Fans waiting to see Oasis perform their first live show in 16 years have said they have been "waiting for this day" all their lives and "wouldn't miss it for the world". The Britpop legends will kickstart their long-awaited worldwide reunion tour in Cardiff on Friday.
Brothers Liam and Noel Gallagher will perform together for the first time since their dramatic split in 2009, when they appear at the Welsh capital's Principality Stadium. Fans Lachlan Weekes and Jayden Helm, who spent more than a day travelling from Sydney, Australia, to attend the concert, were among supporters gathering ahead of the gig.
Fans travel from Australia
Mr Weekes said: "We've been planning it forever. We always said that if they got back together, we'd be at that first show." Mr Helm said: "We've been lifelong fans - we're 22 and 21, so haven't really had a chance to see them before."
"We always said it was worth it to come, we wouldn't miss it for the world," he added. "To take time off work to come over here, it's more than worth it." The pair also visited Manchester, where the band formed in 1991, stopping off at Heaton Park as part of their personal Oasis tour.
Life-changing musical impact
Lawrence Evans, from just outside Swansea, said his "life changed" when he started listening to the band as he then started to play music and write songs. He said: "They were the band that made me realise how much guitar music meant to me."
"It's something that stays with you forever. If you get into this type of music, I think it's in your soul forever," he added. His son Jimmy said of the concert: "The fact that it's in Wales is really special for us."
Father and son experience
"It's the first time I get to see Oasis, (my dad) he's lost count, he's seen them countless times," Jimmy Evans continued. "I've been waiting for this day all my life."
Alex Schuetz, an Oasis fan from Germany, said you could not travel far enough to see the band. "The first time I saw them was in 1997," he said. "The last time was in Manchester 2009, just before they broke up."
German fan's heartbreak
"I even got a ticket for a small festival in Germany and on the ferry to that festival I heard they broke up," Schuetz said. "I was like, 'Oh my god' something was dying inside of me - it sounds a bit stupid, but it took me ages (to get over it)."
He added: "I've come from Germany. You cannot travel far enough, I've been a fan since 1995." Glenn Moss, an Oasis fan from Essex who regularly gets mistaken for Liam Gallagher, said he started working as an impersonator ahead of the Britpop band's reunion, having previously been against the idea.
Liam Gallagher lookalike
He said: "I get stopped all the time - as soon as I got here yesterday four people within five minutes stopped me asking if I was him or for a photo." The brothers announced the Oasis Live '25 tour last August, starting with two dates in Cardiff on Friday and Saturday, before heading across the UK and Ireland.
Doors are expected to open at 5pm, with Cast and the Verve frontman Richard Ashcroft in support. Former members of the group are expected to make a return, with Andy Bell on bass, and Gem Archer and Paul "Bonehead" Arthurs on guitars.
Concert preparations underway
Noel was spotted getting off the train in Cardiff on Tuesday, while a drone display spelling out the band's name could be seen over the stadium on Wednesday. Fans across the city have also heard what they believe to be rehearsals in the Principality throughout the week.
The reunion announcement came 15 years after Noel quit the Britpop band, saying he "simply could not go on working with Liam a day longer", following a backstage brawl at the Rock en Seine festival in Paris. While fans have been pleading for the group to reunite since they disbanded, website issues and controversial dynamic pricing brought outrage, with many failing to secure a spot.
Ticket pricing controversy
After tickets for the UK and Ireland shows went on sale last year, some standard tickets appeared to have jumped from £148 to £355. The controversy prompted the Government and the UK's competition watchdog to pledge to look at the use of dynamic pricing.
Following Cardiff, Oasis will visit Manchester's Heaton Park, London's Wembley Stadium, Edinburgh's Murrayfield Stadium and Dublin's Croke Park throughout July, August and September. The group will then head to Japan, South Korea, South America, Australia and North America.
Global tour ahead
A movie, produced by Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight, is being made in conjunction with the reunion tour. The rock band was led by lead guitarist Noel and his brother, lead vocalist Liam, during their 18 years together.
Oasis signed to independent record label Creation Records in 1993, rising to fame with the release of their debut chart-topping album Definitely Maybe on August 29 1994. They had hits with songs including Don't Look Back in Anger, Champagne Supernova, Wonderwall and Live Forever.
Musical legacy
Dig Out Your Soul, the band's last studio album, was released in 2008, just months before the Paris row.
(PA) Note: This article has been edited with the help of Artificial Intelligence.
