Sunday 2 July. British Summer Time Festival. Hyde Park. London. The Great Oak Stage.
Blackpink was in the area.
(Sorry, not sorry)
When I’m old I’ll look back at yesterday as having been a really special day. Firstly, because it saw the first time a Korean band (Blackpink) has been a headliner at a British festival. Secondly, and I’m not saying more importantly, but it was the first time I’ve been in a really large group of people since the COVID pandemic, and it felt like a big deal. I didn’t get home until like 2 in the morning, and my feet really hurt today but it was worth every second, and I would repeat all of yesterday again exactly the same way if I could.
If you’re reading this and don’t know much about Blackpink, they are a band made up of four women, and they have a huge following all over the world. A staggering 56.3 MILLION followers on Instagram. They are also the first (or was it fastest – or both?) Korean pop group to reach 500 million views. The Blackpink powerhouse is made up of Jisoo, Jennie, Rosé and Lisa. As for their name, I could be wrong, please feel to correct me if I am, but I think I read somewhere that Blackpink means “pretty isn’t everything”. I take this to mean that they’re so beautiful, but they’re also extremely hardworking, talented, a great team, and many other amazing things. Celebrating other women is one of my favourite things to do so I’m going to gush over them for a little while. Lisa has a magnetic stage appearance and she makes dancing look like the easiest thing in the world. She’s amazing. That’s not to say that the other three aren’t incredible dancers! Jisoo is meant to speak four different languages. Jennie seems awesome, and really funny. I’ve not seen all of it yet, but she acted pretty damn well in the Idol. Also she designed an amazing car. Rosé has an amazing voice. I loved listening to her sing so much. But as a band, they’re special because they unite people from all ages, backgrounds and nationalities, and their music transcends language barriers. I think that even if you weren’t especially a K-pop fan, you would enjoy watching Blackpink performance, because it’s impossible not to get swept up in the atmosphere.
Before I launch into Blackpink‘s performance, I want to mention the supporting line-up which consisted of a 10 all equally talented bands / musicians, each with their own unique style. The acts were: Sabrina Carpenter, The Rose (see below), Caity Baiser, Mae Stephens, Rebecca Black, Peach PRC, Annika Bennett, Sarah Crean, Mazie & Spider. Admittedly, I didn’t listen to them all specifically, as I was happy just wandering around soaking up the atmosphere but I caught bits and pieces of them all and had a great time. I can’t remember who it was at the point of typing but one of the artists performed her own rendition of Abba’s Lay All Your Love On Me, and that was awesome. Classics, man – can’t beat them! Anyway, I’ve made a note to listen to more of their music. The only band I listened to all of the set for was The Rose play – a band which I’ve recently discovered, and absolutely adore. I may have mentioned it (I definitely have). I got some great clips / videos of their performance which I’ve added to my Instagram page in the hopes that other people will listen to them and fall in love with their music like I have. The reason why I like it so much, I think, is because, as one of the band members (Woosung) eloquently described, music is healing, and I get a lot from their songs – comfort being something I feel a need a lot of at the moment. The Rose are a South Korean indie rock band and they consist of Woosung (vocals and guitarist), Dojoon (vocals & keyboard), Lee Hajoon (drums), Jaehyeong (bass). Like Blackpink, they’re all super good looking but also really talented. I like their music a lot. They seem really funny. Dojoon said: “I love Hyde Park!” with a huge smile on his face 🙂 Plus I / We got to hear their new song which was super cool.
I found that there was such a diverse mix of people there and it was wonderful. I actually was just enjoying my time so much that I lost track of things and I forgot to message my friends back in good time so I ended up watching the concert alone. If you’re reading this, I’m sorry!
The moment Blackpink came on stage, everything felt electric. I can’t describe the atmosphere much better than that – I’ve honestly never seen so many people that excited before. It was amazing to see. The whole place came alive. I felt so excited at the sight of them, dressed in white, and We were treated to 17 songs, starting with Pink Venom and included some of their well-known favourites such as: Kick It, Pretty Savage, How You Like That, and Shut Down. My personal favourite song was Tally. They also played ‘Whistle’, which if you didn’t know was the song that launched their career. If that wasn’t enough, we also got to see them perform individual songs, which was so cool. The set involved a few outfit changes, and there were really great performers to keep the crowd entertained. I wasn’t near enough to get good videos (due to aforementioned forgetfulness) but to say that they delivered an electrifying performance would be no word of a lie.
About the Festival – BST Hyde Park
BST Hyde Park, 2023 edition is the 10th anniversary of an event that has featured many famous artists since it launched in 2013, including Celine Dion, Stevie Wonder, Barbra Streisand, Adele, The Rolling Stones, Taylor Swift, Kylie Minogue, and loads more.
This year the headliners included:
All Things Orchestral presented by Myleene Klass and featuring Alfie Boe (23 June)
P!NK (24 and 25 June)
Guns N’ Roses (30 June)
Take That (1 July)
Blackpink (2 July)
But it’s not over yet!
Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band play on 6 and 8 July, Billy Joel plays 7 July and Lana Del Rey on 9 July so there will still be more memorable summer nights! Plus, there is a midweek programme that allows free access to the site with outdoor cinema, street food markets, children’s theatre, fitness classes, summer sports screenings, evening events, live music and much more.
More information can be found at:
Website: www.bst-hydepark.com
Instagram: @bsthydepark
About Hyde Park
Every year millions of visitors from London, the UK and across the globe enjoy the iconic Hyde Park, one of the capital’s eight Royal Parks. Spanning 350 acres of green space in central London, Hyde Park has hosted world-renowned music artists since the 1960s. The summer concerts are an essential part of income generation for The Royal Parks, providing necessary funds to maintain and develop the parks for future generations to enjoy. They also help support the diverse culture of London and introduce new audiences to the parks.
About The Royal Parks
The Royal Parks is the charity which manages, protects and improves the parks in an exemplary and sustainable manner so that everyone, now and in the future, has the opportunity to enjoy their natural and historic environments.
The charity looks after eight of London’s finest open spaces: Hyde Park, Kensington Gardens, St James’s Park, The Green Park, The Regent’s Park and Primrose Hill, Greenwich Park, Richmond Park and Bushy Park. It also manages other important open spaces in the capital, including Brompton Cemetery and Victoria Tower Gardens. It costs around £55m a year to manage the parks. The charity raises around 80 percent of this money itself, with the remaining 20 percent coming from the Government.
For further information please visit:
Website: www.royalparks.org.uk
Twitter @theroyalparks
Facebook.com/TheRoyalParksLondon
Instagram.com/TheRoyalParks.
Finally
I would like to extend my special thanks to Outside Organisation for providing guest tickets.