Coldplay announce Hampden gig as part of 'sustainable' world tour

Coldplay have announced a summer Glasgow gig as part of plans for their 2022 world tour which they say will be as “sustainable as possible”.

The Fix You and Paradise rockers, led by singer Chris Martin, will play at Hampden Park on August 22 with three Wembley dates earlier that month their only other UK shows.

The Music Of The Spheres tour, which will also visit Poland, Germany, France, Mexico, USA and Brazil, will be powered with rechargeable batteries fuelled by renewable sources.

The band’s ambition is to make their concerts more environmentally friendly and to have one of the greenest tours in history.

Coldplay wrote on Twitter: “Playing live and finding connection with people is ultimately why we exist as a band.

“We’ve been planning this tour for years, and we’re super excited to play songs from across our whole time together.

“At the same time, we’re very conscious that the planet is facing a climate crisis.

“So we’ve spent the last two years consulting with environmental experts to make this tour as sustainable as possible, and, just as importantly, to harness the tour’s potential to push things forward.

“We won’t get everything right, but we’re committed to doing everything we can and sharing what we learn.

“It’s a work in progress and we’re really grateful for the help we’ve had so far.

“If you’d like to come to a show and sing with us, we’re so excited to see you.”

Frontman Martin first revealed in 2019 that they would not launch a globe-trotting tour for their previous album Everyday Life because of environmental concerns.

This time their global tour will be supported by a “show battery”, supplied by BMW, which will be recharged using solar power and generators powered by hydrotreated vegetable oil.

Fans will also be able to generate electricity for the concert through a kinetic stadium floor and power bikes.

Martin said: “We’re proud to partner with BMW to create the world’s first tourable, rechargeable show battery – which will allow us to power our concerts almost entirely from clean, renewable energy.

“These alternatives will replace the usual diesel and petrol generators, which will reduce the carbon footprint of the concerts.”

BMW spokesman Jens Thiemer said: “A common awareness of sustainability has led during recent years to an intensive, creative co-creation process between BMW and Coldplay.

“The campaign song Higher Power, marking the launch of our all-electric models BMW iX and BMW i4, as well as Coldplay’s performance at BMW’s virtual world of JOYTOPIA during the IAA Mobility, were the first major highlights of our successful co-operation.

“With the use of second-life batteries from BMW i3 vehicles we are now helping Coldplay’s world tour become even more sustainable.”

Coldplay are to release their ninth album, Music Of The Spheres, on Friday.