Archive review: I saw Shawn Mendes on the Illuminate World Tour at The O2 in London on 2 June 2017. This post preserves my experience from that night and has been tidied for Clarissa’s Corner while keeping the original memories intact.
Our First Shawn Mendes Concert
This was KK’s first ever concert, and what a first concert to have: Shawn Mendes on the Illuminate World Tour. She already loved “Treat You Better”, “Mercy” and “Ruin”. We had not heard much of the Illuminate album beyond the songs that had made it into the charts, although we regularly sang along to Shawn in the car with the volume turned right up.
Arriving at The O2
The concert took place shortly after the Manchester Arena attack, so there was understandably a much heavier security presence around The O2. It was reassuring to see the precautions being taken, but the atmosphere also felt tense. My thoughts were very much with the victims, their families and everyone affected by what had happened.
We queued for quite a while while bags were searched and sniffer dogs worked around the entrance. I understood why the extra security was necessary, but I still found it stressful because I really dislike people going through my bag. KK did not really understand what was happening either. She was anxious, desperate to get inside and find our seats, and by that point she was completely hyper.
A journey that would normally have taken around 15 minutes took us about an hour, followed by roughly another 30 minutes getting into the venue. As a result, we missed the support act.
Our Seats and the Atmosphere
Once we finally got inside, we had good seats with a lovely view of the stage and the screens. There were probably areas with an even better view, but I liked being fairly close to the stage without feeling too close.
The show itself was fantastic. As you can probably imagine, there were plenty of screaming teenagers, cries of “I love you!” and more than a few tears. It was exactly the sort of wonderfully chaotic atmosphere you expect at a huge pop concert.
One thing I particularly remember was Shawn repeatedly thanking everyone for coming. He spoke about being nervous to perform too, which I found really sweet. He was still very young himself, and there was something endearing about hearing him acknowledge those nerves while standing in front of an arena full of people.
The Illuminate World Tour on Stage
The opening looked brilliant. The band was waiting on stage with the lights up, while a huge illuminated sphere and platform hovered away from the main stage. Shawn made his entrance through the smoke and headed towards the stage — cue an arena full of screaming fans.
Later in the show, he disappeared from the main stage and reappeared beneath the floating sphere to perform more songs. It was beautiful watching him reach out towards the crowd and seeing the reactions of the fans closest to him.
Overall, I thought the Illuminate World Tour was a must-see. Shawn had a great voice and came across as a genuinely likeable performer. Even the odd forgotten lyric made the night feel more real rather than overly polished.
Setlist From the Night
- Ruin
- Mercy
- Treat You Better
- Three Empty Words
- Don’t Be a Fool
- Like This
- No Promises
- Lights On
- Honest
- Patience
- Bad Reputation
- Understand
- Hold On
- Roses
- Mercy (Acoustic)
A Clarissa’s Corner Concert Archive
This review originally appeared in 2017 and remains here as part of the Clarissa’s Corner concert archive. The old text-heavy photo collages have been retired from the article, but the memories and details recorded in them have been preserved in the review above.
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I’m so pleased you found the courage to go to the concert and that you all had such a great time! It has been a devastating time for us Brits but our spirit makes me feel proud. x
I’m glad your daughter had a wonderful time. Sadly recent events have made me wary of taking my children to the concerts that we have tickets for, but I am reassured to read that the security was much stronger. xx
Oh that’s a shame where are you meant to be going? I’m sure security will be much higher now for you xx
I admire your courage for attending the concert, I couldn’t have done it. It’s just devastating what happened but it sounds like an amazing concert.
Thank you was hard but he had more courage to go out and preform for us all x
I have yet to take my kids to a concert, but I was thinking about it. Recent events have made me feel very wary. Im glad you had a lovely time.
I cried for days after the Manchester incident. Well done for going to the concert. It sounded great. Glad the security was good. X
It’s shocking and terrifying the times we live in currently, I hope it finishes soon as it’s getting to much now xx
Good you guys went for the concert. Hate would never win. Looks like you had a good time.
Well done for being brave. We went to Legoland this week and security had been stepped up but I was still a little nervous. Glad you had a good time 🙂
Well done for having the courage to go, I’m sure a lot of people would have stayed away. Like you say though, although scary, the heightened security just makes it even safer. Glad you daughter enjoyed her first concert experience x
#HappyDaysLinky
Sounds like a great concert, something that my daughter would love. We recently saw Ed Sheeran and it was amazing
Funny you say that I’m seeing Ed soon aswell lol