Artists Paving the Way for Eco-Friendly Touring
As a new venue with sustainability at the heart of its plans, YTL Arena Bristol is thrilled to see more and more artists coming forward with plans for sustainable touring, highlighting their commitment to tackling the climate crisis.
Two years ago, Coldplay announced that they would no longer be touring until they could find a way to do so in a more sustainable way. Last month, they released details for their new eco-friendly world stadium tour, Music of the Spheres, hitting stages in 2022.
The aim is to cut direct emissions from their last tour in 2017 by 50%, including using electricity from batteries fuelled by fans dancing on a kinetic dancefloor and riding bikes, as well as solar energy, recycled cooking oil from local restaurants and mains power from 100% renewable sources where available.
In collaboration with Live Nation’s sustainability platform Green Nation, the band said:
“We’re very conscious that the planet is facing a climate crisis. So, we’ve spent the last two years consulting with environmental experts to make this tour as sustainable as possible, and, just as importantly, to harness the tour’s potential to push things forward. We won’t get everything right, but we’re committed to doing everything we can and sharing what we learn. It’s a work in progress and we’re really grateful for the help we’ve had so far.”
Coldplay are not the first artists to seek solutions to the touring industry’s sustainability problem. In 2019, Billie Eilish revealed plans for her “Where Do We Go” arena tour in partnership with non-profit organisation Reverb, a company specialising in green touring solutions. Every venue on Eilish’s tour included an ‘Eco-Village’, a place for fans to learn about climate change and the importance of making a difference. Last year, we interviewed Tanner Watt, Director of Partnerships and Development at Reverb, to find out more about the work they do to influence the behaviour of artists, venues, festivals and fans to behave more responsibly. You can read more here.
Reverb has been supporting Dave Matthews Band North American tours since 2005. They aim to increase action on the climate crisis as part of the Music Climate Revolution campaign and reduce the environmental footprint of live touring. The band has committed to planting 1million trees and has announced that the tour will be climate positive, eliminating more greenhouse gas pollution than it creates, including all fan travel to and from the shows.
The spotlight will always be on sustainability at YTL Arena Bristol, making us a must-play venue for artists on their eco-friendly tours.
We will operate without the use of fossil fuels, and 10,000m2 of solar panels covering the roof combined with two megawatts of battery storage will allow solar harvesting for peak time use.
We will actively encourage our visitors to choose sustainable forms of travel through our messaging and ticketing. This year, CGIs were released for the reopening of the North Filton train station only 200m from the entrance. This will connect us to Bristol Temple Meads in only 15 minutes, along with a new Metrobus service, dedicated shuttle bus and cycling “highways”.
Our 15,000m2 back of house, once used to turn planes around, will now become the largest service yard in Europe. With enough space to accommodate the largest touring shows, heavy goods vehicles (HGVs) can park up, plug into one of our electrical charging points and rest in one of our crew facilities, saving energy, time and reducing CO2 emissions.
We applaud the artists, venues and fans that are working to prioritise sustainability when performing, hosting or attending a tour. YTL Arena Bristol will be proud to be a part of the green touring movement.
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