The Spice Girls have returned for the first in a series of massive reunion shows, seven years after they last performed together, playing for a crowd of 75,000 eager fans in Dublin‘s Croke Park.
The current lineup of the group features Emma Bunton, Melanie Brown, Melanie Chisholm and Geri Horner, with Victoria Beckham sitting the tour out to focus on her fashion career.
The band took to the stage dressed in versions of their iconic ’90s looks, and opened the show with their hit ‘Spice Up Your Life‘ as fireworks exploded over the arena.
Opening scenes @spicegirls 💃🥂#SpiceWorld2019 pic.twitter.com/OZ8ezBAdSo
— Katie Hind (@katiehind) May 24, 2019
At one point, Horner told the crowd: “We’re four grown women dressed as a superhero, a princess, a queen, and a leopard – I hope you all get a good laugh out of it because it’s all for you.”
They also cheekily addressed Horner’s departure from the original Spice Girls lineup, with Brown joking that the announcement came on her birthday and that it was “the best birthday present I ever got.”
This is all got a bit emosh #vivaforever #SpiceWorld2019 @spicegirls pic.twitter.com/iVRLdD40wJ
— Katie Hind (@katiehind) May 24, 2019
There were complaints of sound issues during the Spice Girls’ show, with some fans saying they could not discern what song was being played, but promoters insisted that this was down to the size of the venue rather than any specific technical issue.
What a time to be alive 🇬🇧🇮🇪 #SpiceWorld2019 pic.twitter.com/hxgRcXPvuj
— joel (@joelhuds) May 24, 2019
Here at the @spicegirls @CrokePark its unreal! #SpiceWorldDublin #SpiceWorld2019 loving it ! @GeriHalliwell 💙 pic.twitter.com/1O9HIMlPYc
— Robbie Kane (@robbiekane74) May 24, 2019
https://twitter.com/rudebwoigordy/status/1132030680085487616
https://twitter.com/betojpg/status/1132041216986685440
The Spice Girls will spend the next month playing dates in the UK and Ireland, and although there was talk of the tour extending to the USA and even Australia, nothing has been announced.
A source close to the band said that further date are unlikely after remarks that Brown made about a one-off sexual encounter between her and Horner, which left her band-made “devastated”.
The source said that the remark created tension within the band, and even put the current tour in jeopardy, adding: “If they manage those UK dates then that will be the last you ever see of the Spice Girls.”
No song will ever be better than Stop Right Now!! #SpiceWorld2019 #SpiceGirls #SpiceWorldDublin #stoprightnow pic.twitter.com/rJcfRtRJy9
— Róisín Glynn (@RoisinGlynn) May 24, 2019
Well THAT was a hoot! 😍😍😍😍 @spicegirls #Spiceworld2019 #SpiceWorldDublin pic.twitter.com/Au65RFXTaV
— Russell & Patrick 🇺🇦 (@GastroGays) May 24, 2019
