Nostalgia, hope and the power of togetherness: why the Capital Summertime Ball was surprisingly emotional
Yesterday I joined a swarm of pink cowboy hats, glittery makeup and Tate McCrae inspired football shirts, and made my way to Wembley for the Capital Summertime Ball.
I am really lucky to work with Boots quite a lot. Nottingham founded and operated, they have the kindest team and we always have such a great day together. Seeing as they were event partners, we got to see the ball from the inside out and go behind the scenes of the stadium.
Upon arrival, JJ from the Capital team showed us how everything had been set up for the ball. We wandered through the corridors of the artists’ dressing rooms, got chauffeured in a golf buggy through high security car parks, and even got to take the stage and see what each artist sees before they go live. Every inch of Wembley transforms for the ball, and the walls are decorated with photos of past performances. Taylor Swift, Harry Styles and Usher are all among the history books.
One part of the tour was so fascinating, a chat with Charles Ubaghs, the digital content director at Global. He was heading up a room full of laptops, explaining that every single angle of the show was being recorded for different purposes. From news reports, TikTok videos, iPhone shots, HD films and even an ITV special to produce, he had tens upon tens of people documenting every moment of this day.
Leaving the area, we noticed a shift in the room as security began to usher in a special guest. It was Will Smith, who gave us a big happy wave, said “hi guys!”, and made his way to get ready. I’m 35 so I grew up watching The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air after school, and there was something so nostalgic and lovely about getting to see someone tied to my childhood.
Once we were in the stadium, we took to our seats and got to see so many brilliant artists. The great thing about this ball is that it’s like having lots of little mini concerts all in one. These were a few of my highlights…
Jade
Jade opened the show and treated us to a couple of her own songs as well as some Little Mix classics. I have always loved Jade; she’s my favourite Mixer. Even though I love Angel of my Dreams and wish her every success in her solo pursuits, it made me so happy to sing Shout Out To My Ex with a stadium full of people again. The day Little Mix announce a comeback tour I will be first in line for tickets.
Lola Young
I’m going to be honest, though I knew of Lola Young, I wasn’t super into her until yesterday. Her voice was so powerful live. There were a few technical difficulties here and there as the ball got going, and unfortunately Lola’s set was met with the biggest issues. As she started her best loved Messy, her earpiece gave way and she couldn’t sing along with us. She handled the mix-up with so much grace and patience, she totally blew me away. It’s easy to forget that these shiny popstars we see are real people, and my heart broke a little for her when she walked away disappointedly having barely enjoyed her song. I made a note in my Glastonbury app to go and support her. She has a new fan in me for being so cool in the face of such a sadly timed blunder.
Jessie J
Everyone was teary when Jessie J told us this was her last performance before she takes some time to fight her breast cancer. In an emotional speech, she spoke of the gratitude she has for her loved ones and her life and bid us all farewell in an optimistic way. There was a special energy in the air when she sang Domino and you could feel the love in the room; everyone is desperately rooting for her. I posted a video of her speech to TikTok, and when I woke up this morning it was flooded with hundreds of messages, all wishing her well and sharing love.
Will Smith and Jazzy Jeff
Although I’d been looking forward to Will Smith, singing The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air theme tune with 80,000 people was even better than I hoped it would be. The new song isn’t quite for me, but dancing along to their older classics unlocked lots of happy memories. They touched on the power of lasting friendship and the whole thing felt cosy and lovely.
I am really lucky in that I get to experience moments like this fairly often. What I will say is that your day can be massively impacted by the company you’re spending it with. I was with the loveliest group of creators yesterday, all of which I got to know properly for the first time, so I just thought I’d tell you a bit about them. They were…
Mimii Tafara from last year’s Love Island. As timing would have it, a lovely friend of mine has recently gone into Love Island in the US (Charlie Georgio we are all rooting for you – he just left last night). I took the opportunity to ask her all about her experience on and off the show, and she was so friendly and gave me so many insights.
Grace from Graces Faces. I’ve followed Grace for years and I’m sure she’s probably popped up on your TikTok page time and time again. She became especially popular for her full makeup removal videos and for sharing her acne journey.
Elise Morgan. Elise was new to me yesterday and was super friendly. I had a look at her social media pages and she creates a mixture of beauty, fashion and general lifestyle videos. Her makeup looked beautiful so I’ll have whatever she’s having.
I also want to give a special mention to Boots for having us yesterday! Working with lots of beauty brands, it’s fascinating to see how differently people do things. What I truly love and value about Boots is that they don’t just chase things or people that go viral. They genuinely care about sharing helpful information and partnering with people that represent their values, whether or not they have enormous platforms. They have such integrity and heart in everything they do – I always feel so touched to be part of a project with them.
Thank you for a lovely day everyone! And, as Charles Ubaghs has well informed us, you can find endless videos of the Capital Summertime Ball on pretty much every platform imaginable.
Lovely as usual!