US star is premiering the concert film about her record-breaking 2023 tour

Beyoncé will unveil the concert film of her record-breaking Renaissance tour in London tonight (Thursday 30 November), with Taylor Swift among the rumoured celebrity guests.

The Lemonade artist turned up to support Swift’s own concert film for her Eras tour when it premiered in Hollywood in October. Swift later paid moving tribute to Beyoncé, praising her as a “guiding light” who had taught her to “break rules and defy industry norms”.

Renaissance, A Film by Beyoncé will chart the huge undertaking of the US artist’s tour supporting her Grammy-winning 2022 album, Renaissance. Produced, written and directed by the singer, it will intersperse footage of concerts taking place around the world with backstage scenes and intimate moments between Beyoncé and her family.

Around 2.7 million concertgoers are estimated to have attended the Renaissance tour over the course of five months, while Billboard reports that the shows have grossed close to half a billion dollars worldwide.

The film’s description reads: “It is about Beyoncé’s intention, hard work, involvement in every aspect of the production, her creative mind and purpose to create her legacy, and master her craft.”

19 minutes ago
Will Taylor Swift turn up to the London premiere?
Back in October, Taylor Swift launched her concert film, tracking the dates of her North American leg of the Eras tour.

The Beyhive and the Swifties were united in their joy as Beyoncé made an unexpected appearance at the Los Angeles premiere, as the two music titans posed together for pictures.

Rumour has it that the “Anti-Hero” singer will return the favour in London, making Christmas come early for members of both fandoms.

Here’s what happened when Bey met Tay…

Swift paid tribute to Beyonce after singer attended her Eras Tour movie premiere

Renaissance – the album review
Back when the album Renaissance was released in July 2022, fans were thrilled with Beyoncé’s embracing of more of a club, house-infused sound.

In his four-star review, Mark Beaumont noted how politics gives way to post-pandemic pleasure in the record, with the singer embracing joy, sexiness and the euphoria of movement.

He wrote: “It’s more dancefloor-friendly than Lemonade but still ensconced in its experimental cocoon. It represents the light at the end of a dark emotional tunnel for Bey.”

Here’s the album review in full:

On Beyoncé’s ‘Renaissance’, politics gives way to post-pandemic pleasure – review
In a catch-all spirit of musical modernism, trap, house, glitchtronica, disco, ragga, South African gqom and future funk are all lobbed into a heady mix, with songs blending into each other and shifting course mid-flow

A sneak peek…
The setup for tonight’s premiere started bright and early in London’s Leicester Square – here’s a peek at how things were looking at around 9am this morning:

What happened when the Renaissance tour came to the UK?
Hello readers – The Independent’s unofficial Beyoncé correspondent, Nicole Vassell here!

Even though I was lucky enough to watch Beyoncé’s Renaissance tour twice this summer, I definitely will be in the cinema tomorrow to experience it all over again…

If you missed it, and simply can’t wait to see the footage of the concert in the film, here’s my review from her first UK date in Cardiff – a fabulous four stars!

Full-out dance moves or not, Beyoncé rides her disco horse into megastardom – review
Beyoncé brings the party of ‘Renaissance’ to life in extraordinary and unexpected fashion with deep cuts galore

Nicole Vassell30 November 2023 13:00
3 hours ago
Beyoncé to premiere her Renaissance concert film tonight in London
Hello and welcome to our liveblog for tonight’s premiere of Renaissance, A Film by Beyoncé in London. I’ll be heading down to the event itself shortly, but will leave you in the capable hands of my colleague and Beyoncé aficionado, Nicole.

The documentary chronicling Beyoncé’s just-concluded 39-city Renaissance World Tour will be released in cinemas around the UK and North America on 1 December.

Like Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour, which debuted on 13 October, Renaissance: A Film By Beyoncé is being released directly in the US by AMC, the movie theatre chain, without studio involvement.

Beyoncé’s previous films include the acclaimed 2019 Netflix film Homecoming, which captured her Coachella performance in 2018.

In the deals with AMC, Beyoncé and Swift are both reported to be receiving at least 50 per cent of ticket sales.