From Beatlesmania to Swifties, enthusiastic fans have always existed, and they will go to extreme lengths to see their favourite artist.
Billie Eilish stans are no different, with hundreds camping outside the O2 Arena, London, in hopes of getting to the front to see the Bad Guy hitmaker perform.
The former Glastonbury headliner is currently in the UK on her Hit Me Hard and Soft Tour, which Metro gave five stars on London’s opening night.
With three shows left to go of her six-night residency at the venue, we spoke to the dedicated fans making the O2 their home for the week.
‘We don’t stink,’ two fans insisted instantly from in the queue, who had been there since July 7, despite the fact that they didn’t have tickets to night one or two.
‘We’re going to night three, which is the 13th,’ said Ams. ‘We’re camping for a total of eight days for our show.’
Hygiene when camping for a week (as any festival goer will know) is one of the biggest challenges, but without facilities, Billie fans have had to get creative.
Ams and her friend Alice were camping ‘off-site’ as the O2 put out a statement notifying fans that tents on-site and the ‘neighbouring vicinity’ were not allowed.
‘We have an Airbnb,’ Ams explained. ‘We’re going back there to shower. We do not stink, we shower – every day, twice a day.’
Fans have created a small community of tents away from the O2 (but not too far away), which security has reportedly been conducting welfare checks on.
Just because they weren’t actually seeing Billie that night didn’t mean the pair were sitting in their tents, missing the atmosphere. Ams claimed she ‘did the whole of night one’ with the people waiting and even ‘queued everyone up’ after a frantic sprint for the front.
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‘It was a bit hectic,’ she said. ‘I had to line everyone up within 30 minutes and we were all the way off campus.’
The O2 statement added that any queuing system enforced by fans would ‘not be acknowledged’ and they would be giving out wristbands once the venue opened.
‘I’m going to sprint over at midnight’
Other fans were less extreme than Ams and Alice – who also introduced a friend who had camped since July 4 – and were limiting themselves to 24 hours.
‘We’re not sleeping in here overnight,’ explained one girl at the campsite. ‘Apparently, the queue opens at midnight because it’s technically the same day as the concert.’
Her plan was to ‘sprint’ over to the O2 at midnight and wait there until doors opened at 5.30pm, with Billie not due on stage until 8.20pm.
Do you have to camp for Billie Eilish?
Metro’s music expert Danni Scott weighs in on whether you need to camp for shows – or if you can still rock up at doors.
Camping for gigs has been growing in popularity, particularly among Gen-Z and the upcoming Gen Alpha (who are now around 14 years old).
While it is driven by the desire to be at the front, other factors like the potential for a viral clip and clout are definitely at play. The badge of ‘I camped for eight days’ gives you some authority within the fanbase, marking you a really dedicated stan. Imagine those teenage/early 20s feelings amped up by the pressures of social media – we’d camp too.
Despite what those on social media might suggest, you really do not need to camp unless you are desperate to be at the barrier. This goes even more so for Billie’s gig, where her stage is in the middle, meaning everyone is closer to her than at a normal concert.
Spending hours queuing, especially in this heat, also puts you at risk of dehydration. By trying to be at the front, you may, in extreme cases, run the risk of passing out and needing to leave the show entirely.
You can have just as much fun at the back of standing, dancing around with your friends with more room to move as you will right at the front. Yes, when you’re short, it can be a restricted view but you’re not there to stand still the entire time, just shuffle elsewhere.
The determination of some fans to be at the very front can come at the detriment of the enjoyment of others. During gigs, things do shift, and there’s no point being defensive over your space just because you’ve been camping for five days; that’s your choice. Equally, if you rushed in late, don’t shove anyone out of the way on your beeline to the barrier. Fans need to learn how to be in a space together again, whether you’re a 5-dayer or a 5-minuter.
One fan had travelled from Sicily, Italy, with his dad after missing out on her European leg. The duo had been queuing since 8.30am and were relatively near the front.
‘It was early enough,’ the teenager said, ‘Maybe [we should have arrived] five minutes earlier, but just that.’
He noted that some doors had opened already to let barrier fans in, which they had narrowly missed out on after some girls ‘surpassed’ them in the rush.
Another woman, who woke up at 4.30am and arrived at 7am, shared: ‘When we got here this morning, there were still people with blankets and sleeping bags and chairs and stuff. I think they’ve been going and changing throughout the day.’
‘I guess they’re very dedicated and at the front of the queue,’ she answered when asked if campers were ‘jealous’ that her comparatively relaxed approach yielded surprisingly good results.
‘It got really hot, some parts were quite bad’
Concerns have repeatedly been raised over young fans camping outside gigs, especially as London has been experiencing a heatwave over the past week.
Dehydration mixed with dancing to hits like Guess is a potential nightmare for security and fans, with passing out during the show a real risk.
‘We were outside for about four hours but it was in and out of the shade,’ revealed one man whose friend was equipped with a fan.
‘Some parts were quite bad and like really hot,’ he continued. ‘We managed to go out and get some water.’
Then there’s the fact the majority of those queuing are young women in their late teens to early 20s with no protections, although most told us they felt safe as there was strength in numbers.
‘It could seem a lot more unsafe, but when you’re with a big crowd of people, it is a lot safer than you would think,’ shared Sophie.
‘When we’re able to queue later on in the night, because queuing starts at midnight, the security is out all night and we’re right next to them.’
While the driving force behind the queues is the desperate need to be as close to the artist physically as possible, fans insisted there was a community aspect.
With local community centres closing across the country, teenagers are online more than ever before.
Queuing outside the O2 Arena could be the only chance outside school younger music lovers have to build friendships with other fans.
‘I got the Instagram of so many people,’ said one girl. ‘There’s also people we’ve seen at different concerts and different tours.
‘There’s a huge sense [of community] because we’ve all been through the night together, we’ve all got closer.’
Billie will conclude her London run on July 17 before performing four nights in Manchester’s Co-op Live Arena and heading to Dublin at the end of the month.
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