Pop star Billie Eilish launches tour Hit Me Hard and Soft, Sunday evening, in front of the largest crowd ever gathered for a concert at the Videotron Center.
No less than 19,000 admirers of the Californian artist, a number including tickets sold in the boxes, will witness her first career performance in the capital.
Billie Eilish’s pop-up store was a busy place this weekend.
Photo René Leclerc/Agence QMI
Until now, it was the Pearl Jam concert in 2016 that was considered the biggest ticket seller in the amphitheater’s history.
“It’s a success across the board,” rejoices the boss of the Videotron Center, Martin Tremblay. This is the spectacle to see on the planet this evening. All music lovers would like to be in Quebec. We are lucky that this is happening here. It’s the largest-scale show since the opening of the Videotron Center.”
Executives from Live Nation and the William Morris Agency, the largest talent agency in the United States, are on hand for the occasion.
“It positions us as a world-class amphitheater capable of hosting major premieres,” adds Mr. Tremblay.
“Febrile”
During the weekend, up to a thousand Billie Eilish fans camped near the amphitheater in order to be best placed on the floor.
After three days of waiting near Gate 15, Daphné Couture, the very first arrival in the queue on Thursday, struggled to contain her emotions moments before the doors opened to general admission ticket holders.
Photo Cédric Bélanger
“I’m really nervous. I’m scared, I’m stressed, I don’t know where to go, but I’m really looking forward to it. The wait was worth it,” she confided before going to meet her idol.
Satisfied campers
The campers all praised the quality of the welcome and the organization. Annie Kerk, an admirer and regular at the pre-concert campsite in New Jersey, contacted Sébastien Pelletier, customer experience manager at the Videotron Center, in May, to give him advice.
“She was my reference,” said Mr. Pelletier, who set up a system for reserving places in line.
Sébastien Pelletier and Annie Kerk teamed up to make waiting near the Videotron Center as pleasant and safe as possible.
Photo provided by Annie Kerk
“It’s great to see what they’ve done. Sébastien is incredible. We are so lucky. Everyone was saying how well it went. We were able to leave each day to go take a shower or take a nap at our hotel, and go get food. We were not prisoners here, which would have been nonsense,” confides Annie Kerk, who hopes that other amphitheaters will copy the Videotron Center’s recipe.
