Coldplay in Mumbai tonight; Discussion thread- Updates

Here's all you need to know about the Global Citizen festival today which will see acts from Coldplay, Jay Z, Demi Lovato, The Vamps and Bollywood stars among others in Mumbai

Frontman Chris Martin was seen getting to the venue on Friday afternoon. Pic/Sayyed Sameer Abedi
Frontman Chris Martin was seen getting to the venue on Friday afternoon. Pic/Sayyed Sameer Abedi

If you are one of the 80,000 attendees to the massive Global Citizen festival today, your primary contention remains: "Will Coldplay get enough stage time?" In short: Yes, the band is slotted to play a 90-minute set. Also, if you are lucky, the big ending could be an all-star jam session that brings out all the performers in one big blowout.

Viraf Sarkari, show director, Wizcraft said: "(The all-star jam as the finale) is absolutely dependent on Coldplay. It's a decision that has to be taken impromptu, after Coldplay plays a full concert set. Chris Martin is a cool guy, and there's been good bonding between him and all the performers over the past two days. Hopefully something great will come out of this, although no commitment has been made yet."

Stage play
Many a times, festival goers attend gigs where the headlining act is nothing more than just a big name whose primary function is to serve as a 'crowd puller.' But according to a GCI spokesperson, not only will Martin and his boys play a longer-than-average set, but even the other international artists such as Jay-Z and Demi Lovato, will be on stage for ample amount of time. "Coldplay will perform for a minimum of 90 minutes " guaranteed," said Bhavya Bishnoi, spokesperson, Global Citizen India.

A day before the concert, Coldplay rehearses at the MMRDA grounds. Pics/RaneAshish
A day before the concert, Coldplay rehearses at the MMRDA grounds. Pics/RaneAshish

The international artists will perform intermittently. Among the national artists who will be performing, Bishnoi pointed out a few acts that the audience should definitely not miss.

"People should look out for Amitabh Bachchan's performance," he said. "Ranveer Singh's act will be entertaining for the crowd as well. AR Rahman is the other performer not to be missed."

The 'pass' controversy
Meanwhile, Twitterati, who have been desperately trying to sell their passes (mostly green and yellow zone passes) in the past week for exorbitant prices online, will be disheartened to know that festival passes that have been won " not bought " cannot be transferred from one person to another. "You cannot sell your pass to other people if you have won it after taking part in GCI activities," said Bishnoi.



"There is an ID verification system in place to prevent buying/selling of tickets." However, if tickets have been bought/purchased, then they can be transferred to another festival attendee.


Although there will be individual stands in each zone for food and beverages at the venue, there will, however, be no facility for alcohol at this festival. According to Bishnoi, festival attendees will not be allowed to make cash payments inside the festival venue.

"All transactions will take place on a cashless card system that we have in place," he pointed out, explaining that a festival debit card would be given to attendees. "There are a lot of exciting artwork installations and merchandise stalls to look forward to, all of which will be using the cashless card system," he said.

90 min
Coldplay

45 min
Jay-Z

30 min
Demi Lovato

Highlights Of The Event
10.00 am: Gates open
1.35 pm: Arjun Kapoor and Parineeti Chopra kick off with a welcome talk
2.14 pm: Sonakshi Sinha + Band perform
3.30 pm: Singer Demi Lovato takes the stage for 30 minutes
4.15 pm: Amitabh Bachchan performs with the Shillong Choir
4.36 pm: Farhan Akhtar follows
5.18 pm: SRK intro that leads into AR Rahman's performance
6.08 pm: SRK lead in to Jay Z
7.21 pm: Ranveer Singh's performance
8.06 pm: Coldplay finally gets on to perform a 90-minute set which ends with Rahman singing Vande Mataram

Is it 2 day Festival?

^^^

Originally posted by: Anachronist

^^^

chewing gum singh bhi missing hai

bakwaas and bakar karne mein kam hai kya wo 😆

this is not related to bollywood , itna interest hai coldplay ka toh tickets lo and enjoy karo , mera dimaag mat kharab karo

4.15 pm: Amitabh Bachchan performs with the Shillong Choir
4.36 pm: Farhan Akhtar follows
5.18 pm: SRK intro that leads into AR Rahman's performance
6.08 pm: SRK lead in to Jay Z
7.21 pm: Ranveer Singh's performance

Apart from Coldplay, Jay Z, Demi Lovato and The Vamps from abroad and Amitabh Bachchan, Shah Rukh Khan, A.R. Rahman, Ranveer Singh, Katrina Kaif and more from Indian filmdom are expected at the maiden edition of the festival -- expected to be attended by a crowd of around 80,000.
As many as 80 per cent of the tickets were given away free to those taking social good actions in support of Global Citizen India's sanitation, education and gender equality campaigns across the country.

The much-talked about Global Citizen Festival concert headlined by British rock band Coldplay - scheduled for the evening of 19 November - and which looked to be cancelled, is back on track, after the organisers have obtained the Mumbai fire department's permission.

However, the Chief Fire Officer of the fire department released a statement saying that the NOC was already issued along with recommendations on fire safety. A compliance report of the same is awaited. Once the compliance report is submitted, full NOC will be issued.


Earlier, highly-placed sources in the state administration said that the event organisers were denied permission by the Mumbai fire department to perform. Coldplay's show, which will see the use of pyrotechnics - a staple at the band's gigs - needs clearance from the Mumbai fire department, to ensure it's safe. Apart from Coldplay, rapper Jay-Z and a host of Bollywood stars, including Ranveer Singh, Katrina Kaif, are also scheduled to perform.

Organisers had also reached out to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, seeking his presence at the show. According to sources close to the PM's office in Delhi, Modi chose to stay back in the capital to attend winter session of Parliament. He acceded to address the crowd by video link, sources said.

While Firstpost was unable to obtain a reaction from the NGO Global Citizen, its CEO Hugh Evans is beating down all possible doors to obtain the required permission.
The Coldplay concert in Mumbai has evoked a mixture of reactions, thanks to the debate surrounding ticket prices, which are priced from Rs 5,000, and will go up to Rs 12,000. The concert has been an ongoing story since 2015, as Ankita Maneck writes in this piece for Firstpost, when Coldplay frontman Chris Martin travelled to India along with actress Freida Pinto, on behalf of the NGO Global Citizen and the Global Poverty Project.
Soon enough, it was confirmed what Martin was in India for: To set up the India chapter for the Global Citizen Festival (of which the Coldplay frontman is curator).
Incidentally, Wizcraft - one of the organisers of the Coldplay concert - which had also organised a Make in India event in Mumbai earlier this year came under the scanner when a major fire broke out at the stage of Maharashtra Night programme.
Firstpost also reached out to Wizcraft for a statement. A spokesperson declined to comment given that the Wizcraft's team is already at the venue preparing for the event. A crowd of concert-goers have also been queuing up as they had been advised to reach the venue by 10.30 am.

Firstpost has further reached out to Global Citizen through their PR firm Edelman. Their statement is awaited.