Words by Nora haug

Chris Martin might be worth £160 million but chose public transport to travel to Cardiff ahead of two massive gigs at the Principality Stadium. He was filmed by a member of station staff wearing tracksuit bottoms, a grey t-shirt and a baseball cap blending into the crowd. When he noticed the man filming he went over to say hello after arriving in the city from Manchester. 

The arrival was met with positive reactions from fans and others praising him for his use of public transport. One Twitter user wrote “Great to see Chris Martin arriving in Cardiff using @tfwrail Can’t wait for tonight’s @coldplay concert,” another wrote, “Great to see the rich and famous using trains!”

For their show in Cardiff, the band included a bilingual element, showing a video in Welsh explaining the sustainability elements of the tour. They also brought local folk singer Hana Lili as their supporting act.

Chris Martin is a keen environmentalist and using public transport is one of Coldplay’s many sustainable efforts on their ‘Music of the Spheres’ tour. The tour is partially powered by a dance floor that generates electricity when their fans jump up and down and pedal power at the different venues. 

The band have stated that they want to cut their carbon footprint by 50% compared to their last tour in 2017. They have also stated that they are supporting green technologies and funding nature-and technology-based sustainability projects. 

In a statement on Twitter, the band wrote: “We’re very conscious that the planet is facing a climate crisis, so we’ve spent the last two years consulting with environmental experts to make this tour as sustainable as possible, and, just as importantly, to harness the tour’s potential to push things forward.”

The band previously stated that they would stop touring in 2019 due to environmental concerns but are now making an effort to reduce their environmental impact and change the culture around touring.