Special guests at concerts: Overdone or incredible?

When Dua Lipa brought Charli XCX out on her second night at Wembley on June 21 2025, I couldn’t believe my luck. Hearing ‘360’ live was both unexpected and brilliant, and something which cemented the night as one we would never forget. But we didn’t pay to see Charli XCX, so why does it matter so much that she was there?

Special guests at concerts are no new thing. For example, in 1970, Joni Mitchell surprised fans by joining James Taylor as a special guest at his Queens College concert, where they performed a duet of ‘You Can Close Your Eyes’. However, nowadays, it has almost become an anticipated part of the night, spanning from concerts to festivals, with predictions online as to if a special guest will make an appearance, and if so, who.

These special guest appearances received huge reactions from the crowd, with videos going viral across social media and the show being immortalised by that moment

At BST Hyde Park 2025, both Olivia Rodrigo and Sabrina Carpenter provided their audience with special guests, Rodrigo performing ‘The A-Team’ with Ed Sheeran, and Carpenter bringing out Duran Duran for a rendition of ‘Hungry Like the Wolf’. Taylor Swift regularly brought out special guests during her Eras Tour, spanning from her frequent collaborator Jack Antonoff to her boyfriend and NFL star, Travis Kelce. These special guest appearances received huge reactions from the crowd, with videos going viral across social media and the show being immortalised by that moment.

The growing prominence of special guests has perhaps led to them losing their unexpected, ‘surprise’ edge, almost becoming a regular feature of concerts today. During the 2025 leg of her Radical Optimism tour, Lipa performed a cover of a song by an artist from the city she was performing, leading to increased anticipation that the artist would join her on stage during the song. This occurred frequently throughout the tour, with notable special guests including Troye Sivan, who joined her in Melbourne to perform ‘Rush’, and Lionel Richie who performed ‘All Night Long (All Night)’ in Inglewood, California. Therefore, the prominence of special guests throughout her tour, and the regular slot in the concert where she performs a cover, meant speculation was rife over who would be her special guest in London.

There was almost a certainty that Lipa would bring out a special guest, not only because of the cover song slot in her show, but also because she had brought out Jay Kay from Jamiroquai to perform ‘Virtual Insanity’ the night before. Moreover, she was the second British female solo artist after Adele to headline Wembley Stadium. The historic legacy of Wembley Stadium in the music industry, hosting iconic events such as Live Aid in 1985, made her performances “a massive, massive milestone”: Lipa undoubtedly wanted to give a performance to meet the standards of a Wembley show. Therefore, even though almost the entire stadium was expecting a special guest, the atmosphere was incredible when Charli XCX came onto the stage.

While she could have brought out a pop contemporary, the intentional choice to have Smith as a special guest reflects Rodrigo in a relatable light, as a music fan first and foremost

Perhaps that is why special guests are such a prominent aspect of concerts. It is not simply to please the audience and attract virality across social media, but also a way for the artists to perform with the people they admire and reach milestones they never thought possible. A perfect example of this is Rodrigo’s Glastonbury 2025 performance when she brought out Robert Smith from The Cure to play ‘Friday I’m in Love’ and ‘Just Like Heaven’, introducing him to the crowd as “perhaps the best songwriter to come out of England”. This performance was a love-letter to the music industry, and to Rodrigo’s own love for songwriting and the art of making music. While she could have brought out a pop contemporary, the intentional choice to have Smith as a special guest reflects Rodrigo in a relatable light, as a music fan first and foremost.

Whilst special guests have become a regular feature of concerts and festivals, it is important to remember, they are there for the artist as much as they are there for us. Whether that is performing with a long-standing friend and collaborator, or a life-long hero, special guest stars allow us an insight into the artist as a person and who they want to share the spotlight with.