British Beyonce fans have said they felt “so lucky” to have secured tickets for the first date of the singer’s UK tour.
The atmosphere around Cardiff’s Principality Stadium was described as “buzzing”, with Beyonce songs being played “in every bar” close to the Welsh venue.
Thousands of people descended on the area on Wednesday night for the concert, which followed other European dates in Stockholm, Sweden, and Brussels, Belgium.
“The atmosphere is buzzing. So many happy people – Beyonce is being played in every bar. She’s an absolute icon,” she told the PA news agency.
Ms Blackham, 44, added: “I’m a huge Beyonce fan and have loved her since her career took off with Destiny’s Child.
“I’m with my best friend, goddaughter and her auntie. This is our fourth time seeing Beyonce together, the first since the pandemic.
“We feel so lucky to be at her first show in the UK and I’m super grateful to my best friend and goddaughter who secured the tickets – no easy feat.”
She told PA that her husband Matt is now a Beyonce fan “by association”.
“(She has) so many hits but I just know she’ll give us a performance we’ll never forget,” Ms Blackham said.
Asked why Beyonce continues to garner so much support from fans, she said: “She’s a global icon, a powerhouse, such a talented and gifted artist.
“She’s a role model and inspiration. She’s for everyone.”
Nicola Stacey Jones, 54, from Risca, in Wales, told PA that Beyonce’s voice was “like velvet”.
“The atmosphere is electrifying, the music is vibrating around the stadium so your heart bounces. Beyonce is pitch perfect with moves to match,” she said.
At the time she spoke to PA, Crazy In Love was playing, at which point Ms Jones said “everyone was on their feet”.
“It’s one of those tick box … mind-blowing, memorable moments – I was there sort of thing,” she said.
The Renaissance world tour is Beyonce’s first in seven years and she is due to perform at other UK venues including London’s Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, Murrayfield in Edinburgh and Sunderland’s Stadium of Light.
She kicked off the tour in Stockholm with an explosive show that included video projections and animations as well as robotic devices, silver moon rovers and pyrotechnics.
The setlist spanned her two-decade career, with the singer shifting through several extravagant outfit changes.
US business magazine Forbes previously estimated the tour could earn Beyonce more than £1.6 billion.
