Coldplay bring the Cosmos to Craven Park – review

‘For two hours, everyday life faded away, replaced by laser-lit skies, and the thrum of 25,000 hearts beating as one’

They may be the smallest UK stadium gigs Coldplay have ever played, yet the planet-conquering band’s twin shows at the home of Hull Kingston Rovers somehow carry the biggest meaning.

More used to packing out venues like Wembley, the group’s decision to play to 25,000 fans a night at Sewell Group Craven Park speaks less to profit – and more to heart, soul, and a refreshing willingness to bring music to an all-too-often overlooked part of the world. Earlier this year, the band shattered their own attendance record with an 111,000-strong crowd in India.

Yet here they were, in East Yorkshire, playing to around a fifth of that – a rare act of stadium minimalism that made every note feel closer, every lyric more personal. Craven Park was one of only two UK locations selected for the 2025 leg of the global Music of the Spheres tour – the other being, of course, the cavernous 90,000 capacity Wembley Stadium, where Coldplay will play ten nights.

But Hull’s inclusion was no accident. In a deliberate act of levelling-up, the band ruled out the usual football cathedrals, asking their team to scout rugby league grounds instead. Craven Park made the shortlist – and the rest was history.

And in a further nod to keeping things local, the unique ticket-buying process only added to the magic. Fans could secure pre-sale tickets access by pre-ordering Coldplay’s then-upcoming album Moon Music to gain a code, or – even better for us northerners – residents of HU, YO, DN and LN postcodes were offered an exclusive local presale for the Craven Park shows.

And they were snapped up within minutes – because Coldplay are one of the best bands in the world. For on an unfortunately drizzly August night, beneath a sky full of stars you couldn’t see but still feel, Coldplay took us on a true cosmic journey.

An interstellar playground of light and music that transported you away from a rugby field to somewhere far beyond. For two hours, everyday life faded away, replaced by laser-lit skies, and the thrum of 25,000 hearts beating as one. It didn’t feel like Hull. It felt like a world all of its own – one stitched together by sound, stars, and something deeply human.

Following a slow-building ambient intro of Jon Hopkins’ ambient epic Life Through the Veins creating a calm before the storm, we were treated to the Flying Theme from ET before the Music of the Spheres instrumental’s swelling strings and planetary visuals created a launch-pad for Act I: Planets. The band exploded onto the stage with a triumphant-sounding Higher Power injecting the crowd with a shot of pure adrenalin.

The synth-powered anthem of renewal and human energy really stamping the band’s authority all over Craven Park. Breathlessly segueing into Adventure of a Lifetime , its funky guitar riffs and crowd-pleasing falsettos initiated a wonderful bounce-along as the contagious groove shook the stadium.

Mylo Xyloto’s epic Paradise was next, a spine-tingling sing-a-long raising the goosebumps and spirits before the tempo was brought back down to Earth with a frankly beautiful rendition of heartfelt piano ballad The Scientist. Act 2: Moons ushered in a euphoric Viva la Vida, which the crowd sang along to with such gut-busting bravado it seemed to knock singer Chris Martin sideways.

Next up was the spiritual Hymn for the Weekend , infusing the stadium with a carnival of colour and infectious party spirit. And what happened next was a lovely moment.

Chris Martin took a little wander around the crowd, commenting on people’s signs and even an inflatable unicorn. But he was most taken by a young chap called Ray who had travelled an incredible 5,000 miles from his homeland of China to see the band in Hull.

In awe of this Herculean effort, Chris invited him up on stage to sing the heart-achingly sweet True Love, their third single from often-overlooked Ghost Stories album. This was the first time the band had performed the song since 2014.

And it sounded glorious, with Chris on piano, Jonny Buckland on guitar and Ray singing his heart out. The dazzled fan was so in tune, he was beckoned closer to the mic. A night he will never forget.

The neon energy of Charlie Brown then lit up the night, before Parachutes classic Yellow kicked the crowd further into orbit. The sight of 25,000-plus light-up wristbands (some people were lucky enough to get two) bathing the stadium in a yellow glow is something I’ll never forget.

Act 3: Stars kicked off with the Pink Singers choir harmonising like angels on Human Heart , a quiet moment of reflection amid the grandeur of the show before the colossal riffage of People Of The Pride bellowed from the stage like a lion. Jonny Buckland pounding his Les Paul in a cacophony of T-Rex-like magic.

With its instantly recognisable driving piano motif, Clocks from 2002’s Rush Of The Blood To The Head was greeted with a huge cheer amid a sea of green lasers, before WE PRAY with Hull’s very own Chiedu Oraka. Coldplay were so taken with the grime artist’s stellar rapping skills, they asked him to reprise his verse acoustically.

After the warm hues of Infinity Sign and EDM beats of Something Just Like This , the catchy My Universe (with BTS sadly not in attendance) led us into fan-favourite A Sky Full Of Stars. After a pumping build-up, Coldplay hilariously stopped the song just before the beat kicked in, imploring fans to just put their phones away and enjoy the moment. In a cacophony of good-natured booing elicited by Martin, the band struck up again, and when the beat finally kicked in, it really kicked in.

The show was wrapped up with Act 4: Home, which saw the band journey to a tiny little stage at the back of the stadium. The intimacy was electric as they played hushed, romantic throwback Sparks before a drummer Will Champion-led In My Place.

Soon it was time for Coldplay’s infamous ‘Kiss Cam’ (though a tongue-in-cheek Chris Martin said don’t call it that). This is where Martin sings the Jumbotron Song directly to fans or invents funny local lyrics,which really added a lovely touch of charming spontaneity to the night.

To close the show, our wristbands gave off a warm candle-lit glow as the steady strains of emotional ballad Fix You enveloped Craven Park like a blanket. A moment of pure emotional catharsis impossible not to be swept away by.

Moon Music’s instantly hummable Feels Like I’m Falling In Love brought the crowd to its knees before the gentle All My Love rounded the evening off. With its lyrics of “You got all my love, Whether it rains or pours’, Chris Martin urged every crowd member to hold onto someone they loved.

As a forty-plus something, of course, I was too ‘old’ for this kind of thing, but my 11-year-old son wasn’t, clasping me tightly throughout. And this emotional resonance, free of any contrivance, is why Coldplay are still one of the greatest acts in the world today.

The band have often been criticised through the years for being ‘cloyingly earnest’, employing heavy-handed sentiment in an effort to appeal to the masses. But I say what’s exactly wrong in channeling the often-forgotten inherent good in people and sending it back out there?

This was an unequivocally wonderful concert, and in the end, these Hull shows stand as a powerful reminder of just how long the area has been routinely starved of major acts and big-name gigs. Coldplay’s choice to bring their Music of the Spheres tour to Craven Park reflects a genuine desire to connect with communities often overlooked by the touring giants – and to inspire fans who’ve been waiting for moments like this on their doorstep for far too long.

Whether performing for 25,000 or 111,000, Coldplay’s music has always had the uncanny ability to really resonate with the human condition. And for those lucky enough to be there last night, it really was more than just a concert. It was a night when a modest rugby stadium became a universe, and a celestial soundtrack lingered like stardust in the air.

A final note to any other big-name artists out there thinking of replicating Coldplay’s riotous success in bringing stadium-scale magic to overlooked cities: ‘if you never try, you’ll never know’.