According to one environmental group, the band generated the equivalent carbon footprint of a return flight to Mars. U2's infamous 'claw' allowed the band to play in the middle of their audience - but at what cost to the environment?Īt the most extreme end of the scale, the ambitious 'claw' structure that U2 took on the road in 2009 required 120 trucks to shift it around. Fans travelling to and from shows are the biggest source of pollution but there's an environmental cost to producing merchandise, powering the spotlights and moving stages from venue to venue. It's not just flights that cause the problem. There's no easy way to calculate the band's carbon footprint but the music industry's most recent figures suggest that live music generates 405,000 tonnes of greenhouse-gas emissions in the UK every year. In fact, the band's last tour employed 109 crew, 32 trucks and nine bus drivers, who travelled to five continents, playing to 5.4 million people at 122 concerts. Staging a world tour isn't as simple as bunging Chris Martin and his bandmates in the back of a mini-van with a map and a year's supply of digestives. Touring's environmental impact - Mark Savage, BBC Music reporter 'Journalism at its best finds these individual stories that reinforce our shared humanity,' he explained.Ĭoldplay will perform a one-off concert for fans at the Natural History Museum in London on 25 November.Īll proceeds from the show will be donated to an environmental charity. Martin said songs from Everyday Life had been inspired in part by BBC News reports about an Afghan gardener and a Nigerian hymn composer. 'In a very gentle British way, this record is us saying we don't feel different from any human on earth.' 'If you've had the privilege of travelling around the world, you know we're all from the same place,' he went on.

He said the new record - which will be released on Friday - reflected the band's global perspective. Speaking to BBC entertainment correspondent Colin Paterson, Martin said Jordan had been chosen because 'we wanted to pick somewhere in the middle of the world where we normally don't get to play'. 'We all have a responsibility to lead by example in the face of this climate and nature crisis - inaction is not an option if we are to preserve our planet for future generations,' said Gareth Redmond-King, the organisation's head of climate change. The WWF welcomed Coldplay's initiative, saying: 'It is fantastic to see world-famous artists stepping up to protect the planet. How do we turn it around so it's no so much taking as giving?' 'We've done a lot of big tours at this point. But, for example, our dream is to have a show with no single use plastic, to have it largely solar powered. 'The hardest thing is the flying side of things. 'We would be disappointed if it's not carbon neutral. 'Our next tour will be the best possible version of a tour like that environmentally,' Martin said. Coldplay reveal new album tracks in local paper.Musicians 'have to be proactive' on climate change.The UK band last travelled the world with their A Head Full of Dreams Tour, which saw them stage 122 shows across five continents in 20. The concerts, will take place in Amman on Friday at sunrise and sunset respectively, mirroring the two 'sides' of their new album. 'All of us have to work out the best way of doing our job,' he continued, saying the band wanted their future tours to 'have a positive impact'.Ĭoldplay's new album Everyday Life is released on Friday and, instead of spending months on the road, they are playing two gigs in Jordan, which will be broadcast, free, to a global audience on YouTube. 'We're taking time over the next year or two, to work out how our tour can not only be sustainable how can it be actively beneficial.' 'We're not touring this album,' frontman Chris Martin told BBC News. Coldplay have put plans to tour their new album on hold, due to concerns over the environmental impact of concerts.

A head full of dreams tour profit