Harry Styles at Ibrox: Fans brave wet and windy weather for start of world tour

They came from around the world and around the corner but Scotland’s wild, wet weather refused to deter fans of pop superstar Harry Styles as he opened his tour in Scotland last night.

The superstar wasted no time in pleasing the home fans, saying: “Good evening, my name is Harry, it’s an absolute pleasure. It’s been a long time since I’ve been in Scotland. It’s so wonderful to be back.”

Fans queued up outside hours before doors opened (Pic: Andrew Cawley)

Some superfans camped for two nights outside Ibrox Stadium in Glasgow to ensure a spot in front of the stage. A number had arrived on Thursday afternoon, and set up camp in tents as they endured the tail end of tropical Storm Alex.

Ilona Caudoux, 24, from Lille, France, who was second in the queue snaking around the ground in Govan, explained that despite not getting much sleep, her excitement at the thought of being at the barrier is worth it. She said: “We have been camping since Thursday night just so we can make sure we get to the barrier, and hopefully we will.

“It has been quite difficult getting any sleep, and we have been going to Asda down the road to get food and use the toilet, but we are so excited to see him. We originally bought tickets in 2019, and of course Covid happened, so we have been waiting a long time to see this.”

Jennifer McKeown, Ilona Caudoux and Lisa Haupert wait in the queue (Pic: Andrew Cawley)

Scotland has faced winds up to 60 miles per hour and heavy rain over the last few days, as Storm Alex headed barrelled in. Some fans had bought tickets to every single one of the shows on the UK leg of his Love On Tour tour, including Charlotte Clark, 23, from Glasgow. She said: “I just get such a fear of missing out during one of the shows, what if something amazing happened and I wasn’t there to see it? I have got tickets to every single show in the UK, plus one in New York. I am now in financial debt.

“At least I had the right idea to bring camping chairs and an umbrella during the wait.”

Maria Hanzek, 22, who travelled from Manchester, said: “I am going to see four shows in total, including one in Norway. I have never been so excited before; this is my first time seeing him.”

It is the first concert to be held at the Ibrox in almost 20 years, with 50,000 expected. Rebecca Steel, 14, from Kilwinning, who was holding a sign with lyrics to one of Styles’ songs and was waiting with her dad, said: “We bought our tickets two years ago, I am so excited to see him and all my friends are very jealous.”

However, her father, Robert Steel, admitted: “I am probably a bit less excited than she is.”

Robert Steel and daughter Rebecca, from Kilwinning, outside Ibrox (Pic: Andrew Cawley)

Fans Giorgia, Giulia, Flavia and Giorgia, who had travelled from Italy (Pic: Andrew Cawley)

Styles recently released his third solo album, Harry’s House, in May this year, following on from debut album Sign of the Times in 2017 and Fine Line in 2019. Styles asked the Glasgow crowd last night: “Scotland, do you know who you are? Glasgow, do you know who you are?” To which the fans replied: “Harry’s House!”

Yesterday was the star’s only night in Scotland, as he heads for Manchester and then London to continue his UK shows, and in total will visit 32 across the world.

The Manchester-born singer has also acted in several films since the disbanding of One Direction in 2015, including in Christopher Nolan’s war film Dunkirk in 2017. The Watermelon Sugar singer topped the Sunday Time Rich List of musicians in the UK under 30, with his net worth being estimated at £100 million. Styles performed at Radio 1’s Big Weekend two weeks ago, where he was the headline act on Sunday night.

Saskia O’Hara and Charlotte Clark preparing their makeup in the queue (Pic: Andrew Cawley)

The former One Direction star, 28, has been seen looking at properties with his girlfriend, actress Olivia Wilde, 38. Styles has been going out with Wilde for more than a year after they met on the set of Don’t Worry Darling, a film she directed, in which he starred opposite Florence Pugh.

He has previously dated a slew of celebrity girlfriends, but his relationship with Wilde is reportedly much more serious.

Tickets have been sold from £90 to £200, with only a few left available to buy in the UK. Speaking to Zane Lowe on Apple Music 1 last month, Styles said album Harry’s House is his favourite one.

He said: “I realised it wasn’t about the geographical location. It was about imagining a day in my house. What do I go through? A day in mind, what do I go through in my house?”

The singer also discussed his time in One Direction and his former bandmates, saying he felt “really lucky that we always had each other in check and you could just have someone else who gets it.”