Coldplay in Abu Dhabi: A case for phone-free concerts

Dubai: I was fortunate enough to attend Coldplay’s Music of the Spheres World Tour in Abu Dhabi on Saturday evening.

It was absolutely sensational—arguably the best concert I’ve ever experienced—thanks to the incredible crowd interaction, dazzling pyrotechnics, and a hit-packed set list that had me singing along all night.

But despite having the time of my life, one thing kept nagging at me throughout the entire show: the endless sea of phones held aloft, recording every single moment of Chris Martin’s leaps, slides, and jumps across the stage.

I’ve always been baffled by people recording at concerts. Why wouldn’t you want to fully immerse yourself in the joy of the moment? On Saturday night, though, my annoyance reached new heights.

A couple standing in front of my fiancé and me recorded every single song the British band played. Another person behind me thought it was appropriate to use my shoulders as a prop for their phone while recording. Phones were everywhere, blocking the stage view for those of us who just wanted to enjoy the moment.

Why are people so obsessed with recording these videos? Are they simply trying to flaunt on Instagram that they attended one of the concerts of a lifetime? If so, wouldn’t a single photo suffice? Or are they genuinely planning to watch all these videos back later? I suspect it’s the former. Even if it’s the latter, why not wait until the tour inevitably makes its way to a streaming service or is released as a high-definition production with the next album? That way, they could relive the night properly rather than relying on a collection of poorly shot phone videos.

The tipping point for me came when Martin asked the crowd to put their phones away and enjoy just one song without recording. I wish he’d made the request for the entire concert, but beggars can’t be choosers—I’ll take what I can get.

To his credit, Martin’s plea worked for about 80% of the crowd. However, the remaining 20% didn’t seem to care and continued recording through what was arguably one of the best songs of the night. Can we as a society really not put our phones down and live in the moment for just five minutes?

To make matters worse, when I scrolled through X later that night (for the record, I don’t have Instagram or TikTok), I saw people sharing videos of that very song, bragging about ignoring Martin’s no-phone request. Once again, I was infuriated.

You may think I’m being ‘petty,’ a ‘bore,’ or ‘not with the times’ for bringing this up, but I’m not alone in feeling this way.

I look back with envy at the days when tens of thousands of fans packed into a stadium could enjoy every moment without a single phone in sight. Sadly, those days are now a thing of the past, and I find myself relying on YouTube to get a glimpse of what that experience might have been like.

But what if it didn’t have to be a thing of the past? What if concerts and stadiums started catering to us ‘phone-hating fans’?

On the drive back from Zayed Sports City Stadium to the hotel, I suggested to my fiancé that bands playing multiple dates at a venue—like Coldplay did—could dedicate one gig to being a ‘phone-free’ zone. A throwback to the good old days, if you will. She quickly pointed out that phones are basically integral to our lives now. How would people pay for merchandise, book a taxi, or call their loved ones if they got separated in the crowd? Fair point.

So, I put my thinking cap back on and came up with another idea (and this has probably been suggested before!): what if certain areas of the stadium were designated as ‘phone-free’ zones?

Take Coldplay in Abu Dhabi as an example.

They had the main stage and a smaller stage that extended into the crowd. For the standing section, why not dedicate, say, the right-hand side of the extended stage to fans who want to enjoy the performance without a phone in sight? For those seated, certain sections of the stadium could easily be made phone-free zones. I’m almost certain there would be an appetite for it.

Of course, the logistics and policing of this would need some fine-tuning, but where there’s a will, there’s a way.

For those who prefer to spend the concert watching Chris Martin and Co through their screens, go ahead—you’d still have the majority of the stadium to do so. But for the rest of us who want to fully immerse ourselves in the moment, a phone-free option would be a game-changer. Everyone’s a winner.

Well, everyone’s a winner - until you’re at a smaller show that can’t accommodate ‘phone-free’ zones. Fine, I’ll let that slide for now, as long as bigger stadiums at least consider the idea.

After all, who really wants to watch Chris Martin sing Fix You through someone else’s phone screen?