Beyoncé’s Renaissance – live: Inside the London premiere of her record-breaking world tour
US star premiered the concert film about her record-breaking 2023 tour
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Beyoncé unveiled the concert film for her record-breaking Renaissance tour in London tonight (Thursday 30 November), with Taylor Swift among the high-profile guests.
The Lemonade artist turned up to support Swift’s own concert film for her Eras tour when it premiered in Hollywood in October. Swift later paid moving tribute to Beyoncé, praising her as a “guiding light” who had taught her to “break rules and defy industry norms”.
Renaissance, A Film by Beyoncé will chart the huge undertaking of the US artist’s tour supporting her Grammy-winning 2022 album, Renaissance. Produced, written and directed by the singer, it will intersperse footage of concerts taking place around the world with backstage scenes and intimate moments between Beyoncé and her family.
Around 2.7 million concertgoers are estimated to have attended the Renaissance tour over the course of five months, while Billboard reports that the shows have grossed close to half a billion dollars worldwide.
The film’s description reads: “It is about Beyoncé’s intention, hard work, involvement in every aspect of the production, her creative mind and purpose to create her legacy, and master her craft.”
Why Beyoncé is worth your money
No one needs a reminder of how times, for many, are tough. Lots of people don’t have the luxury to spend a significant chunk of money on going to concerts – and it’s a shame for music lovers hoping to catch their favourite artist.
But! If you do find that there’s room in the budget for a good gig, I humbly suggest trying to get a ticket to a Beyoncé show – because you will go away feeling the value of every penny.
Read Nicole Vassell’s justification for investing in an experience like a Bey show... and soon, you can get a piece of the action from the cinema:
The singer has announced five UK dates on her world tour, with the ticket prices raising eyebrows. But ignore the £2,400 on-stage seats, says Nicole Vassell, some superstars deliver every time
Did Beyoncé do a last-minute outfit change?
According to her Instagram post shared hours before the premiere, she appeared to be wearing a floor-length gold dress and matching silver elbow-high gloves.
In one of the photos, she was seated beside Jay-Z in a screening room, holding a bucket of popcorn and a soda.
However, in photos of her at the actual Renaissance premiere, she wore a sparkly black dress with bleach-blonde hair.
Taylor Swift stuns at Beyoncé’s Renaissance film premiere in London
Swift has shown up in solidarity for fellow pop star Beyonce’s Renaissance film premiere in London.
The “Cruel Summer” singer reportedly boarded her private jet in Kansas City on Wednesday 29 November evening and landed at London’s Stansted Airport hours before the global premiere.
Swift donned a sparkling silver Balmain gown, a reference to the dress code the “Cuff It” singer requested fans follow if they were attending her concerts during Virgo season, in honour of her zodiac sign.
Read more:
‘Anti-Hero’ singer showed up to support Beyoncé’ for her London film premiere
According to The Independent’s music correspondent Roisin O’Connor, who was in attendance, guests were given champagne, salted popcorn and Smarties to munch on. All attendees were required to lock up their phones before they entered the screening room.
Round-up of the biggest stars in attendance at tonight’s premiere
For those who are just tuning into the blog, here’s a quick rundown of all the biggest stars (that we know of) that showed up in support of Beyoncé and her Renaissance Tour film.
Undoubtedly, the biggest celebrity to make a splash with her attendance was Taylor Swift. The “Anti-Hero” singer reciprocated the same support Queen Bey showed at her October Eras Tour premiere.
Rapper will.i.am, actor Blake Lively, British presenter AJ Odudu, Destiny Child member Michelle Williams, Blue Ivy, singer Sia, and British socialite and model Emma Thynn were also present.
A majority of the guests wore silver in honour of the tour’s theme: Afrofuturist disco fantasia.
A precious video for your feed of one of the security dogs getting his picture taken at the Renaissance premiere.
Beyoncé addresses attendees ahead of screening
Ahead of the screening of her Renaissance Tour film, which was delayed by 45 minutes, Beyoncé addressed attendees thanking them for coming.
“Thank you for coming, thank you for dressing up,” the “Cuff It” singer said, adding that she was proud that the film was coming out on World Aid’s Day (1 December).
Beyoncé’s late uncle Johnny – whom she said she was raised by in a 2006 interview – died of Aids in the early 2000s.
She concluded her speech by telling the audience: “Feel free to dance, sing, cry... thank you.”
Concert film is hitting theatres on 1 December
How Blue Ivy responded to criticisms of her dancing on tour
Of course, Beyoncé was the star of the Renaissance tour – but if there’s anyone who could’ve taken her shine, it’s her 11-year-old daughter Blue.
Blue popped up at several of her mother’s shows, performing some of the dance routine to Beyoncé’s Black is King track, “My Power”.
In the film, Beyoncé discusses how Blue responded when critics were harsh about her dancing skills on some of the earlier dates on the tour... and apparently, she used the criticisms as fuel to get better.
The New York Times reported that after the concert, Beyoncé was apparently “dismayed” to discover that Blue Ivy had read negative social media comments about her supposed “lacklustre” moves.
However, she was thrilled when her daughter decided to “put in the work” to improve.
‘Renaissance’ artist was joined by her daughter, 11, for a number of shows on her record-breaking world tour this year
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