Stadium boss has warned ‘business sorts bringing their PAs’
Following the controversy over the Coldplay “kiss cam” moment, it has been confirmed that the cameras used to scan the crowds for shots to display on the big screen will feature in Hull. The city is hosting two back-to-back gigs by the music giants next month.
A video recently emerged, apparently showing the CEO of a tech company embracing the head of its HR department at a Coldplay concert at the Gillette Stadium in Massachusetts, in the United States. The footage, captured by the concert’s fan cam, or “kiss cam” as it is more commonly referred to, has since gone viral.
The reaction by the pair after the clip was broadcast, including mortified expressions and a quick duck out of sight, led Chris Martin, Coldplay’s frontman, to openly speculate to the crowd that the people were “having an affair or they’re just very shy”. Now, Dr Paul Sewell, chairman of Hull Kingston Rovers, whose Craven Park rugby league stadium carries the Sewell Group name, has posted on social media about the presence of the “Big Kiss Cam”.
In a post on X, he said: “Great to see Hull’s Chiedu Oraka opening for Coldplay at Sewell Group Craven Park next month. Nice one!
“To all those who called this little residency with us a poor spoof: See you there! (or maybe not) To those Business sorts bringing their PAs – the ‘Big Kiss Cam’ will feature!!”
The post has been viewed thousands of times, perhaps by fans attending the concerts on Monday and Tuesday, August 18 and 19, wondering about their potential visibility on those nights. It has also had dozens of likes.
Another person on X shared a picture of a giant camera way over the heads of a Coldplay concert crowd, saying: “BEWARE! This is the Coldplay camera that catches out cheaters. It rises just before the encore and looks for its prey.”
The two Hull gigs form part of Coldplay’s Music of the Spheres world tour. They are the only other European gigs, besides the band’s ten-date tenure at London’s Wembley Stadium, to be taking place.
Concertgoers will be arriving from miles around for the sold-out events. Most snapped up their tickets almost a year ago, as soon as the dates were announced.
Fans eager to experience the history-making appearances by Coldplay – it is the first time Craven Park has hosted a band for two consecutive nights – are now putting out requests via social media to see if they can buy tickets from anyone now not able to attend. The Music of the Spheres tour has been ongoing since 2022, with performances in the US, Asia and Australia.
The iconic band has headlined Glastonbury an unprecedented five times. Renowned for their incredible live concerts, when the Hull shows were announced, the Robins’ chief executive Paul Lakin confirmed nothing would be scaled back when Coldplay arrived at Craven Park. He said audiences could expect “the same production that will be inside Wembley stadium”.