Jay-Z Kicks Off London Shows With Beyoncé Birthday Tribute

Jay-Z opened his two-night stand at London’s Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Friday (Sept. 4) with a tribute to Beyoncé on her 45th birthday, pausing his set for the sold-out crowd to serenade her with “Happy Birthday” as fireworks lit up the stadium.

Beyoncé, watching from a VIP suite with friends, appeared on the venue’s giant screens in a hoodie, blowing kisses and waving to fans below.

The show marked Jay-Z’s first UK headline performance in nearly 13 years — his last solo London date was 2013’s Magna Carta World Tour at The O2 Arena — and the first time he’s played the city since 2018’s On the Run II Tour with Beyoncé. The run celebrates the 30th anniversary of his 1996 debut album, Reasonable Doubt, and follows a similarly star-studded trio of shows at New York’s Yankee Stadium last month, which also marked 25 years of The Blueprint.

Sir Idris Elba opened the night with the same spoken intro that led off Jay-Z’s 2007 album American Gangster, before Jay moved into a set spanning his catalog, from early cuts to career-defining hits. The night’s guest turns gave it the same event-show energy as the Yankee Stadium run: DJ Khaled joined for “God Did” alongside U.K. rapper Giggs, who also performed his own breakout single, “Talking the Hardest.” Later, Ms. Lauryn Hill and Wyclef Jean surprised the crowd with a run of Fugees classics — “Ready or Not,” “Killing Me Softly” and “Fu-Gee-La.”

The show drew a heavy celebrity turnout, including David Beckham, Cynthia Erivo, Michael B. Jordan, Rick Rubin, Thomas Tuchel, Dave, Olivia Dean, AJ Odudu and Kano.

Jay-Z plays a second Tottenham Hotspur date Saturday (Sept. 5) before the tour continues to Paris’s Stade de France on Sept. 10 and wraps with two shows at Los Angeles’ SoFi Stadium in late October — additional dates added on top of the run’s original schedule as demand grew.