The 1975 will take to the stage on Monday but fans are already queuing (Picture: FilmMagic)
Dedicated fans have already begun queuing to see Matty Healy and The 1975 at London’s O2, despite the fact they’re not performing for another three days.
The O2 has allowed the group, which is now at around 60 people, to camp overnight outside the arena so they can get to the front of the standing area to see the controversial singer perform.
The coveted tickets sold out incredibly quickly so it’s no surprise eager music lovers are already preparing to make the push to the front of the arena.
Camping ahead of big gigs has become a larger trend in recent years, dividing concert-goers as it means those who cannot wait in a queue for days miss out on the chance for a good view.
The 1975 are not set to take to the stage at the huge venue – with a capacity of 20,000 people – until Monday, February 12, for night one of four in London.
Some venues actively discourage overeager fans, refusing to allow them to queue exceedingly early and handing out numbers to avoid unruly waits.
The band has not ad (Photo by Scott Legato/WireImage)
On February 9, queue leader Zoe tweeted: ‘The queue for the 1975 London at the O2 has started for night 1! we are currently opposite costa coffee and are at 5 right now.’
Within a day, this post had reached over 4.4 million X users with thousands of retweets and comments – many of which criticised the group for camping out so early.
‘Genuinely why can’t something be done about this?’ asked Billy Dyson. ‘If a homeless person set up shop in a tent outside the O2 they [would not have] even see the hour out before they were forced to move so why is this any different?’
Disability activist Faith Martin shared: ‘You’re not superior if you camp for a gig and it’s a bit silly to do so. Disabled people have considerably less access to arts and culture events whilst disabled musicians are shut out from creating art.
‘The latter gets the least attention on the internet though.’
Others slammed it as ‘unhealthy’ and ‘unsafe’, especially as London is currently around five degrees Celsius at night with frequent torrential rain downpours.
Jess Rowland tweeted: ‘I really don’t see the point of this. Not only is it a bit odd to camp for a concert, it’s also a health risk. It’s cold and rainy across the country currently – it’s really not worth making yourself ill over.’
‘This is insanity im sorry like how is camping three days prior necessary at all… its cold and also dangerous like go back to ur hotel and go early Monday morning 😭😭,’ added an anonymous X user.
Metro.co.uk has reached out to Zoe, The 1975, and the O2 for comment.
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