Ariana Grande paused her performance at The O2 in London to ask fans for a small favour: 90 seconds of quiet at the start of her song Eternal Sunshine. The request came during her 10-night residency at the venue, part of the Eternal Sunshine tour.
Before beginning the track, she said: "I know this isn't the most convenient time to ask for quiet, but would you mind just letting me start this loop for the first 90 seconds of the song? And then I promise afterwards we can make noise."
Viral clip and fan reactions
A viral clip, captioned "Ariana needs to start shushing the crowd like Lorde because what was that", showed fans shouting "Shut up" as others cheered and screamed ahead of her performance. The footage drew a range of responses online.
One user commented: "People can go hours without screaming and cheering for no reason in public. 90 seconds isn't hard." Another added: "Why can't they just shut up?" A third said: "Not good. It's not for long - bit of respect." One more user noted: "Right! But when she started singing they were quiet."
Surprise guest on stage
The pause came after Grande brought out her Wicked co-star Cynthia Erivo during the second night of the residency. The two, who both received Oscar nominations for their performances in the 2024 film and reprised their roles as Elphaba Thropp and Galinda Upland in Wicked: For Good, performed For Good and Happy Days at The O2.
Grande thanked fans for their "overwhelming" support as she began her London stint, following news that she is to step back from public life amid "endless" scrutiny. After the show, she shared a clip of the two on stage together to her Instagram Stories with a heart emoji.
O2 bag policy for the residency
The residency runs between 15 August and 1 September. Ahead of the shows, The O2 issued a revised bag policy that was more detailed than usual, cautioning fans about what to leave at home.
On its X account, the arena stated that "all your belongings must be in a 100% clear bag" and that "clear plastic freezer bags (zip-lock bags or similar) up to medium size (30cm x 26cm) allowed. This policy is mandatory for admittance to the show." Bags inside the clear bag would not be permitted, and a graphic confirmed that loose makeup products were acceptable while a makeup bag was not.
The venue also stated that "printed, pattern or tinted plastic bags" would not be permitted under any circumstances. Exceptions would be made for "medical, accessibility, parent/child-care related bags or other essential bags", though these would still be subject to thorough security checks.
The updated policy is more stringent than the standard rules usually enforced at The O2, where for most events guests are permitted to bring an A4-sized bag or smaller in any colour, pattern or transparency, and bags within bags are not restricted. The shift left many fans baffled, with some questioning why the same strict measures were not applied to regular events.
