The Art of Gigging - Olivia Dean at the O2

So here we are, back again. After a significant gap of concerts, the ultimate gig reviewing blog has returned for another dip into the live music pool. Today, I will be recounting and reviewing my recent trip to London’ O2 Arena to see the UK’s biggest pop artist, Olivia Dean. 

The venue

Despite having visited the O2 more than possibly any venue, this is my first time reviewing London’s largest indoor venue. It’s a peculiar venue, the O2. Nestled in Greenwich and right on the river, it should be quite an idyllic location with great views of Canary Wharf and the City. However, it is a pretty soulless location, filled with chains and a very ugly car park. However, on this occasion we made a great discovery of an outdoor bar near the tube station which was nowhere near as busy as those inside the arena (photo attached). Simply called Canteen Food Hall & Bar, it had a range of eateries, two bars and a DJ. The queues were long, but not as long as being inside. The food was good and the price didn’t make my eyes glaze over, so that’s a win. 

The O2 itself is a standard corporate affair. It is part shopping mall, part concert hall, part food court, part cinema so has something for everyone - which is part of the issue. It fills up fast, and with only one entrance, it is a bottleneck for busyness. 

The prices for alcoholic drinks in the arena are ironically sobering - pints are upwards of £9. As ever we paid it, complained, and then went up for another one. We truly are turkeys voting for Christmas, but a flat Camden Hells costing nearly double figures is difficult to turn down on a Wednesday evening. 

The crowd

As one can imagine, this crowd was female-heavy. There was not a single queue for the men’s toilet. It was a great crowd, with everyone in a joyous, buoyant mood. 

My one comment on the crowd would be the phone use. I'm addicted to my phone, so I am very much in a glass house throwing stones, but the phone use in terms of photographer and filming was off the charts. Again, I took photos for this blog, so I see the irony. But at some point you want to say to people - you're never going to watch that again, why not just watch the show? (Old man yells at cloud)

Olivia Dean 

Dean’s career in the last six years has been nothing short of rapid. A BRIT School graduate and former backing singer for Rudimental, Dean has forged her own trailblazing path as a solo artist. Her brand of easy listening music, with deep and pensive lyrics have captured the hearts and minds of most under the age of 40. She truly burst onto the scene and in 2025/2026 has really made the music landscape her own. 

Her debut album Messy is a wonderfully reflective piece, exploring themes such as love, immigration and the messy sides of life. It was the lead single to Messy, Dive, which really put her on the map. A song all about taking chances in a relationship, its upbeat chorus makes it a catchy earworm for any listener. 

I first saw Olivia Dean at Glastonbury Festival in 2024, when she followed veteran rockers Squeeze as the second act on the Pyramid on the Friday. She was truly one of the highlights of the weekend. With a sore head from overdoing the Thursday before, she was the perfect antidote to the alcohol poison I had consumed. She also just released her single Time just before Glastonbury, which is one of my favourites of her discography, so hearing it live at Glastonbury just after its release was special. 

With that, I was excited to see her new show in support of her latest album, The Art of Loving. The Art of Loving has truly nestled itself into the zeitgeist, with the mega single Man I Need everywhere over the last six months. The album is brilliant and I was very excited to see how it would translate live. Having scooped up a Brit Award and a Best New Artist Grammy, it’s fair to say The Art of Loving has been an enormous success. 

Coming in with Nice to Each Other, the tone was set instantly. Everyone knew every word, with particular attention paid to ‘I don’t want a boyfriend’, which the crowd screamed with great enthusiasm and clearly some shared history. From there, a few more from The Art of Loving followed, of which I need to give a shout out to my favourite from the album, So Easy (To Fall in Love). One of my favourite songs of 2025, it is one of the most uplifting and confident songs I’ve ever heard. A samba-style, boppy, bossa nova number, it will worm its way into the ear of any listener and simply not leave for days on end. It was fantastic live and you simply wanted it to be longer. 

From there, the set was brilliant, with new hits like Let Alone the One You Love and I’ve Seen intertwined with hot favourites like Messy, UFO and Echo. After my favourite Time (which was great), Dean took to a smaller, heart shaped stage in the middle of the arena floor to run through Loud, A Couple Minutes and The Hardest Part. Despite being in a crowd of over 20,000, it felt surprisingly intimate as the set was stripped back. Returning to the main stage, a cover of Curtis Mayfield’s Move on Up gave Dean the chance to introduce her band and backing singers, many of whom have been with her since the very beginning. They’ve all been on an incredible journey. 

The crowd were in fine fettle for the entire show; people laughed, cried and danced from minute one to the very end. It was great to be in such a welcoming and inclusive environment - everyone was on a great level and I cannot possibly imagine feeling like an outsider at this show. 

And with that, we were at the final four. Dean truly chose the best for last, with Ok Love You Bye, It Isn’t Perfect But It Might Be, Dive and Man I Need the final tunes. Four huge songs which were greeted with the huge reception they deserved. Controversially to some, Dean’s smash hit collaboration with Sam Fender was not on the set (until he joined her on stage later in the tour) which I thought made sense, considering he features on the majority of the song. It was a shame not see it live, as it is a wonderful song, but I totally understood why it was not played in Fender’s absence. 

As the confetti exploded for Man I Need, people raced for the exit for the melee to get onto the Jubilee line. Leaving the O2 is one of the worst parts of visiting the venue. Not as bad as leaving Wembley, but still a problem. However, people were still in great moods, with singing and laughing abound still. It had been a great night and Olivia Dean had delivered. With many stops left on this tour, it is exciting to imagine what is next for her.