Live Report: Dua Lipa brings true Radical Optimism to the Aviva Stadium

On a blustery yet oddly muggy Friday evening in Dublin city, Dua Lipa brought her Radical Optimism tour to the Aviva Stadium, playing her biggest Irish show to date.

With the stadium buzzing in anticipation of the three-time Grammy winner’s performance, support acts Alessi Rose and Dove Cameron warmed up the expectant crowd. Tween girls frenzied with excitement donning feathery pink cowboy hats made up a large proportion of the audience, their eagerness to see their idol palpable.

Dua Lipa at Aviva Stadium on June 27th, 2025. Copyright Abigail Ring/ hotpress.com

Marking the final stop on the European leg of her Radical Optimism tour, Dua’s band took their places on stage first, filing coolly into place, before Lipa appeared radiantly herself, emerging elegantly in a glittering white bodice while plumes of smoke danced around her. From my place in seat 24 in block 308, Lipa resembled little more than a glittery white dot, but that didn’t stop her resplendent stage presence and melodious vocals reaching me.

Kicking things off with ‘Training Season’, the third track from Radical Optimism, Dua’s backup dancers performed an elaborate choreography around the star, as bass boomed throughout the Aviva, fireworks erupted around the stage, and kaleidoscopic red and blue patterned visuals adorned the large screen.

Strutting around in fabulous sparkly knee-length boots, Dua performed ‘End Of An Era’ while her dancers surrounded her with sumptuous white feathers in a Swan Lake-esque fashion.

Dua Lipa at Aviva Stadium on June 27th, 2025. Copyright Abigail Ring/ hotpress.com

Red confetti burst throughout the stadium as the band erupted into ‘Break My Heart’, a brilliant testament to the flawlessness of Dua Lipa’s production. It would be faithful to say that every aspect of the performance was nothing short of spectacular, from Lipa’s vocals and the musical prowess of her band, to the visuals onstage, lighting throughout the venue, choreography, atmosphere, and overall energy.

A brief costume change saw the singer re-emerge in a full body white lace one-piece, before beginning to play the groovy ‘Whatcha Doing’. A white chair placed in the middle of the stage was the centre of the choreography as Lipa danced around it.

Listening to ‘Levitating’, an iconic hit from 2020’s Future Nostalgia, felt less like watching a concert and more like floating extravagantly through space with Dua, as the entire Aviva Stadium belted the lyrics "I got you, moonlight, you’re my starlight, I need you, all night, come on, dance with me". The track culminated in a euphoric goosebump-inducing climax as fireworks shot into the sky.

Dua Lipa at Aviva Stadium on June 27th, 2025. Copyright Abigail Ring/ hotpress.com

Now a tradition at Dua’s shows, the popstar went into the crowd to take selfies and interact with fans. Jack, one fan in particular, shared a particularly tender moment with Lipa. Visibly emotional, he shared with Dua that he’d seen her on her Future Nostalgia tour and that her show had inspired him to become a dancer and that she’d changed his life. After hugging a few more people in the audience, Dua exclaimed excitedly that she had a show to put on, returning to the centre platform where her band were already set up, providing an intimate and jazzy arrangement.

She began singing ‘These Walls’ with a powerful voice that flowed smooth as silk, holding the Aviva in a trance with her classy, sultry, and empowering voice. Taking a moment before beginning the next song, the artist paused to illustrate just how much it meant for her to be performing for us that night, and in between tearful smiles she humbly iterated that this is what dreams are made of, possibly without knowing the extent to which, for so many in the crowd, she was making their dreams come true.

Another tradition that’s part of the Radical Optimism tour is to sing a song from the country being performed in. In Ireland, this looked a little like Dua honouring a late Irish legend, with an absolutely breathtaking rendition of Sinead O’Connor’s ‘Nothing Compares 2 U’. The audience waved their phone torches in the air, chorusing along in approval.

Dua Lipa at Aviva Stadium on June 27th, 2025. Copyright Abigail Ring/ hotpress.com

We were instructed to dance after a message commanding “ATTENTION DUBLIN, LET'S GET PHYSICAL” was displayed onscreen. Dua Lipa now appeared amid red lights in a glittering black number with gloves to match, as the entire stadium got on their feet to dance to ‘Physical’. Full of verve and excitement, energy and electricity, the Aviva practically shook with our combined stomping.

Following another costume change, it became apparent that we’re all just living in Dua Lipa’s world, after she arrived back on stage in a dazzling blue bodysuit with a cape floating behind her. Dancing in the middle of a ring of fire on a centre circle platform which extended upwards slowly and dramatically, Dua asked us to put our lights on, as she serenaded us with a slow ballad. Overwhelmed by the crowd’s adoration, she stopped to take in the magnitude of support around her. In typical Irish crowd fashion, a spirited “olé, olé, olé” broke out, a bona fide hug of support, as it were.

A hair-raisingly powerful rendition of ‘Be the One’ was the last track on the setlist before the encore, which manifested in a magnificent eruptive medley, consisting of ‘New Rules’, ‘Dance The Night’, and the fabulously bass-driven ‘Don’t Start Now’.

‘Houdini’ was the final track of the night, a stand-out track from Radical Optimism. All in all, Dua Lipa and her band delivered a stellar performance, radiant and awe-inspiring in every aspect.

Dua Lipa at Aviva Stadium on June 27th, 2025. Copyright Abigail Ring/ hotpress.com