Fans celebrate last chance to see Westlife on stage
After 14 years, 14 UK number-one singles and 44 million records sold worldwide, the Irish boy group Westlife gave their last two concerts at Dublin’s Croke Park on 22 and 23 June.
The quartet performed before a total of 170,000 fans over the two nights, with a mix of dance tunes and ballads, singing hits such as ‘World of Our Own’ and Bill Joel’s ‘Uptown Girl’, as well as a few choice covers like Robbie Williams’ ‘Let Me Entertain You’ and the Kings of Leon’s ‘Sex on Fire’.
Combined with a dazzling stage show with impressive lighting and fireworks, they had the crowd whipped into a frenzy – no doubt helped along by support act Jedward, who got the party atmosphere started in the sold-out Croke Park.
Many hours before the concerts began, thousand of fans of all ages flocked to Croke Park to snatch a good spot in the stadium. Most of the female fans wore shiny hats and shirts featuring the faces of Westlife members Kian Egan, Mark Feehily, Nicky Byrne and Shane Filan.
Courtney McQuiston and Demi-Lee Orr, two teenagers from Belfast, said they had attended “so many Westlife concerts we can’t count.” Likewise, Georguna Haberlin and her friends said that they were happy to see their favourite group one more time before they split.
Jessica Fromm, a German fan who travelled to Dublin for the concerts, said that she hopes for a comeback of the boy group in a few years’ time – an shared hope among most fans in and around Croke Park.
