5 Things To Do When You’re Seeing Beyoncé and Jay-Z
Last Friday, I went to see Beyoncé and Jay-Z’s On The Run II Tour at the Olympic Park. Being a die-hard fan, it was my 7th time seeing Beyoncé and 4th time seeing Jay-Z, I thought I was prepared as can be.
Fast forward to 2 minutes before the opening song, and I was sprinting through crowds of people trying to clamber into the stadium so that I wouldn’t miss the start. Luckily, I made it JUST in time, but here’s some tips to avoid the stress and panic of going to a stadium show:
1. LEAVE ON TIME
Music venues and tour managers are kind enough to put a time that doors will open on the concert ticket. If you’re like me, you’re not that bothered about support artists, you might think you can chance it and leave an hour before the main act is due to go on – DON’T! Leave yourself plenty of time to get to the venue, maybe grab a drink and find your seats.
2. PREPARE YOUR ROUTES
Being millennials, my sister and I followed the car's Sat-Nav system which of course took us the most direct route, which also happened to be the route with the most traffic. Luckily, we were with my best friend and her mum, who happen to be the daughter and wife of a black cab driver. They got on the phone to him right away and within 5 minutes, we were on a different route with less traffic! Use your connections! Even better though, use public transport, it’s the best way of getting as close to the venue as possible without worrying about parking
3. BRING PLENTY OF WATER
Due to the madness of arriving late and just about catching the start of the first song, we weren’t able to stop and get a drink before we went in, and being the dedicated fans that we are, we didn’t want to leave our seats during the performance to get anything. This meant being dehydrated and hungry for around 2 hours. Have lots of water and eat something before getting to the show, to avoid the queues (and prices) at the food and drink stands.
4. WEAR SENSIBLE SHOES
This year, I didn’t manage to get standing tickets, but even with a seated ticket you find yourself standing for the majority of the show. I’ve made the mistake of wearing high heels to concerts before and it just never ends well. You eventually get to the point where your feet and entire legs are aching and all you want is to sit down. Wear flat shoes, trainers are best, so that you can get around quickly, dance to your hearts content and your feet don’t suffer!
5. LEAVE BEFORE THE END
However you choose to travel to the venue, you can guarantee that when the show ends, you’ll be stuck in a crowd of people all trying to make their way home. The Olympic Stadium holds 66,000 people, and we needed to make our way out of the stadium, to the car park and out onto the roads before they all caused a stampede. I recommend leaving about half way through the last song; you still get to hear most of the show but you give yourself a small head-start to get on your way home quickly and without having to queue.