Usher at London’s O2 Arena: start time, tickets, potential setlist and what you need to know

One of London’s biggest music tours of the year is still battling on. Usher’s Past Present Future tour will see the pop icon eventually play a whopping 10 shows in the capital at the O2 Arena in Greenwich across March, April and May – and if the first round of shows were anything to go by, this residency sounds like it will be one for the ages. 

The first of Usher’s 10 shows took place on Saturday March 29, and the residency has currently reached the end of its first stint. The Past Present Future tour is so named because Usher will be playing a career-spanning set celebrating 30 years in the record business. Expect hits like ‘Yeah!’ and ‘DJ Got Us Fallin’ In Love’ as well as tunes from his most recent album Coming Home.

Are you one of the 200,000 people heading to the O2 to see Usher? Here’s everything you need to know, from timings to any remaining ticket availability.

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When is Usher playing at London’s O2? 

Usher’s 10 London shows stretch from the weekend of March 29 all the way through to May. The remaining dates are May 6 and 7. 

Usher’s previous shows were on March 29 and April 1, 2, 5, 6, 8, 9 and 11.

What are the timings?

Doors for the majority of shows will open at 6.30pm, while curfew is at 11pm. Expect Usher himself to come on stage between 8pm and 8.30pm. Get down early to avoid disappointment.

What’s the setlist?

For an idea of what Usher could play, here’s the setlist from a Past Present Future tour stop earlier in the London residency on April 6 (according to Setlist.fm). 

1. Coming Home
2. Hey Daddy (Daddy’s Home)
3. BIG
4. My Way
5. You Make Me Wanna
6. U Remind Me
7. U Don’t Have to Call
8. Caught Up
9. Don’t Waste My Time
10. Love in This Club
11. Tell Me
12. New Flame (Chris Brown cover)
13. Lil Freak
14. Margiela
15. Party (Chris Brown cover)
16. Lovers and Friends (Lil Jon & The East Side Boyz cover)
17. Nice & Slow
18. U Got It Bad
19. Climax
20. Burn
21. Confessions (interlude)
22. Confessions Part II
23. OMG
24. DJ Got Us Fallin’ in Love
25. Superstar
26. I Am the Party
27. American Boy (with Estelle)
28. There Goes My Baby
29. Can U Get Wit It
30. I Don’t Mind
31. More
32. Pop Ya Collar
33. My Boo
34. Bad Girl
35. Good Kisser
36. Seduction
37. Good Good
38. Yeah!
39. Without You (David Guetta cover)

Who is supporting? 

According to Seat Unique, Usher has invited HER, Burna Boy, 21 Savage, Summer Walker and Latto to support him on his UK tour. We don’t know which stars are performing on which dates, however. 

Can I still get tickets for Usher at London’s O2?

Tickets are still available. For the next and final batch of shows (on May 6 and 7), on AXS here had tickets starting from around £50. 

You can find tickets on Ticketmaster here.

Seating map 

Here’s a map of the seats at the O2 Arena for Usher, including VIP and where the stage is (according to Ticketmaster). 

Bag policy, cloakroom and banned items

You can find out the specifics of the bag policy, plus how much cloakroom costs and which items you can’t bring in here.

Merchandise

Usher has an exclusive merch pop-up at Selfridges running until April 11. 

What are the reviews saying?

Don’t want spoilers? Look away now. Usher’s first show boasted immense stamina (the show lasted two hours), countless costume changes, an unsurprisingly huge number of hits and a fair few surprises (including a segment on roller skates). 

Usher’s March 29 show also received several rave reviews. A five-star write-up from Alexis Petridis in the Guardian said Usher was at the ‘top of his game’ and ‘preposterously entertaining’. 

Another five-star review from Christine Ochefu in the Standard gushed that ‘Usher is proof that select talent never slows down,’ while Alicia Adejobi in Metro awarded four-and-a-half stars and said the performance was ‘near flawless’.

A slightly more lukewarm review came from Mark Savage of the BBC, who described Usher as ‘impressive and frustrating in equal measure’. Savage said the show ‘felt oddly rough around the edges – including a handful of on-stage stumbles and missed musical cues’.

In subsequent shows Usher has brought out the likes of Naomi Campbell, Craig David and Estelle. 

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