Pitbull ignited 3Arena on Thursday, returning to Dublin for his Party After Dark Tour.

The crowd churned in anticipation for the Miami singer, with many of them sporting bald caps and sunglasses. An introduction sequence began to play, sampling Metallica’s ‘Enter Sandman’ and Beastie Boy’s ‘Fight for Your Right.’

As soon as he took the stage, Pitbull carried an incredible energy. He kicked off his set with ‘Don't Stop the Party (feat. TJR)’ off his 2012 album, Global Warming: Meltdown. The instantly recognisable track roused the audience’s spirits, sending them into a frenzy of movement. Background visuals depicted Pitbull on the front of a yacht, setting the party into motion.

“I wanted to start off tonight by saying: I missed you Dublin!” he said. The artist last performed at 3Arena back in February, but had to return for more. “It feels good to be back in Dublin. And with that said, what's the craic Dublin?”

A talented group of background dancers supported the performance, moving with sultry coordination. Pitbull continued on to another highlight of the night, ‘Hotel Room Service.’ Joined by a live band, the saxophonist rang out in fantastic splendour. There were also two drum sets, working together in booming fury.

I couldn’t believe Pitbull’s energy; he jumped on stage with all of his might, exuding passion and fervor. He transitioned into ‘International Love (feat. Chris Brown) off his 2011 album Planet Pit. Fog erupted from the stage as Pitbull sang, moving with swagger and confidence.

“We all speak the universal language, which is music,” he told the crowd. “I want everybody to leave here…understanding that music brings everybody together. It unites, it does not divide. Music reminds us that we all bleed the same blood and breathe the same air. This ones gonna really fuck your head up: music reminds us that theres one race and one race only. That's the human race.”

Later in the show, Pitbull continued on with classics like ‘Suave,’ ‘Fireball (feat. John Ryan)’ and ‘Timber.’ He even performed a cover of Daddy Yankee’s ‘Gasolina,’ which was easily a crowd favourite.

Pitbull at 3Arena on June 5th, 2025. Copyright Abigail Ring/ hotpress.com

Towards the end of the night, Pitbull took a moment to shout out The SLAM Foundation.

"Didn't graduate high school, but a teacher changed my life," he confessed. "And when I was hopeless she gave me hope. And ironically, her name is Hope Martinez... She looked at me and she said, 'I believe in you.'"

"Due to a teacher changing my life, we learned how to build schools. Now that right there is called SLAM: Sports Leadership Arts and Management," he said, pointing to the school on the screen behind him. "It's been open for ten years now. Public charter school, 97% of those kids are on free lunch. The ones that need it the most, just like myself."

"Now we're up to 15 schools. And when they ask me, 'Chico, how many kids you got?', it's my favourite time in the show to tell you how many kids I got. From the bottom of my heart and everything I've got inside of me, it's an honour to be able to say I got 10,000 kids motherfucker!"

The audience howled in approval, clearly moved by the sentiment.

"So I take this time in the show to celebrate you, congratulate you. Cause if it wasn't for the love and the support and the opportunity... there's no way we'd be able to invest in them. So congratulations, cause y'all officially part of the SLAM family!"

His words blended perfectly into his final song, 'Give Me Everything (feat. Nayer).' The lyrics spoke of Pitbull
"[taking his] life from negative to positive," and the crowd danced in celebration. White confetti shot from the stage, creating a moment of pure magic.

"I want to say thank you to all the fans," he said. "Because without y'all there's no Pitbull, no movement, no revolution... God bless, goodnight, thank you!"