Ariana Grande fans shared their thoughts after the singer paused her London show to make an unexpected request for the crowd – and it has been captured in a now-viral video
Ariana Grande is playing a 10-night residency at The O2 in London – and fans are understandably excited to see her take to the stage. However, the singer delayed the performance of her hit song Eternal Sunshine to ask her loyal fans for a 20-second favour.
Before starting the loop, she gently said: “I know this isn’t the most convenient time to ask for quiet, but would you mind just letting me start this loop for the first 90 seconds of the song? And then I promise afterwards we can make noise.” In a viral clip, captioned “Ariana needs to start shushing the crowd like Lorde because what was that”, viewers can hear fans shouting “Shut up” as others cheer and scream ahead of her performance.
Commenting on the video, one user said: “People can go hours without screaming and cheering for no reason in public. 90 seconds isn’t hard.”
Another user added: “Why can’t they just shut up?” A third user said: “Not good. It’s not for long – bit of respect.”
One more user added: “Right! But when she started singing they were quiet.”
What is O2’s bag policy?
Grande is now part-way through her 10 night residency at the O2 Arena in London between August 15 and September 1 on her Eternal Sunshine tour.
Ahead of the shows, the O2 released an updated bag policy that was far more detailed than usual, warning fans what not to bring with them.
On their X account, the arena explained “all your belongings must be in a 100% clear bag”. It added: “Clear plastic freezer bags (zip-lock bags or similar) up to medium size (30cm x 26cm) allowed. This policy is mandatory for admittance to the show.”
It is also stipulated that bags inside the clear bag would not be permitted. A graphic shows that loose make-up products were allowed but a make-up bag was not.
The arena also said that “printed, pattern or tinted plastic bags” would not be allowed.
The only exceptions apply to “medical, accessibility, parent/child-care related bags or other essential bags”, but they would be subject to venue security inspections.
The new bag policy is a lot stricter than the ordinary one the O2 enforces.
For most events, guests are allowed an A4-sized bag or smaller, of any colour, pattern or transparency, and bags within bags are not prohibited.
The change in the policy confused fans who had been to the O2 before, with some wondering why the arena wasn’t being as strict at its regular events.
One asked: “Why are no ‘normal’ bags not allowed in for this show but fine for every other I’ve been to this year?
“If it’s a safety thing, why is this not in place for every show at The O2? I’ve also not had a bag check in years since the walk-through scanners, so what is this doing?”
