Girls Aloud kick off reunion tour devoted to late bandmate Sarah Harding

Girls Aloud have taken to the stage for the primary gig of their reunion tour with emotional tributes to their late bandmate Sarah Harding.

A 30-minute delay to the present blamed on “Dublin motorway closures”, did nothing to dim the delight of followers when Nadine Coyle, Cheryl, Nicola Roberts and Kimberley Walsh appeared on stage, standing on particular person podiums singing their 2008 tune Untouchable.

The comeback tour has been devoted to Harding, who was recognized with most cancers and died in September 2021 aged 39.

During the present, the group carried out a duet with Harding, whose vocals to I’ll Stand By You performed as they joined in stay on-stage.

They later sang considered one of their largest hits, The Promise, throughout which the singers stopped and turned their backs to the viewers to look at footage of Harding performing the tune on her personal.

A publish on the official Girls Aloud X account mentioned: “Show 1 done. Dublin you were absolutely INCREDIBLE. What a start to the #TheGirlsAloudShow tour.”

The singers received Popstars: The Rivals in 2002 and fashioned Girls Aloud, occurring to realize 4 UK primary singles and a Brit award.

Read extra:
Tour will ‘by no means be the identical’ with out Sarah
Sarah Harding obituary
Girls Aloud star’s life in footage

They reunited with new music for his or her tenth anniversary in 2012, whereas a second reunion was deliberate for his or her twentieth anniversary when Harding was recognized with most cancers.

Less than an hour earlier than their anticipated arrival on the 3Arena in Dublin, the group issued an up to date stage time on X.
It mentioned as a consequence of “Dublin motorway closures”, the band would arrive half-hour later than anticipated at 9.15pm.

Ahead of the present, a publish on the official Girls Aloud X account mentioned: “Rehearsals? Done. Choreography? Ready. Outfits? Fitted. Girls? Aloud.

“…We’ve been working so onerous to make this present particular for all of you.”

After two back-to-back opening nights in Dublin’s 3Arena, Girls Aloud will play two concert events on the SSE Arena in Belfast on Monday and Tuesday, earlier than heading to the Manchester AO Arena from Thursday to Saturday.

In November, the group had so as to add six further dates to their UK and Ireland 2024 area tour as a consequence of “unprecedented demand” following ticket pre-sales.