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Home / Entertainment

Why you should pay $750 to see Adele up close

Siena Yates
By Siena Yates
NZ Herald·
14 Mar, 2017 07:30 AM5 mins to read

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Adele walks the outer-ring of her stage. Photo / Getty Images

Adele walks the outer-ring of her stage. Photo / Getty Images

Adele will be in the country next week and if you want to get up close and personal with her, it's going to cost you - $750 to be exact.

With all three stadium shows completely sold out except for those pricey VIP tickets, there's just one question on every fan's lips: Is it worth it?

I wanted to say no, because $750 is more than it costs for a ticket to Coachella; a three-day, multi-artist festival which, until recently, had a lineup that included Beyonce. It is a lot.

The Golden Circle gets you as close to Adele as possible. Photo / Getty Images
The Golden Circle gets you as close to Adele as possible. Photo / Getty Images

But the truth is that yes, if you're a fan of Adele, it's worth it.

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I was lucky enough to head along to her show in Sydney on Friday night and join the VIP crowd in the fabled "Golden Circle".

Priced at $750, a VIP Golden Circle ticket gets you as close to Adele as possible, an exclusive tour gift, a commemorative tour laminate and VIP check-in.

I arrived too late to really take advantage of the VIP check-in, but I can only imagine how much of a difference it makes when tens of thousands of fans are all pushing to get into the stadium.

The gift is a one of a kind gift, apparently hand-picked by Adele and as far as I could tell wasn't available at the merchandise stands. It also comes in a handy Adele-themed tote bag.

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But that's all by the by when you're walking past thousands of fans, straight to the center of the arena to take your place right next to the 360-degree stage.

View this post on Instagram

This just happened tonight. Within arms reach of the queen @adele .... (we had a second of solid eye contact) #adele #adelesydney #adelelive2017 @dayoneadelefans @adelettes

A post shared by Jess Massey (@jess.massey) on Mar 10, 2017 at 5:30am PST

There are, of course, a couple of downsides. It's the only standing area of the audience, and we stood around for about an hour before Adele eventually took to the stage, 45 minutes later than promised. (Because she heard the trains were running late and half the audience hadn't even managed to get into the stadium yet.)

After that you're on your feet for two-and-a-half hours with nowhere to sit should your shoes betray you (pro tip: wear comfortable shoes).

I was also so close to the stage that I missed out on things the rest of the audience got to see, like the video content on the big screens and the fireworks shooting out the top of the stage.

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But it also meant I was close enough that I could have reached out and touched Adele as she passed by, that I awkwardly made accidental eye contact while she was singing effortlessly and I was screaming my heart out, and that she waved at me before picking up the next verse.

View this post on Instagram

I love her faces 😂 @Adele sings 'Rolling In The Deep' at the ANZ Stadium , Sydney , March 11 👸🏼✨ // Video by: @eugenekzy ~ #adele #adeleaustralia #adele25tour #adelelive #adelesydney

A post shared by Adelemyqueenn ©® 👸🏼 (@adelemyqueenn) on Mar 12, 2017 at 8:37am PDT

What the seating map doesn't make clear, is the existence of an outer ring attached to the main stage. Throughout the show, the pop star descends the stairs to walk the circular runway which runs between the Golden Circle and the VIP seated area.

She's close enough that you could reach out and hold her hand and a fair few people tried as she moved around the 360-degree stage to make sure everyone got their chance to get face-to-face.

The best part of being in the Golden Circle is you get the best of both worlds.
You're stage-side but you have the freedom to move. It's full, but it's not packed. At no point was I pressed up against a sweaty stranger, fighting for space.

There's room to move, to dance, and to run back and forward between the main stage and the outer ring.

Adele performs so flawlessly and so effortlessly, that to witness it up close is something special. You can see her draw each breath before a big note, see the faces she pulls as she hits those notes, and even see the terrified side-glance she gives when she nearly falls down the stairs.

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At $750, the Golden Circle is not for the casual Adele fan. You have to really want to be there, but if that's you, then the experience basically pays for itself.

• A limited number of Golden Circle tickets are still available, but only until Thursday, March 16. See TicketMaster for details.

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