[wonderplugin_video videotype=”mp4″ mp4=”https://alia.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/GSNwaC_UcM0141zg.mp4″ webm=”” poster=”” lightbox=0 lightboxsize=1 lightboxwidth=960 lightboxheight=540 autoopen=0 autoopendelay=0 autoclose=0 lightboxtitle=”” lightboxgroup=”” lightboxshownavigation=0 showimage=”” lightboxoptions=”” videowidth=600 videoheight=400 keepaspectratio=1 autoplay=0 loop=0 videocss=”position:relative;display:block;background-color:#000;overflow:hidden;max-width:100%;margin:0 auto;” playbutton=”https://alia.com.au/wp-content/plugins/wonderplugin-video-embed/engine/playvideo-64-64-0.png”]
Coldplay did not tour with their last album because of environmental concerns but last week they announced an eco-friendly world tour for their new album in which fans will power the shows using “kinetic flooring” installed in and around the stadiums, which will allow movement to be converted into energy.
Fans will also be able to hop onto stationary bikes at each of the venues, with their pedal power charging reusable batteries that will keep the show going night after night.
As part of the efforts to recapture any carbon unavoidably put out into the atmosphere as a result of the tour, at least one tree will be planted for each fan that attends the concerts, with planting schemes in place from California and Haiti to Romania and Brazil.
As the band arrives at each venue, solar tiles will be installed all over the place — on the stadium floor, on the stage, and outside the venue. It’s part of a drive to use almost entirely “renewable, super-low emission energy” for the stage production, with sustainable biofuels such as HVO (recycled waste cooking oils) also playing a role.
Ticket holders attending any of the shows will be encouraged to download a free tour app, which will offer information on the best low-carbon transport options for getting to and from the gigs. If fans commit to travelling in an eco-friendly way, they’ll get a discount code to use at the venue.
Instead of diesel or gasoline, buses and trucks for most of the tour will use hydrotreated vegetable oil, a bioproduct created from waste cooking oil.
Each time a stage is built at any of the venues, it will be made using “a combination of lightweight, low-carbon and reusable materials”, ranging from bamboo to recycled steel. What’s more, it’ll all be reused and recycled once the tour is finished.
In partnership with BMW, they have developed the first-ever mobile, rechargeable show battery – made from recyclable BMW i3 batteries – which will power the show with renewable energy wherever they go. They can charge the battery from multiple sources including recycled cooking oil from restaurants, solar energy, grid renewables and even kinetic energy from the fans.
The show will upgrade to ultra-efficient equipment such as low-energy LED screens, laser and lighting systems and a PA system with up to 50% less power consumption compared to the previous tour that will also dramatically reduce environmental noise outside the venues.
Chris Martin admitted to the BBC that they risked criticism from fans, given that they still enjoyed the use of private jets.
“The people that give us backlash for that kind of thing, for flying, they’re right. So we don’t have any argument against that,” Martin said.
However, the group have pledged to travel “mostly” on commercial flights, with charter flights only used when absolutely necessary. Either way, Coldplay will pay a surcharge for the planes to use sustainable aviation fuel — made from renewable waste materials — and have pledged to travel by electric vehicles on the ground where possible.
The tour was announced a day ahead of the release of the new album “Music of the Spheres” on Friday. It kicks off in March, taking in Central and North America, Europe, and ending in Rio de Janeiro in September, with more dates on the way. The tour starts in Costa Rica where 99% of the mains power is renewable.
