Viva la Vida Tour

The Viva la Vida Tour was the fourth concert tour undertaken by British rock band Coldplay. It was launched in support of their fourth studio album, Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends (2008), becoming a massive commercial and critical success. The tour visited Europe, Asia, Oceania and the Americas, further establishing the band as one of the biggest touring acts in the world.

The stage setup consisted of a stripped-down main stage and two catwalks; Coldplay also performed amongst audience members at the back of venues in a special acoustic set. Instead of a giant video screen on-stage, the band opted for six hanging giant spheres that displayed images, video and streamed closeups. Lead singer Chris Martin dubbed the fixtures as their "magic balls". During the introduction, "The Blue Danube" by Johann Strauss II was played before the band came into the stage. The tour visited arenas and stadiums in two separate phases: in London, they visited The O2 Arena in 2008 and the Wembley Stadium in 2009, with the latter show featuring a half-dome stage design.

Coldplay were accompanied by Oxfam and David Gibbin during the tour. Volunteers were stationed at each venue to tell concert goers how to reduce poverty; the organization's logo and website was featured on one of the light ball fixtures during each show. On 23 July 2008 Coldplay performed their second in two shows at the United Center arena in Chicago. In each of the two shows, the band shot the music video for "Lost!" by performing the song twice. On 19 September 2008, Chris Martin was accompanied by A-ha pianist Magne Furuholmen in the encore at the Oslo Spektrum, Oslo, to play a cover of the A-Ha song "Hunting High and Low".

Visuals
The intro of the concert would begin in space before turning to show the Earth and zooming to aerial views of the continent, country, city and then stadium that the show would take place. The idea was to make each show being a spectacle in its own, rather than just part of the tour. The cosmic theme is repeated across a number of the visuals like "Speed of Sound" and "Glass of Water". This takes the gig-goers on a journey through a solar system where the stars coalesce to form an eye shape that goes supernova and engulfs the screen in flames. However, other sections of the show were completely different. "Lovers in Japan", one of the highlights in visual terms, uses a series of archive footage and animations across the screen at the back of the stage and in the end thousands of confetti butterflies would rain all over the venue. For the show's closing number, "Life in Technicolor II", the paintings created for the album artwork from Viva La Vida was treated with sprocket and projection effects to create a vibrant, immersive and colorful effect.

Opening acts
There were 34 supporting acts for the tour. They are:


 * Jon Hopkins (North America&mdash;Leg 1, select dates)
 * Shearwater (North America&mdash;Leg 1, select dates)
 * Santigold (North America&mdash;Leg 1, select dates) (Japan&mdash;February 2009)
 * Sleepercar (North America&mdash;Leg 1, select dates)
 * Duffy (North America&mdash;Leg 2, select dates)
 * Snow Patrol (North America&mdash;Leg 3, select dates)
 * Howling Bells (North America&mdash;Leg 3, select dates) (Europe&mdash;Leg 3, select dates)
 * Pete Yorn (North America&mdash;Leg 3, select dates)
 * Amadou & Mariam (North America&mdash;Leg 4, select dates)
 * Kitty, Daisy & Lewis (North America&mdash;Leg 4, select dates)
 * Elbow (North America&mdash;Leg 4, select dates) (Ireland&mdash;September 2009)
 * Albert Hammond Jr (Europe&mdash;Leg 1)
 * The High Wire (Europe&mdash;Leg 2, select dates)
 * Eugene Francis Jnr and the Juniors and the Juniors (England&mdash;December 2008)
 * The Domino State (London&mdash;14 December 2008)
 * Kilians (Europe&mdash;Leg 3, select dates)


 * Bat For Lashes (Europe&mdash;Leg 3, select dates) (South America)
 * The Flaming Lips (Europe&mdash;Leg 3, select dates)
 * White Lies (Europe&mdash;Leg 3, select dates)
 * Moi Caprice (Denmark&mdash;August 2009)
 * Datarock (Norway&mdash;August 2009)
 * Ministri (Italy&mdash;August 2009)
 * Pegasus (Switzerland&mdash;September 2009)
 * The Sunday Drivers (Spain&mdash;September 2009)
 * Miss Montreal (Netherlands&mdash;September 2009)
 * Girls Aloud (Britain (Scotland and England)&mdash;September 2009)
 * Jay-Z (Britain (Scotland and England)&mdash;September 2009)
 * La Roux (England&mdash;December 2009)
 * Decoder Ring (Australia)
 * Hollie Smith (New Zealand)
 * Mercury Rev (Australia) (New Zealand) (Asia&mdash;March 2009)
 * The Ting Tings (Japan&mdash;February 2009)
 * Vanguart (Brazil)

Reception
In total, the tour grossed $222,256,153 from 3,022,635 tickets sold. Coldplay also broke the attendance record of Sydney's Acer Arena, which was previously held by Justin Timberlake's FutureSex/LoveShow (2007).

Personnel
Credits taken from the band's official tour book, which was sold exclusively on merchandise booths and their online store.


 * Performing members
 * Chris Martin – lead vocals, piano, rhythm guitar
 * Jonny Buckland – lead guitar, backing vocals, keyboards
 * Guy Berryman – bass, backing vocals, keyboards, percussion
 * Will Champion – drums, backing vocals, percussion


 * Main crew
 * Dave Holmes – manager
 * Andy Franks – tour manager
 * Phil Harvey – creative director
 * Vicki Taylor – artist assistant and instrument painting
 * Emma Jane McDonald – artist assistant
 * Paul Normandale – production designer
 * Craig Finley – production manager
 * Dan Green – FoH sound
 * Fraser Elisha – lighting director
 * Chris Wood – monitor engineer
 * Yasmine Kotb – tour accountant
 * Kurt Wagner – stage manager
 * Marguerite Nguyen – production assistant
 * Craig Hope – backline technician
 * Matt McGinn – guitar technician
 * Sean Buttery – drum technician
 * Neil Lambert – backline technician
 * Matt Miller – MIDI technician and videographer
 * Tony Smith – FoH assistant
 * Nick Davis – monitor technician
 * Stephanie Thompson – RF technician


 * Video
 * Andy Bramley – video director and content
 * Ed Jarman – video engineer and crew chief
 * Ben Miles – catalyst and content
 * Mathew Vassalo – projectionist


 * Video crew
 * Jason Lowe
 * Phil Johnson


 * Lighting crew
 * Dave Favourita (chief)
 * Tommy Green
 * Wayne Kwiat
 * Niall Ogilvy
 * David Cox (UK)
 * Dave Jolly (UK)
 * Marta Iwan (US)
 * Jim Michaelis (US)


 * Sound technicians
 * Rob Collett (UK)
 * Owen McAuley (UK)
 * Simon Rogers (UK)
 * Jim Allen (US)
 * Stephan Curtain (US)
 * Carlos Sallaberry (US)


 * Stage
 * Rick Stucker – head carpenter
 * Russell Macias – carpenter
 * Gabriel Wood – head rigger
 * Charles Anderson – rigger
 * Brooke Blomquist – confetti
 * Mike Hartle – laser
 * Tiffany Henry – dressing rooms and wardrobe


 * Security
 * Jackie Jackson – venue security
 * Kelly Samuels – band security
 * Geoff Sands – band security


 * Merchandise
 * Signatures Network, Inc. – Dell Furano, Rick Fish, Pete Weber
 * De-Lux – Jeremy Joseph
 * Eric Wagner – product development and road manager
 * Joe Heden – US Road Merchandise Mrg.
 * Jon Ellis – UK Road Merchandise Mgr.


 * Catering
 * Heidi Varah – chief
 * Darren Shead – head chef
 * Pauline Austin – chef
 * Sarah Money – FoH
 * Jessie Collins – FoH


 * Management
 * Mandi Bursteen, Ivan Entchevitch – Dave Holmes assistant
 * Lauren Valencia, Arlene Moon – 3D Management


 * Booking agents
 * Marty Diamond, Larry Webman – Paradigm (US)
 * Steve Strange, Josh Javor, Nicki Forestiero – X-Ray Touring (international)


 * Business management
 * Lester Dales, Maul Makin – Dales Evans
 * Donna McQueen, Tracy Lawson – assistant
 * David Weise – David Weise and Associates (US)


 * Legal representative
 * Gavin Maude – Russells


 * Suppliers
 * Chapman Freeborne – aircraft charter
 * Matt Snowball Music – anything at any time
 * Stars and Cars – Europe artist transport
 * Moorcrofts – UK artist transport
 * DPL – US artist transport
 * Beat the Street – UK buses
 * Celebrity Coaches – US buses
 * Global Motion – freight forwarder
 * Robertson Taylor Insurance Brokers – insurance brokers
 * Lite Alt – UK lighting
 * Upstaging – US lighting
 * All Access – passes
 * Strictly FX – confetti and lasers
 * Wigwam – UK sound
 * Eighth Day – US sound
 * John Henry's – storage
 * Celebrity Protection – tour security
 * Music by Appointment – UK travel
 * Altour – US travel
 * Stagetruck – UK trucks
 * Upstaging – US trucks
 * XL Video – video


 * 77 Million Paintings
 * Brian Eno – paintings and music


 * Website
 * Wendy Marvel, Brian Schulmeister – design
 * Chris Salmon – editor
 * Debs Wild – ambassador


 * Creative input
 * Brian Eno
 * Markus Dravs
 * Tim Crompton
 * Lee Lodge


 * Tour book
 * Wendy Marvel, Eric Wagner – design
 * Matthew Miller – front cover design
 * William Garland – lithography


 * Photos courtesy of
 * Guy Berryman
 * Stephan Crasneanscki
 * James Gooding
 * Dan Green
 * Penny Howle
 * Matthew Miller
 * Greg Waterman


 * Others
 * Pete Lusby – Oxfam UK representative
 * Soha Yassine – Oxfam US representative
 * Dan Portanier – trainer
 * Rik Simpson – additional musical production
 * Andy Rugg – additional engineering
 * Beth Fenton – stage uniforms designer


 * Special thanks
 * Alison Burton
 * Air Studios
 * All bus and truck drivers

Gear
Credits taken from Projection, Lights & Staging News, with product quantities being represented between parenthesis whenever possible.


 * Flying Pig Systems Wholehog 3
 * Wing, Catalyst and Green Hippo Hippotizer Media Servers
 * Martin MAC 2000 Wash XBs (17)
 * Martin MAC 2000 Wash Fixtures (7)
 * Martin MAC 700 Spots (32)
 * Martin MAC 250 Wash Fixtures (20)
 * Martin Atomic 3000 Strobes (27)
 * Nova Flowers (4)
 * i-Pix BB4s (12)
 * Omni Wash Lights (10)
 * Mole Richardson 4-Lite Blinders (28)
 * Mole Richardson 2K Mole Beams (8)
 * Custom Clip Light Fixtures (4)
 * Reel EFX DF 50s (4)
 * Look Solutions Unique Haze Machines (4)