Harry Styles kicks off record-breaking 12-night Wembley residency with personal tributes and transformed new songs
Harry Styles kicked off his record 12-night run at London’s Wembley Stadium with a two-hour show that mixed new album tracks, nostalgic hits, and tributes to his family and the late artist David Hockney.
A historic residency
Harry Styles opened his historic 12-night stand at London’s Wembley Stadium on Thursday evening, surpassing Coldplay’s 10 and Taylor Swift’s 8 performances to become the venue’s most heavily booked act in a single run. The 32-year-old’s Together Together world tour supports his fourth album, “Kiss All the Time. Disco, Occasionally,” which drew muted reviews on release. But the first of his Wembley shows, before a sold‑out crowd of 80,000, transformed the album’s understated studio sound into something euphoric.
- Coldplay
- 10
- Taylor Swift
- 8
- Harry Styles
- 12
Tributes to family and art
Ahead of the song “Aperture,” screens around the stadium displayed a quote from British artist David Hockney, whose death at 88 was announced just hours before the show. The tribute placed Hockney’s words about art as sharing at the centre of the evening. Styles also used the occasion to thank his sister, who drove him to his X Factor audition in the adjacent Wembley Arena 16 years ago, and his mother Anne, who secretly entered him.
My sister is here tonight. I want to thank her. I love you and I appreciate you.
The show in motion
The stage, tweaked after Amsterdam’s opening nights removed obstructive 10‑foot bridges, now gave clear sightlines. Styles, a marathon runner, sprinted around three linked catwalks, his loose‑limbed dancing more best‑man swagger than choreographed routine. A supple 18‑piece band anchored the new material with heavy bass and soca rhythms that critics had missed on record, giving tracks like “Are You Listening Yet?” and “Taste Back” a turbo‑boost.
New songs, old hits
While the crowd leapt for earlier smashes “Watermelon Sugar,” “Golden” and “As It Was,” the newer material held its own. “Dance No More” hit with squelchy synths and brass, followed by Styles’ yelp of “Respect your mother!”. A tasteful string section covered One Direction favourites “Night Changes” and “History,” but the star moved firmly on to “American Girls” and the frenetic “Ready, Steady, Go.” A nagging cough gave his voice a raspiness that only added to the live energy.
A night of connection
The evening’s spirit was captured when Styles spotted a sign reading “What’s your favourite type of egg?”. He answered, “I like a fried egg. Followed closely with a scramble.” It was a small moment that captured the show’s emphasis on community, sweat and singing together — a homecoming that felt both monumental and intimate.
