Since 2022, popular British alternative rock band Coldplay has been performing around the globe under the Music of the Spheres World Tour, including making visits to several Southeast Asian countries for the very first time.
That included Malaysia, whereas Coldplay’s show at the Bukit Jalil National Stadium on 22 November 2023 broke records as the most-attended concert at the stadium with over 75,000 in attendance.
? #ColdplayKualaLumpur pic.twitter.com/BdHWPnaSgG
ā Coldplay (@coldplay) November 25, 2023
Coldplay’s sustainability efforts for their world tour
Speaking of which, one of the most unique things about Coldplay’s Music of the Spheres World Tour has got to be the illuminating LED Coldplay wristbands that every fan in attendance is seemingly wearing.
Well, did you know that each concertgoer was given the bracelets by the organiser to wear during the concerts and they light up in various colours throughout the different tracks the band is performing?
They’re no ordinary wristbands too, as they play a big part in the British band’s sustainability efforts. According to Life Style Asia, the bracelets were made from 100% compostable, plant-based materials and were designed to be reused in every Coldplay concert. Hence, that’s why Coldplay asks concertgoers to return the wristbands after each show.
Furthermore, the popular music group also revealed the return rate of the wristbands in previous concerts at every new show through a “Wristband Recycling Leaderboard” shown on the big screen.
Kuala Lumpur recorded one of the lowest wristband return rates
With that in mind, it looks like the Kuala Lumpur concert last year recorded one of the lowest return rates, as during the recent 6-day Coldplay concert in Singapore, it was revealed that the Kuala Lumpur concert ranked last among the band’s 4 prior shows, with a 90% return rate.
As shared by TikTok user @srhxni who recorded the wristband recycling leaderboard at the Singapore concert, the ranking is as below:
- Kuala Lumpur – 90%
- Singapore – 91%
- Copenhagen – 96%
- Tokyo – 97%
The percentage seems to fluctuate though, as the Kuala Lumpur show was shown to have a 91% return rate during Coldplay’s concert in Bangkok, Thailand. As shared by the @Coldplayer_TH X account which shared the wristband recycling leaderboard shown on the big screen in Thailand, Bangkok performed worse than Malaysia with only an 89% return rate while Singapore’s number was not shown.
In both leaderboards shown, Tokyo is the champion of recycling with an astounding 97% return rate, while Copenhagen is second with 96%.
Up to 7,500 Coldplay concertgoers in Kuala Lumpur didn’t return the bracelets
If you do some quick maths for the Kuala Lumpur concert, the number of concertgoers who didn’t return their bracelets is somewhere between 6,750 to 7,500 people based on the 75,000 attendees.
So, what do you guys think of Coldplay’s sustainability practice and how up to 10% of concertgoers in Kuala Lumpur didn’t want to take part in the recycling efforts?
Share your thoughts with us in the comments!
Also read: Chris Martin Comforts & Serenades Emotional Fan Who Lost Her Job During Coldplay Sāpore Concert
