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, 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 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 a music video for "Lost!" by performing the song twice. On 19 September 2008, Chris Martin was accompanied by A-ha keyboardist 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 a spectacle of its own, instead of a mere part of the tour. The cosmic motif was repeated in "Speed of Sound" and "Glass of Water", taking attendees on a journey through a solar system where the stars formed an eye shape that went supernova, engulfing the screen in flames.
However, other sections of the show were completely different. "Lovers in Japan" used archive footage and animations across the screen at the back of the stage and butterflies made of confetti rained all over the venue in the end. For the show's closing number, "Life in Technicolor II", the paintings created for the book artwork of Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends was treated with sprocket and projection effects to create a vibrant, immersive and colorful effect. The tour insignia, used on instruments and promotional material, was designed by the band members together and later painted on a wall by drummer Will Champion at the Bakery.

Opening acts

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

Reception

In total, the tour grossed $222,256,153 from 3,022,635 tickets sold. Coldplay also broke the record for most admissions sold on a single tour at Sydney's Acer Arena, with 58,943 units. They later became the first act in history to perform a sold-out concert at Ridgefield's Amphitheater at Clark County. In 2025, Consequence ranked the Viva la Vida Tour among the 100 Best Tours of All Time, at number 82.

Cancelled shows

Personnel

Credits adapted from the band's official tour book, which was sold exclusively on merchandise booths and their online store.
Performing members
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
Lighting crew
  • Dave Favourita
  • Tommy Green
  • Wayne Kwiat
  • Niall Ogilvy
  • David Cox
  • Dave Jolly
  • Marta Iwan
  • Jim Michaelis
Sound technicians
  • Rob Collett
  • Owen McAuley
  • Simon Rogers
  • Jim Allen
  • Stephan Curtain
  • Carlos Sallaberry
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
  • Dell Furano, Rick Fish, Pete Weber – Signatures Network
  • Jeremy Joseph – De-Lux
  • Eric Wagner – product development and road manager
  • Joe Heden – US Road Merchandise
  • Jon Ellis – UK Road Merchandise
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
  • Steve Strange, Josh Javor, Nicki Forestiero – X-Ray Touring
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
Website
  • Wendy Marvel, Brian Schulmeister – designer
  • Chris Salmon – editor
  • Debs Wild – ambassador
Creative input
Tour book
  • Wendy Marvel, Eric Wagner – designer
  • Matthew Miller – front cover designer
  • William Garland – lithography
Photos courtesy of
  • Guy Berryman
  • Stephan Crasneanscki
  • James Gooding
  • Dan Green
  • Penny Howle
  • Matthew Miller
  • Greg Waterman
Others
  • Lester Dales, Maul Makin – accounting
  • Donna McQueen, Tracy Lawson – assistant
  • David Weise – business management
  • Gavin Maude – legal
  • 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