Here’s everything you need to know about the Pink concert including transport options, weather forecast and what you can and can’t bring to the show.
REVIEW
Australia loves Pink with a passion, her songs and albums have reached number one on the charts more times than she can count, but on Friday night as the pop star took to the stage with her rebellious spiky hair, sequinned leotard and her 2001 hit Get the PartyStarted, an enthusiastic Eden Park crowd revealed that maybe, just maybe, New Zealand loves Pink more.
“It feels good here,” the star told her nearly sold-out audience. “My cheeks are numb from smiling, I’m smiling way too much,” she grinned.
Coming off the back of her “mesmerising” Dunedin show, which 37,000 punters attended, Pink was bright-eyed and bushy-tailed ready to turn the stadium into one big fun house - and for good reason.
Pink’s New Zealand tour is a memorable occasion for the star. Not only does it mark the first time she has reunited with her Kiwi fans since 2018, but it also solidifies her spot as the artist who has played the most stadium concerts in Australia and New Zealand.
“Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you,” she humbly repeated after playing her hit tunes Raise Your Glass and Who Knew: “Thank you guys for coming to play with us tonight.”
It was a gratitude that was mutual and saw one thing become clear.
Pink performs at Eden Park last night. Photo / Carson Bluck
While it’s obvious Pink’s music, her evident rejection of the 2000s pop princess blueprint, and her jaw-dropping acrobatics that turn any show into a spectacle, all contribute to her success, her multi-generational reign as a household name comes largely down to her ability to connect with her fans.
Throughout the two-hour show, she spent what felt like just as much time talking to the crowd as she did singing to them. She told relatable stories like how she is trying to stop using “um” as a sentence starter. Or how she “made the mistake” of telling her 12-year-old daughter Willow she had beautiful long hair, “so she shaved it off”.
She even spotted an 11-week-old baby in the crowd and joked, “Can I have it? Can I eat that baby?”. And, she shares gifts with her fans.
While in between tunes, the songstress chatted to her pianist, thanking him for the sweet treats he provided which included the American sweet, Twizzlers and the Kiwi treat, Whittaker’s Berry Forrest.
Grabbing a handful of Twizzlers, she threw them into the crowd cheekily telling them, ”these are soft so it shouldn’t hurt, but I don’t promise,” she chuckled.
But something did hurt, when eyeing up the Porirua-made chocolate, the star told the audience, “I don’t know how I feel about that one.” Pondering for a little while longer, she soon made a decision announcing, “I don’t want these though, no offence,” and threw them into the audience.
Lucky for the Grammy winner, the act appeared to be one with little backlash and upon performing Just Give Me A Reason - a number-one charting song in Australia and New Zealand, all was forgotten.
Pink sizzled at Eden Park. Photo / Carson Bluck
Continuing her show with songs from Missundaztood all the way through to Trustfall, the singer took her fans on a nearly 25-year-long career journeycomplete with a colourful display of choreography and impressive vocals that were more often than not executed while flying through the air. But the real wow factor came when she introduced her daughter, Willow onto the stage.
“I’m trying to teach my daughter new things,” she announced.
“Actually she’s my teacher. She’s already smarter than I ever was, and speaking of my beautiful daughter,” she laughed, the crowd roaring knowing exactly what was coming next. Cover Me In Sunshine, a harmonious duet between the two.
Pink revealed the cover earned her daughter the nickname, ‘One Take Willow’ after she recorded once and only once, “She came in and she did one take, it was perfect and then she went swimming.”
Pink performs at Eden Park on March 8, 2023. Photo / Carson Bluck
Joining her mum on stage, the mother-daughter duo showcased their raw vocal talents becoming an undoubted highlight of the night - and just another reason why Pink’s tours are so record-breaking. They are completely and utterly authentic.
The last time Pink toured New Zealand- with the Beautiful Trauma World Tour selling out seven Kiwi shows, she broke the record for the highest number of concerts performed at Spark Arena on a single tour. This time, she’s back and bigger than ever with the Summer Carnival tour estimated to be her largest grossing yet.
With 20 stadium shows across 10 cities in Australia and New Zealand alone, by the time the lights go out after Saturday night’s show, she would have played to almost 1 million fans across the two countries.
As for how the tour stands up compared to her others, in October 2023, Billboard reported the tour had grossed US$257.6 million ($422.6m) with figures from her Australasian and upcoming Europe, Canada and America showing profits yet to be revealed.
By the time the star’s setlist reached an end, there was excitement in the air, the crowd had more in them, the dancers were ready for one last boogie and as for Pink? An encore demand confirmed, she too had more to give her Kiwi crowd.
“Do you have time for one more?” she asked the already ecstatic crowd before launching into So What.
Galavanting through the air, defying gravity as she bounced overheads and jumped on tiny stage additions, Pink may not have enjoyed New Zealand’s signature treat, Whittakers, but she certainly enjoyed her second of three huge shows here.
Lillie Rohan is an Auckland-based reporter covering lifestyle and entertainment stories who joined the Herald in 2020. She specialises in all things relationships and dating, Kiwi celebs we can’t help but love and TV shows you simply cannot miss out on.
