Metallica make history with record-breaking concert in Wales
Metallica‘s recent huge show at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff has seen them make Welsh live music history.
The rock legends performed at the home of Welsh rugby on June 28th, which marked their first visit to the country in 30 years.
After three decades of waiting for Metallica to return, the Welsh came out in their force to watch them perform, with a record-breaking 76,000 attending their performance.
Due to Metallica delivering an in-the-round experience, they were able to fully make use of all four stands of the stadium and generate the highest attendance for a live music event in Welsh history.
While other artists have previously performed in-the-round at the Principality, such as Ed Sheeran, who attracted 75,000 people to his show in 2022 and U2, who were watched by over 73,000 in 2009, Metallica now hold the record, per Wales Online.
In addition to now cementing their name into the Welsh musical history books thanks to the attendance record, the show was also notable for Metallica delivering a cover of Tom Jones’ classic song, ‘Delilah’.
For many years, ‘Delilah’ was closely associated with the Principality, which is otherwise the home of Wales national rugby team that had adopted it as an anthem, until three years ago when it was banned from being officially played.
This was due to the fact that the murder ballad depicts the murder of a woman by her husband, with the Welsh Rugby Union saying back in 2023, “The WRU condemns domestic violence of any kind”.
Jones himself was furious about the ban, later telling his crowd at a show at Cardiff Castle, “You can’t stop us singing ‘Delilah’. Can you imagine… Who was the man who didn’t want us to sing ‘Delilah’?”
As much as it has been officially banned from playing over the speakers, stewards can’t stop fans singing it from the stands, nor would they dare stop Metallica from thrilling their 76,000-strong crowd by bringing ‘Delilah’ back to the Principality.
They also gave back to the Welsh capital, too. Before their tour moved on to its next destination, they made a £20,000 donation through their All Within My Hands foundation to the city’s foodbank, which will help to fund 9,000 meals.
Next up for Metallica on their M72 tour is England, where they will play two nights at the London Stadium on July 3rd and July 5th.
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