We’ve had better summers. Our faltering train network won worldwide recognition via the New York Times during the Euros. We only managed 10th place in the Olympic medals table. Business bankruptcies reached a 10-year high. And the many people who believe climate change means hot, sunny weather were disappointed, and wet.
But in August, a roaring summer breeze named Adele swept in. Admittedly, she got soaked, too, during her 10-night residency in Munich. One of the downpours completely drenched her long blue dress, but she turned this Skyfall into a perfect cue to Set Fire to the Rain.
I was surprised that the UK superstar hadn’t picked London for her first European concerts in years. Munich isn’t the obvious choice after Weekends with Adele in the Colosseum at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. And Adele herself called Munich “a bit random, but still fabulous!”
Yet if there’s one place in Germany in which grandeur meets over-achievement, it’s the Bavarian capital. Go to Munich if you want something done, especially something extraordinary. Which is exactly what two German concert organisers promised Adele: a unique concept, a standalone show 100% tailored to the needs of a single artist, nothing less than a revolution in the business.
In just four weeks, 700 stage workers and technicians created a 4,000sq metre Adele-empire on the Munich trade fair grounds.
Modestly labelled “a pop-up arena”, it was designed according to her wishes and equipped with a gigantic curved video screen, 220 metres long. The largest LED outdoor screen ever used, with a great view for everyone.
The organisers also found a way to manage the masses, around 75,000 fans a night. Concerts are great – except for getting there and back. Here, the so-called Adele World eases peak times by opening between 3.30pm and midnight.
Unlike merchandising and catering at typical concert venues, it’s a destination in its own right, a giant fan fair quickly dubbed “Das Adele Dorf” by locals. It’s decorated with real plants on gravel paths, white picket fences, a carousel, a Ferris wheel, Haribo special edition Adele sweets, food trucks and restaurants seating up to 14,000 people, including a classic Biergarten, an I Drink Wine bar (named after a song on her last album, 30), and a traditional London pub. The menu, partly inspired by Adele, offers a prawn baguette (£12), truffle pasta (£14.30), and the inevitable “Currywurst mit Pommes”, £9.40).
Adele World does its best to bring a slice of the UK to Europe, complete with a vintage red telephone box. Meanwhile, Adele has embraced, if not appropriated, Bavarian culture. No matter that the pictures of her in several dirndl variations were AI-generated (the salad sleeve was a bit of a giveaway), no matter that whatever she’s sipping from the Adele-Munich-Bierkrug on stage isn’t beer – we love the gesture.
Her fans particularly love the Adele Spritz (£12), and the singer doesn’t exactly discourage them. During the first concert she quipped: “The drunker you are, the better I sound.”
In truth, the sound owes less to listening-under-the-influence than to the high-end audio system in the stadium. And of course, to Adele being in incredible shape, as even hyper-critical pundits confirm: “There is not much to say about the music on this evening, and that is meant positively. Adele is on form vocally, she has soul and blues, but she doesn’t overdo it with vocal virtuosity as an end in itself.” This, by the way, is the sound of high praise in Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung’s renowned cultural section.
Naturally, Germany wouldn’t be Germany without some people questioning the need for £120m pop-up-stadiums, insinuating stardom megalomania, criticising capitalist merchandising and lamenting the days when concert tickets cost £80 and not up to £380.
On the other hand, as one fan wrote: “Money comes back, but I will never be 26 again and sing Someone Like You in Munich with 80,000 people.”
And, speaking of Munich, the city didn’t put a single cent into the project, but expects a profit of £425m. Adele’s greatest gift to us, however – next to her beautiful songs – was boosting German morale.
A few weeks before the first show, she visited the building site and doubted everything would be finished in time. “But then”, she told herself, “if anyone can do it, it’s the Germans.” We needed that. Thank you, Adele.
PS Last time I checked, there were still a few tickets available for the last four concerts.
