Review: Little Mix, Royal Highland Centre

Little Mix came on with a bang, loud siren sounds rang out and the stage lights flashed in time with the beat.

Mandatory Credit: Photo by IBL/REX/Shutterstock (8859457p) Jesy Nelson Little Mix in concert at Annexet, Stockholm, Sweden - 06 Jun 2017

The pop idols had well and truly arrived in Edinburgh last night, owning the stage at the Royal Highland Centre as part of their Glory Days tour.

The chart toppers opened with Power, clad in formula one pit-stop inspired costumes, sending the thousands of fans who had queued outside the showground for hours beforehand into a frenzy.

Perrie Edwards told her adoring Edinburgh followers that they had the “cutest accent I’ve ever heard” before asking them to sing the chorus to the band’s hit Salute so she could hear them loud and clear.

Little Mix crowds Highland Centre Ingliston

The crowd had been well warmed up by Ella Eyre who performed her biggest hits, Ego and Waiting All Night, to get them in the party mood.

Further support came from Australian indie-pop band Sheppard – who previously supported Justin Bieber on his latest tour of Australia and New Zealand – who kicked off their set just after 6.30pm.

The audience was essentially a sea of young girls, accompanied by their parents, who generated a great festival feel with many a welly boot and rain coat in sight.

“Is it chilly or are you quite warm?” called out Edwards once more, before she joined bandmates Jade Thirlwall, Jesy Nelson and Leigh-Anne Pinnock to sing Mama Said.

Little Mix crowds Highland Centre Ingliston

The crowd had queued in good spirits ahead of the show, many mingling with police officers who happily posed for pictures.

Earlier this week, event organisers issued a safety warning ahead of the concert due to the numbers that were expected. No children or teenagers under the age of 16 were allowed in the grounds without an adult and no bags larger than A4 size were permitted into the arena.

Those travelling to and from the concert were advised to arrive in plenty of time as well as being encouraged to stay in groups.

Armed police officers were also present to provide reassurance to the public following the recent UK terrorist attacks in Manchester and London.

A spokesman for Police Scotland had said: “Armed officers will be helping to police the concert and people should not be alarmed – they are there to provide reassurance and help keep you safe.”

Little Mix rose to fame after winning X-Factor in 2011. Following their victory, they signed with Simon Cowell’s record label Syco Music and released a cover of Damien Rice’s Cannonball as their winner’s single.

From there, their career has gone from strength to strength and the group won Best British Single for Shout Out to My Ex at the 2017 Brit Awards.

Last night, Lothian Buses operated a special service 98 direct to the Royal Highland Centre for concert goers, with buses then running every 15 minutes back to the city centre until 11pm.

Concert goers were advised to expect heavy traffic around the venue on arrival, given that the gig coincided with the start of the school holidays.