Coldplay frontman Chris Martin paused the band's set at Wembley Stadium in London on Friday to ask the audience to "send love" to the family of conservative activist Charlie Kirk after Kirk was fatally shot while speaking at a university in Utah.
In a clip widely circulated on social media, Martin raised his hands and invited the crowd to join him. "Let's raise our hands like this and send love, anywhere you want to send it in the world," he said before suggesting the audience could direct that sentiment to Kirk's family. He added that the gesture could be sent to "people you disagree with" and to "peaceful people in the Middle East, in Ukraine and Russia," then led into the band's performance of the song "Fix You."
Kirk, 31, was shot while speaking at Utah Valley University, about 40 miles south of Salt Lake City, and died of his injuries on Thursday, according to law enforcement and multiple news reports. Authorities arrested 22-year-old Tyler Robinson of Washington, Utah, on Friday. Robinson is expected to face charges of aggravated murder, prosecutors said.
President Donald Trump posted on Truth Social the day of Kirk's death, calling him "great, and even legendary," and offering condolences to his widow, Erika Kirk, and their two children. Other public figures and politicians also offered sympathy; Utah Governor Spencer Cox described the killing as a "political assassination," a characterization that added to heightened tensions around the incident.
Reporters and outlets noted that reactions to Martin's onstage request were mixed. Clips of the moment posted online drew both praise from viewers who said the gesture was a human response to a traumatic event and criticism from others who objected to invoking a polarizing political figure during a concert. Comment sections on platforms hosting the video showed a range of views but did not produce a clear consensus.
Coldplay's Wembley performance was among the shows near the end of the group's longest current tour, drawing tens of thousands of attendees. The band's use of a brief, collective moment of silence or solidarity has precedents in live music settings, where performers sometimes address current events or tragedies involving public figures and audiences.
News reports that covered Martin's remark also noted an unrelated incident earlier this summer in which footage from a concert drew attention to a private matter involving other public figures. That episode was separate from Friday's onstage appeal and did not involve Kirk or the circumstances of his death.
Authorities continue to investigate the shooting at Utah Valley University as charges against the arrested suspect move through the justice system. The crowd response at Wembley and the online debate that followed underscore how high-profile violent incidents and public mourning intersect with live entertainment and social media in the days after a tragedy.