On the eve of the release of their new album Everyday life, their eighth record, out on 22 November 2019, Coldplay have announced that they will no longer perform any live concerts, at least until they are certain they can make them as eco-sustainable as possible. In an interview with BBC News, band frontman Chris Martin explained that climate change has always been a major issue for the band and that, now more than ever, fighting pollution is a commitment that must become real for everyone.

"We want to take some time, over the next year or two, to work out how our tour can not only be completely eco-sustainable, but how it can be actively beneficial for the environmental cause. We all need to find the best way of doing our work and our next tour will be the best possible in ecological terms," said Chris Martin. The time has come for the music industry too to take stock and begin working to have as little impact as possible on our planet, and according to the band's frontman, it would be a bitter disappointment if live concerts did not all become zero-impact in the future.

According to the singer, the hardest part will undoubtedly be the one tied to flights, but his dream is shows free of single-use plastic and powered largely by solar energy. "We've done a lot of great tours. How do we turn it around so it's not just taking, but also giving?" Chris Martin concluded in the interview.

Three Coldplay dates before the stop

For now, therefore, no tour is planned to hear the new album live, but only three dates. The first two, which will be livestreamed worldwide on YouTube, will take place in Amman, the capital of Jordan, on 22 November at sunrise and sunset. The third date, the only one in Great Britain, will be held on Monday 25 November at the Natural History Museum in London, and all proceeds will be donated to ClientEarth, a London-based non-profit organisation active across Europe and specialising in environmental law.

Read also: David Gilmour: entire guitar collection up for auction to save the climate

Coldplay's last tour took place between 2016 and 2017 in support of their seventh studio album, A head full of dreams. On that occasion, the band staged one hundred and twenty-two shows around the world.

WWF UK @wwf_uk

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Fantastic to see world-famous artists like @coldplay stepping up to protect the planet!

We can all play a part in fighting the nature and #ClimateCrisis - will other artists follow suit? fal.cn/35cl9

♥ 66💬 3 21 nov 2019 · Apri su X →

"It's fantastic to see world-famous artists stepping up their activities to protect the planet. We all have a responsibility to lead by example in the face of this climate and nature crisis," said Gareth Redmond-King, head of climate change at WWF UK, commenting on the news.