Take That kicked off their reimagined Circus tour at St Mary’s Stadium in Southampton, delivering a show packed with elephants, clowns, and aerialists. The boy band, now a trio of Gary Barlow, Mark Owen, and Howard Donald, revived their 2009 tour concept, which originally became the fastest-selling stadium tour in UK history. Despite lacking an anniversary peg, the reboot proved a crowd-pleaser as a giant blue air balloon hovered over the audience.
The setlist remains largely unchanged, with Babe replacing Jason Orange’s Wooden Boat and recent single You’re a Superstar offering a brief lull. The first act alone featured hits like Pray, A Million Love Songs, and Back for Good, performed on a B-stage with water fountains before a mechanical elephant emerged to carry the band to the main stage. The circus theme dominated throughout, with fire-breathers, tightrope walkers, trapeze artists, and a hair-hanging aerialist adding to the razzle-dazzle.
During Relight My Fire, performers held naked flames while dancing before a devilish inflatable ringmaster. The trio revisited old choreography for a 90s medley and attempted unicycling, with Barlow riding a kid’s bike with stabilisers. The encore saw the 30ft elephant reappear, but the night closed with Rule the World, performed simply under phone lights and a choir of singing fans.
While the tour’s profit-driven nature is evident, the anthems remain the draw. Barlow previously admitted the band focuses on ticket sales over streams, and this reboot—though lacking new material—proved the enduring appeal of their greatest hits.
