9 Best Moments From Dua Lipa’s Crowning Moment at London’s Wembley Stadium

With more than enough hits to her name to guarantee an explosive opener, punchy Radical Optimism single “Training Season” was given the honor of kicking off proceedings as the singer’s shimmering arrival on stage and impassioned vocals — quite literally — sent sparks flying through the air. Sparkling pyrotechnics erupted every few seconds throughout the dynamic track, including one particularly thrilling moment after the bridge where fireworks shot up perfectly in beat with the song.

“Wembley! You guys ready for a party?” Lipa asked cheekily before introducing the song that never fails to lead a thoroughly British sing-along. After becoming an unofficial football anthem for impassioned Liverpool football fans, it felt especially fitting to hear the pop star’s most chantable lyrics reverberate in the 90,000-strong Wembley crowd, as voices of all ages and octaves hollered the infectious tune back at her while pumping their arms in frenzied unison.

When you have a back catalog as hook-filled as this, it’s easy to fill a finely tuned set with all the hits and best bits. Tracks like “Levitating,” “Electricity,” “Houdini” and “New Rules” were just some of the highlights that punctuated two hours of uninterrupted summer disco magic, as Lipa’s decade of pop smashes ensured there was barely a moment to recover between tracks, earning the undivided attention of one of the biggest crowds of her career with total ease.

If the sheer disbelief in the singer’s dewey eyes didn’t already say it all, Lipa carved out an intentional pause early in the set to tell the crowd how she’d waited “my whole life” for this moment. “It’s so surreal, it’s so crazy,” she continued as she scanned the vastness of the gargantuan crowd gazing back at her. Reflecting on her first London show a decade ago to just 350 people, the gravity of the milestone clearly powered her energy levels down to the final seconds of the performance.

When your fans have queued for hours to secure a front-row spot in a stadium during a heatwave, it’s only right you take a moment to say hello. Pausing her tightly choreographed spectacle just 30 minutes in to get up close and personal with barrier-clutching concertgoers, Lipa nattered away, signed autographs and took selfies with fans who squealed down the microphone in excitement — or could barely find any words at all — some of whom had traveled from as far as Portugal to be there. 

There were quiet hopes that Dua Lipa would mark the occasion of her first Wembley show with a special guest or two. Instead of introducing one of her many former collaborators, she invited someone who “really inspired me from the moment that I started making music” and has “been a trailblazer for British music”. Moments later, Jamiroquai’s Jay Kay strutted onto the stage in a white fringed jacket and luminous purple trousers to perform his 1996 acid jazz classic “Virtual Insanity”, as their loose and limber vocals gelled instantly.

If her Glastonbury performance didn’t already prove that choreography is fast becoming one of the star’s strong suits, night one at Wembley showed that Lipa’s dance moves are very much a key part of her pop star package. Whether she was following her own groove or locking into her backup dancers’ high-energy routines, there was no doubt that her disco-pop songs are increasingly taking on their own shapes. Armed with sequin-filled wardrobe changes, confetti cannons, multi-colored streamers, perfectly-timed pyro and even a retro dance-along workout to “Physical”, this was a dance party from start to finish.

With a ship run as tightly as this one, spontaneous moments during the concert felt all the more special. “Happy For You”, a low-key gem from Radical Optimism, found Dua Lipa at her vocal best and truly in a flow state. Standing centered atop a raised stage as she stripped away all the frills, the crowd instinctively lit up the stands with their phones at just the right moment as the dusky sky slipped into the night.

Milestones like this invite moments of reflection, and there was no better song to represent a full circle journey than Lipa’s 2015 hit “Be the One,” which remains a setlist staple and one of her biggest songs to date. Channeling the ambition of that 20-year-old singer with big pop dreams, her solo moment on a smaller stage situated in the crowd was symbolic and powerful as she led her usual call and response. “Now that’s what a stadium sounds like!”