With about five minutes to go before pop sensation Dua Lipa takes to the stage at Leeds First Direct Arena, it would be fair to describe the room as absolutely bouncing. A Mexican wave ripples across the top two tiers of the venue before a sea of mobile phone lights illuminates the crowd as house lights go down and the long-awaited “The Future Nostalgia” Arena tour finally arrives in Yorkshire.
A video game style sequence plays out as Dua Lipa’s dancers are introduced one by one before she arrives on stage and launches into an energy-sapping rendition of “Physical”. Flanked by a group of dancers, Dua Lipa puts on what can only be described as a flawless display of pop. Fresh from her US tour, the routines were faultless, the production was huge and Dua Lipa herself was absolutely on fire.
Strutting about the stage, Dua Lipa leads the choreographed dance routines which are executed to perfection through “New Rules” and “Love Again”. Everywhere you look from the arena floor to the nosebleed seats you can see mobile phones being waved as ecstatic fans lap up every moment of this multicoloured, high-energy pop spectacle.
Split into multiple sections, this built-for-arenas show had everything you could want from a pop show – namely big songs matched by an even bigger production. Leading from the front, dressed in a pink bodysuit, Dua Lipa added a dash of raunch to proceedings with some absolutely sizzling moves.
Multiple costume switches throughout the mammoth show ensured that Dua Lipa kept the heat dial turned up to maximum as she powered through a set that leant heavily on tracks from her 2020 hit album, “Future Nostalgia” alongside a plethora of dancefloor smashing anthems. Setting the tone early with “Physical”, the likes of “Pretty Please”, “Good In Bed” and “Boys Will Be Boys” kept this Yorkshire crowd moving while Act Three saw Dua Lipa plunder her collection of high profile collaborations including “One Kiss” and “Cold Heart”.
A tour that had been rescheduled multiple times already, Dua Lipa made sure that, for an hour and forty-five minutes, an Easter weekend that had been fairly decent weather-wise was ending in equally temperature busting fashion for the thirteen thousand or so fans lucky enough to have a ticket for the hottest pop party in town.
Photo Copyright © Jo Forrest
