80,000 people thronged the gates to catch a glimpse of their favourite stars. The gates opened at 11 am and the concert started at 1:30 pm. Even though the main attraction of the night-Coldplay- was supposed to go on at 8:30 at night, the gates shut at 4 pm. Nobody would be allowed in after that. The famous Global Citizen concert took place at the MMRDA grounds in Bandra Kurla Complex, Mumbai on Saturday, November 19th.
I rushed to the venue and joined a sea of enthusiastic fans as they tried to enter just in time. Pop star Demi Lavato was in the middle of her performance at the time. The energy at the time was that of a music festival. People were getting things to eat and sitting with their friends. It seemed like everyone was waiting for Coldplay! There were multiple speeches from film stars, who were talking about important social messages, but unfortunately most people were not paying too much attention.
A.R Rahman came on at around 6 pm and that was when I felt the energy in the crowds. Everyone got up and rushed to catch a better glimpse. Unfortunately my section was not too much in the front so the best way to enjoy was by looking at the screens.
A.R Rahman came on at around 6 pm and that was when I felt the energy in the crowds.
Narendra Modi came on later in the evening, via VC. He made a few light jokes about how he was standing in between us and Coldplay. His speech got mixed reactions. Some people cheered wildly and listened intently, while others seemed bored. There were two girls next to me who held up the middle finger during his entire speech!
We all thought Coldplay would finally come on after Modi, but a girl DJ band, the Electroverts came on, and people immediately sat down again. I think by that time people were just too impatient to get what they had come for- Coldplay!
The band has such a wide variety of songs that it was fascinating to see how the mood of the crowd changed from song to song.
And when finally the band came on, it was electric.
The band has such a wide variety of songs that it was fascinating to see how the mood of the crowd changed from song to song. During the band's love songs, it seemed like the whole crowd had become contemplative. Friends were hugging friends, and everyone was showing their affection to one another. It was moving. And during the more punchy songs, people were dancing, jumping up and down. It felt like everyone was in sync.
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From Within the Crowds: Picture by SheThePeople.TV's Tara Khandelwal
Chris Martin is one of the best performers I've seen. His energy level was unparalleled. At one point he threw his guitar in the air and fell to the ground. He started the next song lying down!
Despite the fact that we were on our feet for over 6 hours, many friends of mine told me that the concert was one of the best they had been to, and I felt the same! More than even the performances, it was the energy in the atmosphere, 80,000 people all come together, that made it a surreal experience.
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