Adele pays tribute to Grenfell victims at Wembley Stadium show

  • Published
AdeleImage source, Getty Images
Image caption,
Adele said "it's our job as human beings to be compassionate".

Adele paid tribute to the victims of the Grenfell Tower at her Wembley Stadium concert on Wednesday evening.

Police say 80 people are currently presumed dead after the fire at the west London tower block on 14 June.

Adele encouraged fans at the show to donate money to help the victims of the blaze.

She said Wembley's prices were "extortionate" and asked the crowd to donate rather than waste the money on "overpriced wine".

"It's been two weeks since the fire, and still the people who were affected by it are homeless," Adele said in a video message before the show.

"I promise that the money we raise together will go directly to the people who are living in that block."

Image source, London Fire Brigade
Image caption,
Adele previously visited the firefighters who helped tackle the blaze

Later in the show, on she said on stage: "Usually I ask everyone to get their phone out and put their lights on. But before I do that I want you to donate.

"Did anyone see the video before I came on? I've been down to Grenfell tower.

"I can't tell you how out of control and how chaotic it still is down there, it's been two weeks since this happened... it's atrocious that we can't get answers.

She added: "It's our job as human beings to be compassionate... You'll be hearing a lot more from me about [Grenfell] in the days and weeks and probably years to come."

She dedicated her song Hometown Glory to the victims of the fire and encouraged them to give money to Unite for Grenfell.

The concert was attended by 98,000 fans - a stadium record for a UK music event. She has three further dates at Wembley this week - the final one on Sunday.

"I wanted my final shows to be in London because I don't know if I'll ever tour again," she said in a message printed in the programmes.

"I've done 119 shows and these last four will take me up to 123, it has been hard out an absolute thrill and pleasure to have done."

Analysis: Alex Stanger, entertainment reporter

Image source, Getty Images

Adele: great voice, that's a given, but the best bits of last night's gig were actually in between the songs.

After starting the show with, not surprisingly, Hello, Adele told the audience she was extremely nervous about playing Wembley for the first time.

But she shouldn't have been. Her banter alone had the audience in the palm of her hand.

From complaining that her dress was too tight to admitting that she will be marking the end of her epic world tour on Sunday with fags and whisky, Adele showed she may be the world's biggest singing star but she's still one of us.

And she struck the right note when talking about Grenfell Tower. The building's burnt out remains featured in the video which accompanied Hometown Glory, a song which already induces goosebumps.

She asked the crowd, the biggest ever at a gig at Wembley, to donate to the victims of Grenfell and promised she would be back on the ground, helping those families displaced by the fire, as soon as the Wembley run finishes.

To be able to talk about something so horrific, but then pick her audience back up again to enjoy the rest of the show, proved Adele's deft hand at performing.

Follow us on Facebook, on Twitter @BBCNewsEnts, or on Instagram at bbcnewsents. If you have a story suggestion email entertainment.news@bbc.co.uk.