Coldplay has announced it will refrain from touring its new album until it can find ways to make its concerts more “sustainable” and “actively beneficial” to the environment.
Chris Martin, the front man of the British band, said it is not touring ‘Everyday Life’ so it can figure out a way to make sure its series of concerts are carbon neutral.
Coldplay boasts the fourth highest grossing tour ever with its ‘A Head Full of Dreams’ Tour in 2016-17, earning $523m over 114 shows and shifting more than 5.39 million tickets.
Martin told BBC News: “We’re not touring this album. We’re taking time over the next year or two, to work out how our tour can not only be sustainable [but] how can it be actively beneficial.
“All of us have to work out the best way of doing our job,” he continued, saying the band wanted their future tours to “have a positive impact.”
The band’s new album has been released today (Friday), and two gigs in Jordan will be broadcast today for free across YouTube.
They are also set to play a one-off concert at the Natural History Museum in London on November 25, with all proceeds going to environmental law charity ClientEarth.
Martin continued: “Our next tour will be the best possible version of a tour like that environmentally. We would be disappointed if it’s not carbon neutral.
“The hardest thing is the flying side of things. But, for example, our dream is to have a show with no single use plastic, to have it largely solar powered.
“We’ve done a lot of big tours at this point. How do we turn it around so it’s no so much taking as giving?”
Other top artists are addressing the impact of touring on the environment with America’s Billie Eilish announcing she would make her world tour “as green as possible.” She said plastic straws would be banned, fans would be encouraged to bring refillable water bottles, and venues would be fitted with comprehensive recycling facilities.
In addition, Billie Eilish fans who pledge to fight the climate emergency with the organisation Global Citizen can earn free tickets to the sold-out shows.
Image: NewsDog
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