A handful of hardcore Take That fans were in the queue from 6.30am on Monday, June 15
17:52, 15 Jun 2026Updated 17:53, 15 Jun 2026
A group of devoted Take That fans arrived at the Principality Stadium first thing on Monday morning to make sure they have a front row view when the band brings their highly-anticipated circus tour to Cardiff on Tuesday evening.
While most people will arrive after doors open at 5pm on June 16, for some fans ensuring they are stood at the barrier is worth missing out on a few extra hours of sleep. Instead, they choose to spend almost 36 hours chatting and camping outside the stadium, spending time with long lost friends they have made while following the band around the country.
Claire Guckian, a nurse from Edinburgh, speaks to WalesOnline as she gets ready to spend Monday night sleeping in a tent outside the stadium. She arrived at 6.30am on Monday and won’t be leaving until doors open at 5pm on Tuesday to guarantee her barrier spot.
Take That fans Claire Guckian and Ruth Furber outside the Principality Stadium on Monday(Image: Rob Browne/WalesOnline)
“We have to be at the front, we’ve been following them for over 30 years so once you’ve done the barrier you can’t not do it,” she explained. Always keep on top of the latest Welsh news with our newsletter.
Claire, who is here with two of her best friends who have travelled from Dubai and Aberdeen, is no stranger to setting up camp outside a stadium. During this tour alone, Claire has already camped out to see Take That perform twice in Glasgow and once in Sunderland – she’s been at the barrier every time.
“On Glasgow Friday night we’d been queuing for 32 hours, we went straight to the gig, walked out at 11pm and went straight back into the queue for Saturday night. We got about two hours sleep because non-camping people started arriving at about 3am to get in the queue.”
Claire has several Take That tattoos to commemorate her love of the pop group(Image: Rob Browne/WalesOnline)
She spent Thursday, Friday and Saturday night camping in Glasgow before travelling down to Cardiff on Sunday. When she wakes up post-gig on Wednesday morning she’ll be switching it up as she heads to London to see Harry Styles perform during his record-breaking Wembley Stadium residency.
She said: “It’s like family. A lot of these girls we all know each other because we are all in similar groups on social media, some of us are only friends through this and it’s like meeting up with family who you haven’t seen for two years since they were last on tour.
“We all get together, we have lunch and dinner, maybe a few drinks, but there’s something about all getting together before we go in. It’s like a community, it’s really really nice.”
Claire Brettle from Swindon is another loyal fan camping out before the gig(Image: Rob Browne/WalesOnline)
Luckily for Claire and other devoted campers, there are toilets outside the stadium for them to use and she is full of praise for the welfare and security team who she says take good care of them.
There is also an organised list system which allows them to pop out to the shop if they need to, and in the hours before doors open the campers make sure to take their camping equipment back to their hotels or cars to avoid littering.
“Loads of people think it’s mad, we’ll book a hotel for three days and not stay in it but just put out camping gear in there,” Claire added.
During the day, Claire said there’s a lot of chatting as they reunite with people they only see while Take That are on tour, comparing it to a bbq or reunion.
The outside of the Principality Stadium has turned into a small campsite(Image: Rob Browne/WalesOnline)
“It never gets boring. I used to bring card games for the queue but you never get time to play them,” she said.
Having been a Take That fan for over 30 years, Claire has a special place in her heart for the English pop group. However, this particular tour is even more sentimental having been pregnant with her now 16-year-old son the first time around.
Claire explained: “It’s been amazing, it’s been absolutely epic. The first time I saw this tour I was at one of the first gigs in Dublin and I was supposed to go to other gigs in London and Manchester. I found out I was pregnant just after the Dublin gig and I wasn’t allowed to travel.
“I took my 16-year-old son to Glasgow as a bit of a cathartic thing because the last time he was at the circus I was pregnant. It’s magical. I think it’s brought a lot of joy back for a lot of people and the amount of work that goes into it is just phenomenal.”