The show began with a pre-recorded video of Mars praying in a church for a good performance, before he emerged beneath visuals of a stained-glass window in a red suit bejewelled with roses.
It was a suitably theatrical opening to a two-hour, 15-minute set. But for those who had avoided spoilers, Risk It All, a slow R&B ballad from Mars’ latest album, The Romantic, was perhaps an unexpected opener.
Any surprise was short-lived. Within minutes, Mars sat behind a pair of bright red congas for Cha Cha, signalling the start of a set that moved between R&B, funk, Latin influences and pop.
It was an early glimpse of what was to come as he declared: “London, it’s time to party.”
The crowd quickly accepted the invitation. From then on, neither Mars nor his fans stood still.
24K Magic and Treasure prompted one of the night’s biggest singalongs. As Mars sang “put your pinky rings up to the moon”, thousands of little fingers rose into the air.
