Coldstream Pauses Touring to Work on the Green Costs of Worldwide Concerts

Environmental & Science Education

STEM

Climate Change

Sustainability

Edward Hessler

LiveNation reported that in November 2017, the rock band Coldplay completed their "A Head Full of Dreams Tour." Not only was it the "most successful worldwide outing of their career...it topped out as the third highest grossing global tour of all time (more than $500 million in ticket sales)."  We often don't think of the other totals, e.g., this tour included "114 shows in 76 cities and 31 countries, with two legs in Latin America, two in Europe, two in North America, one in Australia, and one in Asia."

According to the November 21, 2019 NBC News, "the British band announced that they won't tour until they can find a way to make their concerts more environmentally friendly....They will play two shows in Jordan, which they will broadcast to the world via YouTube instead of touring their new album."

The band's goal "is to find a way to make their concerts a net positive for the environment, but (front man Chris) Martin said the hardest part of going green (carbon neutral and plastic free) is the environmental impact of air travel." 

The NBC report described the work of two groups, Reverb and the Green Touring Network, which specialize in greening tours. Some bands have changed their lighting to LEDs and also purchasing carbon offsets. The Network, according to the NBC report, "says audience travel accounts for one-third of a tour's carbon footprint, and venues account for another third.

The BBC also reported on this story and includes a video of Coldplay front man, Chris Martin describing the band's initiative, a pie chart on the carbon footprint of a tour and further discussion of the environmental impacts of staging a world tour.

"Everyday Life" was just released and you can see two videos, Sunrise and Sunset, at the Coldplay website. Other options for viewing/listening are included, too. You can, for example, download a copy of the Everyday Life booklet.