Queen Bey has Sunderland buzzing as her Renaissance World Tour comes to town

Beyoncé fever took Sunderland by storm on Tuesday as crowds of fans turned out to give the American star a rousing welcome on her Renaissance World Tour date.

Hours before the music icon was set to take to the stage at the Stadium of Light, the city was already in celebratory mood with many enjoying specially laid on pre-concert entertainment. The city was geared up to host 48,000 and, with roads and public transport prepared for the extra pressure, Sunderland’s bars and restaurants were set to see non-stop action too.

As fans arrived early to enjoy the build up to the concert which had been in their diaries for months, street performers and comedy shows had helped keep the early party mood going, with a three-hour programme of events – arranged by Sunderland City Council and Sunderland BID – getting under way from 4pm. And, while they enjoyed the atmosphere, fans clearly could not wait for their reunion date with Queen Bey.

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Texas-born Beyoncé last played the stadium in June 2016, during the European leg of her Formation world tour, and the Renaissance World Tour is her first solo tour in more than six years. The acclaimed singer-songwriter, record producer and actress, who first found fame in the late 1990s as lead singer of R&B girl band Destiny’s Child, is now the most-nominated woman in the history of the Grammy Awards, with 32 under her glitzy belt.

So fans, who were buying pink cowboy hats and colourful feather boas from pop-up stalls outside the stadium and food from a range of outlets inside, were expecting a memorable night, with the star set to deliver on the Sunderland stage once again. Among them were 29-year-olds Aaron Richardson and Kimberley Aldridge, from Leicester, who had arrived following a four-hour journey to see the star for the first time.

“Just being in the same room will be amazing,” said dance teacher Kimberley who was also looking forward to seeing Beyoncé’s choreography. Aaron added: “Just to be breathing the same air!”. The pals had booked to stay in South Shields following the concert and, being impressed with their first look at the town, they said they planned to explore the beach the next day.

Having followed Beyoncé’s tour progress to date, Aaron added: “You know she’s having loads of fun.” Other first-timers to a Beyoncé gig were Olivia Wade and Ciara Chan, from Leeds, joined by Amy Applebee from the Midlands who said they had chosen Sunderland from the tour dates as being the easiest venue to reach.

Another fan, dressed to impress in a gold suit, was Chinedum Enyinna who had come over specially from New York. He’d already been to see Beyonce perform in Edinburgh and this was to be his second UK show. The fact he’d always wanted to visit Scotland and the north of England gave him even more of an excuse to make the trip he said, adding: “It was a lot easier to get tickets in the UK than in the US – and a lot cheaper!” ‘

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