In a sea of bald caps and Aviators, nothing brings people together quite like the one and only Mr Worldwide.
Eve Rowlands Senior Shopping Writer
15:42, 07 Jul 2026
It’s a surreal experience walking along a main road in a capital city surrounded by a sea of (fake) bald heads, Aviator glasses, white shirts and black ties. Anybody without a clue of what was going on just a stone’s throw away from Cardiff Castle may be slightly awestruck by the tidal wave of ‘The Bald E’s’. But an accompanying cacophony of ‘do do do do-do do Fireball’ should make it clear that Pitbull, aka Mr Worldwide, is in town.
Now, when I told people I was going to Pitbull on Saturday, July 4th at Cardiff’s Blackweir Fields, I was met with a mix of reactions; from: “You don’t strike me as a Pitbull fan,” to: “Oh my gosh, I’m so jealous!” But, when someone soundtracks your youth – having skyrocketed to fame in the early 2000s with his undeniably unique sound and identifiable catchphrases – and the opportunity arises, you simply must see them live.
And it did not disappoint.
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From the Pitbull costumes en masse (which was both highly entertaining and somewhat creepy) to the nostalgia and joy the entire concert brought, it was truly a night I’ll remember for life. The 45-year-old American rapper – whose real name is Armando Christian Pérez – didn’t need to do much to have the audience in the palm of his hand as his songs are so renowned that we were like putty when he began his set.
But I’m getting ahead of myself – let’s begin with his support. Ticket-holders were blessed with Fuse ODG and another icon of the noughties for Pitbull’s support acts: the man who, I quote ‘ran iPods in the 2000s’, Lil’ Jon.
Get tickets to Pitbull’s BST Hyde Park show
There are still tickets available on a range of ticket websites, including Ticketmaster , Seat Unique , and resale tickets from viagogo .
The producer and rapper performed his own bangers such as Turn Down For What, Shots, Get Low and Snap Yo Fingers. But alongside this, he added in some other greats like Sweet Caroline and a wildly unexpected mashup of Hollaback Girl and Sweet Dreams – naturally, all of which were ad-libbed by Lil’ Jon’s famous raspy growl: ‘Yeah!’ He did not fail to hype up the crowd for the main event.
Lil Jon will also be joining Pitbull for his headline show at BST’s Hyde Park concert on July 10, and for anyone still wanting to get tickets, I implore you to go: you won’t regret it. Tickets are still available from official websites Ticketmaster and VIP retailer Seat Unique . Meanwhile resale tickets can also be purchased from viagogo .
Following on from Lil Jon, DJ Laz kept the crowd going before Mr 305 graced the stage. And when Pitbull arrived – albeit a little late – the crowd erupted when Don’t Stop The Party began, transforming one of Cardiff’s most tranquil historical parks into a bouncing club night that had everyone jumping and singing along. It was honestly as epic as you’d expect.
With a 35,000 strong crowd – the majority of which donned bald caps, which acted as great protection against the drizzle – Pitbull seemingly was pleased with the reaction to his performances as after most songs, he simply stood looking out to the crowd, admiring the applause with a smile on his face.
The Miami star entertained us for 90 minutes with hits like Hotel Room Service, Damn, I Love Miami, Gasolina (truly epic), International Love, Rain Over Me, On The Floor, DJ Got Us Fallin’ In Love and Timber – which caused us to go feral. Some might say it was truly ‘going down’.
At one point, he got the crowd chanting ‘Yo no quiero agua. Yo quiero tequila’ – which translates to ‘I don’t want water, I want tequila’, before launching into his 2010 hit Maldito Alcohol, which went down a treat.
I would have loved to see J-Lo or K$sha coming out on stage for a sing-song of their collaborative hits – that would have made the concert that little bit more spectacular, personally – but their absence did not stop me from having a great time.
Thankfully, at Hyde Park, Pitbull will be reportedly bringing out Kesha and Tinie Tempah (not jealous at all…), so that dream will presumably become reality.
Although one thing I thought wasn’t wholly necessary was that every so often, Pitbull took a small interlude to change his jacket – maybe he truly brought the heat and needed to cool off? This took over five minutes each time, meaning his DJ had to fill in while we waited.
While he played banger after banger, there wasn’t much chit chat in between, so we didn’t get much of a look into his personality (which is something I’ve loved about Lewis Capaldi’s gigs) – but one wholesome moment that remains one of my faves is when he tried to thank the Cardiff crowd in the Welsh language: ‘Diolch’. Although his pronunciation needs a lot of work, he tried! … About three times! And that’s all we could ask for.
All in all, Pitbull’s Cardiff concert was a night I’ll remember for years, not just for the songs performed live, but the vibe, the costumes and pure joy felt throughout the crowd.
And if it’s anything to go by, the rapper’s headline show at Hyde Park is going to be truly incredible – especially as he’s trying to break the Guinness World Record for the ‘largest gathering of people wearing bald caps’. So, if you don’t want to miss out on being part of a World Record or just seeing a class concert that’ll leave you feeling nostalgic and postively buzzing off the vibes alone, tickets can still be bought on Ticketmaster , Seat Unique , and resale tickets from viagogo .
