More than 400 Harry Styles fans camped out last night to try to secure a place at the front of the barriers ahead of the star's gig at Emirates Old Trafford. The Watermelon Sugar singer is set to perform across two nights, tonight (Wednesday 15) and tomorrow (Thursday 16) to crowds of over 70,000. His fandom are well known for their dedication, often choosing to camp out for days on end to ensure a good view to watch the show.
Read more: Harry Styles at Emirates Old Trafford - stage times, support, setlist, tickets and parking
A representative from Emirates Old Trafford explained that the stadium continued to discourage fans from camping in the area due to the busy roads around the venue. However, due to the numbers of fans who turned up, a contingency plan was in place to ensure the health and safety, and well-being, of fans.
Yesterday, the merchandise stand opened a day early to long queues so that fans could get their hands on Harry's 'Love On Tour 2022' merch, before the show even took place. However, it wasn't only love at Old Trafford for this tour as fans used social media to call out other fans who ignored Emirates Old Trafford's plea for no camping.
A statement shared to Emirates Old Trafford’s Instagram page asked fans to arrive in time for the show, and no earlier.
It read: “Please DO NOT arrive the day, or night, before the show. Gates open at 4pm for both shows.
“The roads around Emirates Old Trafford are extremely busy with narrow pathways causing danger for pedestrians. Please do not put yourself and others at risk.
“Fans who arrive early run the risk of not being admitted into Emirates Old Trafford for the shows!”
This message seemingly dissuaded many fans from camping. However, it also caused a rift between those who ignored it and those who listened.
Lou, a 19 year-old from Doncaster told the M.E.N that some fans on a WhatsApp group had been threatening those who decided to camp.
She said: “There are girls threatening to slash our tents, saying ‘I will p*** on your tents’, and ‘free public toilets’. Other messages shown to the Manchester Evening News from one of these WhatsApp groups read: “We all think you’re disrespectful c*** and I will push past your s*** fan queue to get in.”
“Hope they get trampled on at concert.”
“I will drop kick them or kick the back of their knees so their legs collapse.”
Lou added that she had stopped going to concerts for a while after being an audience member during Ariana Grande's Arena show on the tragic night of the bomb in 2017. She said: “I used to go to concerts all the time, but then the attack happened. My first show back was Louis in Manchester. We camped for five days for Louis in Manchester and four days in Doncaster.”
Other messages have been shared on Twitter, showing the rift between the fans who choose to camp and those who don’t.
A fan from Sweden, who asked not to be named due to the threats received, said: “We got here [Monday] morning at 9am. We got here as early as we could because we have early access tickets and we’re hoping for the barricade. I’m going to 19 shows and then 10 in the US, I’ve worked for this for five years. It’s not my parents' money.”
When asked about how security had reacted to them pitching their tent, she said: “They’re fair to the fans, dedicated fans like us. People are really concerned about the early entry.”
Another fan, from France, added: “I camped out in Glasgow in the rain, it was horrible but they had grass and they put barricades all around us. They were super caring.”
