If you ever need proof that the British public will cling to any possible excuse for a knees up, look no further than Wembley Stadium this week. Pop superstar Bruno Mars finally made his grand return for the first of six massive nights, ending an eight year absence that felt roughly as long as a rainy bank holiday weekend. Decked out in a Union Jack bucket hat, an England scarf, and clutching a Paddington Bear like a giant toddler, Mars set out to lift the national mood. His electric Wembley Stadium performance proved that nobody delivers smooth live music entertainment quite like the ultimate American showman.
A Risky Opener and the Ultimate Party Vibe
Spoilers remain a plague on modern concerts, so fans expecting an explosive opening hit got a massive shock instead. Mars launched his two hour set with Risk It All, a slow, moody ballad from his fresh album The Romantic. However, the confusion lasted all of two minutes before he hopped behind a pair of red congas, blasted into Cha Cha, and commanded the 75,000 strong crowd to start partying.
Thousands of fans gleefully threw their pinky rings up to the moon for 24K Magic and Treasure, turning the legendary stadium into a giant, gold soaked dance floor. Reporters at QtrlyEdition note that while England’s football team constantly breaks our hearts, watching a global pop star wearing a furry cape serenade fans on an “Angel Baby Cam” provides surprisingly good therapy.
Silk Sonic Surprises and Unexpected Endings
The highlights kept rolling when Anderson Paak bounded onto the stage for a surprise four song Silk Sonic reunion. The pair showed off slick, Motown style choreography while attempting terrible British accents, declaring the evening “absolutely wicked” to roaring applause. Mars even treated the stadium to a huge singalong of his recent Lady Gaga collaboration, Die With a Smile, proving his modern hits hold just as much weight as his timeless classics.
After blasting through Just the Way You Are and a firework filled rendition of Uptown Funk, Mars ended the night with another slow ballad, Dance With Me. It left thousands of emotional fans slowly swaying in the dark, desperately hoping they will not have to wait another eight years for the king of pop to visit London again.
If this concert review brightened up your day, pass this article along to a friend who needs a reality check, if only so we know we are not typing into the digital void.
Bruno Mars setlist – Wembley Stadium, 18 July 2026
- Risk It All
- Cha Cha Cha
- On My Soul
- 24K Magic
- Treasure
- God Was Showing Off
- I Just Might
- Perm
- Why You Wanna Fight?
- Oh Girl/ I Miss You/ You Are Everything/ I Want to Be Your Man/Let’s Get It On/Please Me
- That’s What I Like
- Something Serious
- Blast Off
- Silk Sonic Intro
- 777
- Fly as Me
- Smokin Out the Window
- Leave the Door Open
- Marry You
- Die With a Smile
- It Will Rain/Talking to the Moon/Grenade/When I Was Your Man
- Versace on the Floor (Instrumental)
- Locked Out of Heaven
- Just the Way You Are
- Uptown Funk
- Dance With Me
