ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT

Adele Dedicates Moving Performance To Grenfell Fire Victims

Natalie Gil
29 June 2017, 10:40
Adele kicked off a string of four London shows at Wembley Stadium last night as part of her world tour and urged the audience to support a cause close to her heart: the Grenfell Tower fire.
The global superstar has made numerous trips to the scene in North Kensington – including bringing cake to the firefighters – and the local community has welcomed her with open arms. Now, two weeks since the tragedy that took at least 79 lives, she's calling on people to donate to the victims and keep talking about the story so that it stays in the news.
AdvertisementADVERTISEMENT
During her concert on 28th June, Adele announced that she's using the shows to raise money for those affected by the fire and made an emotional speech about how important it is that we don't forget about the victims, a large proportion of whom remain homeless.
“I’ve been down on the ground near Grenfell Tower all week before this and I’m going straight back after these shows. I’m not going to go into too much detail because a lot of the stories I’ve been told I’m not going to tell on a stage like this. But I can’t tell you how out of control and how chaotic it still is down there, today it’s two weeks since this happened."
She continued: "I promise you that any money that we raise together over these next four days... I’m not leaving them, I’m involved now [cheers] — I want all of you, if you can, to donate five pounds [to the number on the screen]... And if you don’t want to give it, can you promise me that you will talk about this story and keep it alive, because it’s disappearing and it’s atrocious that it is. And it’s atrocious that people aren't getting answers.
"It’s our job as human beings to be compassionate and if you don’t have a social conscience you can grow one. I didn’t have one that long ago... Ask questions and demand answers, because it’s fucking important,” she added, saying that it was cheaper to donate a fiver than to get "shitfaced" at the Wembley Stadium bar.
AdvertisementADVERTISEMENT
She also dedicated her performance of "Hometown Glory" to the victims and ended the song by saying she will continue to talk about the cause. “You’ll be hearing a lot more from me about this in the days and weeks and probably years to come.”
The singer also spoke about the cause in a video message that played before the show began, in which she urged people to donate £5 to relief efforts. “It’s been two weeks since the fire, and still the people who were affected by it are homeless,” she said. “I promise that the money we raise together will go directly to the people that were living in that block.”
She went on to call Wembley Stadium's bar prices “extortionate” and encouraged fans to donate rather than waste money on an overpriced glass of wine that would "tip [them] over the edge and wipes your memory of the show tonight."
Adele visited and gave a brief performance at Avondale Park primary school, near the site of the fire, on 23rd June. The school posted a grateful tweet in response: “As a school that really needed a boost, it meant the world to have Adele visit us. Our children will never forget it! #GreenForGrenfell.”
She has also volunteered at the nearby Westway Centre to help victims.
Donate to the British Red Cross London Fire Relief Fund.

More from Global News

R29 Original Series

AdvertisementADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT