Adele doesn’t come to you — you go to Adele. This August, fans are flocking to Munich to catch one of the ten shows in her residency at the custom-built Adele Arena, which hosts a staggering 74,000 attendees per night. While she took a summer break from her Las Vegas residency at Caesars Palace, she brought the Vegas spectacle with her — complete with smoke, fire, confetti, fireworks, and what’s touted as the largest video screen in existence. Despite the grandeur, some of the best moments from the opening night on August 2 came from Adele’s genuine charm and intimate interactions.
The scale of the show is immense, and initially, it seems like it might not work. With no elevation on the floor, sightlines aren’t ideal, and the seats in the stands are far away. However, in a time when many concert-goers spend much of the show looking at screens, this production made it a feature. The screen is a stylized, curved behemoth that’s 220 meters wide, equivalent to two American football fields.
Even in an era of over-the-top concert production, this show was overwhelming. But Adele’s charm kept it grounded. “What do you think of my screen?” she asked the crowd, as though she had just picked it up at a sale. The absurdity of the staging worked because Adele was in on the joke. “I underestimated how f—ing scared I am,” she confessed at one point. She needn’t have worried.
Before and after the concert, fans could explore Adele World, a mini theme park with food and drink stands, carnival rides, a second stage, and a large merchandise store. This setup not only provided fun but also helped manage the crowd flow to avoid overwhelming public transportation.
The concert opened with “Hello,” a signature start for Adele. She quickly kicked the show into high gear with “Rumor Has It,” utilizing the enormous video screen to create an electrifying visual experience. The show diverged from her Vegas performance, getting big fast and making the screen a central feature.
Throughout the night, Adele balanced her larger-than-life presence with intimate moments. She even facilitated a marriage proposal in the crowd, displaying the kind of connection she usually achieves in her more intimate Vegas shows. Her ability to blend grand spectacle with personal charm made the night unforgettable.
A highlight was her mid-show performance with just her pianist, Eric Wortham II, on a smaller platform between the main sections of the crowd. Performing “Make You Feel My Love” and other intimate tracks, she brought the audience to a quiet, focused attention, showing that even in a massive venue, she could create a deeply personal experience.
As the show progressed, Adele mixed her trademark humor with powerful performances. She used a T-shirt gun to fire souvenirs into the crowd, delighting in the simple fun of it. The visual effects were stunning, with “When We Were Young” featuring giant scrolling images surrounded by an analog film border and confetti designed to look like old Polaroids.
The show ended on a high note with Adele’s most upbeat song, complete with fireworks and more confetti. Despite the grandeur, Adele’s voice and presence were the true highlights, leaving the audience with a sense of triumph.
Photo: Simon Emmett, Kevin Mazur/Getty Images
