Live review

Dua Lipa, Wembley Stadium, London: pop starlet brings smash hits and powerhouse pyro to hometown show

Saturday 21st June 2025

This highlight reel of her decade-spanning career celebrates an artist at the top of her game.

Words: Caitlin Chatterton
Photos: Sam Hussein
23rd June 2025

For a long time, it’s felt as though Dua Lipa’s been simmering just below the pinnacle of pop icon status. Perhaps that’s because, between her book club and accompanying podcast, lifestyle newsletter, YSL Beauty ambassadorship (there’s a pop-up for the brand set up at the foot of the stadium’s front stairs), and non-stop run of globe-trotting holidays, music is just one of several projects and side hustles she’s turned her hand to. Don’t be deceived, though: like a very sparkly magician pulling an endless string of silk handkerchiefs from her sleeve, her second sold-out night at Wembley Stadium delivers two hours of back-to-back hits to rival any pop juggernaut.

Beyond a smattering of glitter, it’s true that this tour hasn’t inspired the same cult dressing as contemporaries who have passed under Wembley’s arch. (That could just be a meteorological issue, to be fair - it’s hard to serve an extravagant look when a heatwave has turned London’s air to treacle-thick soup). Dua more than compensates with her own outfits, anyway - there are five, to be exact, each one heavily bedazzled and two involving fur, which can’t be fun in this temperature. On top of the costume changes, she also has chair-ography, burlesque feather fans, confetti, streamers, lasers, flames, fireworks, and a levitating C-stage. Make no mistake: this is a no-expense-spared spectacle in the truest sense.

Possibly the biggest spectacle tonight, though, is the reveal of her special guest. After last night’s somewhat unexpected Jamiroquai duet, the crowd are on more familiar ground - and predictably lose their minds - when Dua welcomes “the biggest brat” she’s ever met to join her onstage. Although Dua does feature on Charli’s remixed version of ‘Talk talk’, they opt instead for a storming rendition of ‘360’ that’s received with utterly unsurprising fervour.

Despite admitting to feeling nervous, Dua has the 70,000-strong crowd in the palm of her hand from the moment she appears tonight, performing like this is her 20th headline show here, not her second. Debut album singles ‘IDGAF’ and ‘Be the One’ receive just as much love as newer favourites ‘Training Season’, ‘Hallucinate’ and ‘Levitating’, while everyone merrily joins in with the mock fitness video intro for ‘Physical’. The hit parade slows down only when she takes a walk along the barricade - allowing her band to set up downstage - to compare nail art, hug, and take selfies with the front row, most of whom have travelled internationally to be here.

As the marathon show finally dances to a close with shimmering dancefloor-filler ‘Houdini’ (accompanied by even more fireworks, of course) it’s hard to deny that, when she’s not reading books or sampling restaurants on holiday, Dua can turn out a stadium-headlining set like it’s the most natural thing in the world.

Tags: Dua Lipa, Reviews, Live Reviews