Bruno Mars has an unexpected opening before Wembley party starts
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- Bruno Mars opened the first of six Wembley Stadium dates on 18 July 2026 — his first UK appearance since July 2018 — with a two-hour, 15-minute set before a 75,000-strong, multi-generational crowd, with tickets snapped up in record numbers.
- Mars took the stage wearing an England football scarf, Union Jack bucket hat and clutching a Paddington Bear, the staging echoing his July 2018 UK show that came shortly after England's last men's World Cup semi-final exit — history, the article notes, repeating itself.
- The set opened unexpectedly with "Risk It All", a slow R&B ballad from Mars' latest album The Romantic, before shifting within minutes to congas-led "Cha Cha" and a genre-spanning run through R&B, funk, Latin and pop.
- Anderson .Paak joined Mars for a four-song Silk Sonic segment featuring tightly choreographed Motown-inspired dance routines and the pair's playful attempts at British accents, calling the evening "absolutely wicked".
- "Die With a Smile" with Lady Gaga — Mars' only other collaboration on the setlist — prompted one of the night's biggest singalongs, while "Uptown Funk" closed out the main set with fireworks and gold confetti across the stadium.
- The concert ended reflectively with "Dance With Me", another unexpected ballad closer about yearning for one last slow dance, leaving fans hoping they wouldn't have to wait another eight years.
Why it matters: Mars' six-night Wembley run — his only UK dates — sold out in record numbers, confirming his commercial pull after an eight-year UK absence. The deliberate Englishness of his entrance (scarf, bucket hat, Paddington) shows a performer courting a national mood freshly bruised by another World Cup semi-final exit.
