from the Deutscher Wetterdienst (German Weather Service) was on site to monitor the evolution of the weather at each concert.[91][92] More than 100 emergency personnel, along with the Johanniter, were on site to provide support in the event of emergency or minor incidents.[92] Three first aid stations were ready on site. The fire department sent 25 employees and the organisers registered 1000 security agents with the Munich authorities. Fireworks ignition, crowd surfing and endangering other participants resulted in immediate exclusion.[68] The police had deployed "significantly more than a hundred" Beamte (civil servants), platoons of Einsatzhundertschaft[lower-alpha 4] and a squadron of the Reiterstaffel (mounted police). Attendees could access the site by walking on Paul-Henri-Spaak-Straße, the abutting street partially closed on both sides. As a safety measure, police patrols monitored the hill at De Gasperi-Bogen, where people without tickets tried to watch the concerts, and areas near the highway which were "viewed critically".[94]
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As with every major event, the Münchner Verkehrsgesellschaft (Munich Transport Company) used its capacities to the maximum. From Innsbrucker Ring station to Messe, the U-Bahn U2 line was reinforced by the U8. A train ran between Messe and the city centre every three minutes for arrivals from around 4 pm and departures from around 9:30 pm. The U-Bahn carried 13,000 to 16,000 passengers per hour, and the organisers wanted to regulate the flow of departures by letting attendees "keep partying" on the site [Adele World] until midnight. The S-Bahn could only be an alternative to alleviate congestion within U-Bahn stations.[95]
Before the first concert, people were greeted by Adele's pre-recorded voice broadcast on a loop throughout Friday at all U-Bahn stations. Adele could be heard over the speakers saying, "Grüß Gott, welcome to the Munich subway, I'm Adele" (Grüß Gott: lit. 'Greetings, God's greeting'). The Messestadt Ost station had to be closed several times for a few minutes due to the overcrowding on the U2 line immediately after the concert on 2 August, despite Adele World's late opening.[96] The U-Bahn frequency was increased on concert days. Lieberberg said they had everything planned so that people could use public transportation. Shuttle buses were made available to reach the exhibition centre from Max-Weber-Platz station,[30] which was to transport 20,000 passengers in the evening. The Munich municipal council's Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) said this was "apparently too little".[95] 5000 parking spaces were also provided.[96]
The mobile phone data of attendees present during the opening concert on 2 August 2024 were collected and then analysed by O2 of the telecommunications operator Telefónica and specialists at Invenium Data Insights. Data analysts determined audience composition using mobile country codes. According to the analysis, almost half were from abroad, including 10,000 Britons, the largest group of international supporters that day. Several thousand people came from Austria, the Netherlands and Poland. Smaller groups were from Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China and India. Also, about 1,000 people came from the United States. The gathered information indicated that 60% of the audience were women. Most participants were already in Munich to attend the concert that day, and 3,500 people went directly from the Munich Airport to the exhibition centre.[lower-alpha 5][97] Baumgärtner gave Karin Truscheit of Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung only a vague estimate of the proportion of people coming from abroad for all ten concerts, "probably" 40 to 70%.[98]
The City of Munich did not contribute financially to the total cost of Adele's residency.[88] At the beginning of February 2024, Munich expected 500,000 overnight stays on both sides of the Isar river, which would increase "significantly" due to additional upcoming concerts.[99] Lufthansa passengers who had to change flights from Munich to Chicago and Los Angeles were left to their own devices and confronted with the unavailability of accommodation in the city when a "technical irregularity" and "operational reasons" prevented the takeoff of two A380-type aircraft. A Lufthansa spokeswoman told Deutsche Presse-Agentur (dpa) on 4 August that all hotels in Munich were fully booked due to Adele's concerts.[100] As Europeans converged on Munich, the city's name was mentioned "much more often", thus engendering an "image gain".[43] Baumgärtner described Adele's residency as an "economic godsend" for Munich but also for the city as "a cultural location of inestimable value".[36]
Thomas Geppert, the country managing director of DEHOGA, the Bavarian Hotel and Restaurant Association, said that many foreigners, including those from the United States, took the opportunity to spend their vacations in Bavaria when they attended Adele's concerts. Geppert drew a correlation between the participants' geographic location and the performance of the Munich hospitality industry. He further noted that the greater the distance between the participants from Munich, the more hotels and restaurants were positively affected. On average, an overnight stay in the city on the day of an Adele concert was 255 euros. Munich was cited in Adele's reports on all "relevant" press portals from more than 90 countries. According to Baumgärtner, attendance at the ten concerts generated about 530 million euros (equivalent to $589M in mid-2024) for Munich's economy.[98] Revenues came from catering, public transport, hotels, retail trade, and the rental of exhibition grounds.[89][101]
Assessing Munich's "stationary concerts series" caused unfavourable opinions among climate advocates. Attention was focused on flights, a source of "exorbitant" CO2 emissions compared to other modes of transport. Julian Vogels, a German sustainability consultant in the cultural sector, stated that "audience traffic always makes up the largest share" of the CO2 emissions in the "music and event industry".[lower-alpha 6][102] Lieberberg refuted criticism that the concert series was unsustainable by citing the ecological aspect of this type of "planning" specific to concert residencies, which "for artists with this tractive force" makes it possible to exclude "huge masses" of trucks and people travelling.[103]
On 2 August 2024, it was announced that photo and video journalists were not allowed to operate during the concert performances. They usually do so during the first three songs at other significant concerts. Harald Stocker, chairman of the Bayerischer Journalisten-Verband (BJV; Bavarian Journalists Association), said, "This ban is completely unacceptable"; furthermore, the organiser would select the images and provide the media with a link to the selected material. Several discussions with management resulted in a definitive refusal. Live Nation pointed out that this procedure has always been applied at Adele's concerts, "no matter when or where".[104]
Adele had to warn attendees during the residency not to stand on their chairs for safety reasons and to avoid spoiling the moment for those sitting behind them.[73]
In mid-August, a physical altercation broke out between two security guards and a 26-year-old concertgoer from Northern Ireland before the start of a concert for unknown reasons. The man was beaten and injured and had to be taken to the hospital. The Munich police arrested the two security service members and later released them. According to the police, they have been investigated for gefährlicher Körperverletzung (lit. 'dangerous bodily harm'). The detailed course of events and the context of the confrontation were under investigation the same month.[105]
False stories from tabloids claimed that Munich's temporary stadium could "go on tour" without considering that it was not its initial purpose due to its size. In October 2024, Birkett told trade publication IQ: "It's not tourable".[22]
Before the concert residency began, Lieberberg stated: "Never before and never again – there is this show only here, only in Munich and only in this form."[106]
In the week following the last concert, at the beginning of September 2024, the dismantling of the stadium and Adele World began within an area strictly closed to the public with a week or a little more deadline to prepare the ground for Bauma, the subsequent international trade fair. Until the end of September, the entire asphalt had been torn up and removed because it was unsuitable for the trade show. It was later recycled; however, Live Nation provided no further information or explanation about what happened to the stage elements. Built for only ten concerts, "a record-breaking", it disappeared "record-breakingly fast"; "irretrievably", said Leutgeb, adding, "I also promised the artist that and it's 'part of the deal': What's over there will never exist in this form again". Leutgeb insisted on preserving the distinctive character of the project. In his own words, "When you get an artist thrilled about something like that and who says: I do this because I believe in it as regards content. Then the most important thing is that you don't copy it and do it again a second time".[23]
This is the set list for the opening show on 2 August 2024.[107][108] It may not represent all shows.[lower-alpha 7]
| Date | City | Country | Venue | Opening acts | Attendance[98] | Revenue |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 August 2024 | Munich | Germany | Adele Arena | DJ Mad Florian Zimmer Spice Girls Experience |
730,000 | — |
| 3 August 2024 | ||||||
| 9 August 2024 | ||||||
| 10 August 2024 | ||||||
| 14 August 2024 | ||||||
| 16 August 2024 | ||||||
| 23 August 2024 | ||||||
| 24 August 2024 | ||||||
| 30 August 2024 | ||||||
| 31 August 2024 | ||||||
| Total | 730,000 | — | ||||
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