Coldplay Helps Wembley Stadium Pilot New Sustainable Initiatives

Wembley Stadium connected by EE piloted a range of environmentally friendly new initiatives during the recent record-breaking run of ten shows by Coldplay.

While the band implemented kinetic floors and exercise bikes – encouraging fans to generate energy which helped power the shows – Wembley introduced a range of sustainable practices to build on its drive to become one of the greenest stadiums in the world.

Working with Delaware North, the hospitality and foodservice provider at Wembley, the stadium team adopted an all-aluminium approach to serving drinks across the ten shows – believed to be a stadium first in the UK.

All draught beers and cocktails were served in reusable, aluminium cups. The cups replaced around 400,000 traditional plastic cups making the recycling process quicker and safer.

In addition, Wembley and Delaware North also introduced new, innovative machinery which transformed canned drinks into smooth, open beverage containers that replaced the need for decanting into a plastic cup.

Together, more than one tonne of aluminium cups and cans were collected up for recycling – with the aim now to repurpose the aluminium into something useful for local schools and community groups.

Traditional cardboard food packaging was also replaced with biodegradable, seaweed-based containers. The packaging is free from a plastic coating and capable of breaking down naturally like fruit peel in any environment.

Elsewhere, Wembley Stadium’s waste and recycling provider Veolia reported impressive recycling rates across the residency, with a high of 72% on night 5.

Overall waste collected was also down by almost a third compared to other concert residencies – showcasing the stadium’s efforts to implement Coldplay’s sustainable principles.

A Wembley Stadium spokesperson, said: “Coldplay’s record-breaking residency at Wembley Stadium gave us the opportunity to test new ways of advancing our sustainability goals.

“These initiatives enabled us to explore innovative approaches while still delivering a first-class experience for fans. With the strong support and engagement of our guests, we achieved record levels of recycling and waste reduction, demonstrating that large-scale events at Wembley can be both world-class and sustainable.”

Images: The FA/Wembley Stadium