Fans from across the globe attended, watched, and live-streamed Harry Styles’ final bittersweet performance of his tour, Love On Tour, in Reggio Emilia, Italy.
With many of his family and friends in attendance and some very moving sentiments conveyed, it was a special one. The artist performed songs from each of his three albums (Harry Styles (self-titled), Fine Line, and Harry’s House), also gracing the crowd with an original piano composition and some One Direction classics sprinkled in.
Harry left every heart full with a cathartic sense of what the tour has meant for both him and them, questioning when he might return again.
Credit: TikTok/taylorrontour
It is known that Styles will be taking a well-deserved break after the two-year-long tour, which has reached the heights of global success. Officially streamed more than One Direction, and with over 150 solo shows performed on this tour alone, there should be no question of his achievements.
Despite all this, Harry has frequently stated that what he is most proud of is the atmosphere the fans have created at his shows. In his farewell speech, he says the following:
‘It has been an absolute honour to get to play for such a wonderful, supportive, emotionally generous group of the future that I see standing before me. Thank you so much for being here […] Whatever this feeling is that you feel – that I hope that you feel in this crowd tonight – I feel what it is that you create together, and it is the most inspiring thing I have ever seen in my life. The atmosphere that you’ve created, the family that you’ve created, this safe space for everyone that you’ve created; I want to thank you for everything.’
Harry Styles
This begs the question: how has Harry’s music united these people in such an inexplicable way? And what is the magnetism of the world-renowned tour that keeps fans coming back time and time again?
Love On Tour, Forever
Following the final show, the Harry Styles YouTube channel posted a beautiful ode to the tour and fans titled ‘Love On Tour, Forever’.
The video showcases some heartwarming examples of what the tour encapsulates, be it learning routines together, sharing food, plaiting hair, offering tissues, or traveling there alone and leaving the stadium with friends for life.
Fan testimonies featured in the video articulate what it is that makes Love On Tour so special:
‘I was literally crying my eyes out and the girl in front of me handed me a tissue and she asked me if I was okay and it was just such a sweet thing to happen because it’s like… you know, I’ve got my friend here but there’s always someone else if I didn’t. We want to help each other and just be kind to each other and love each other.’
Harry Styles fan, ‘Love On Tour, Forever’
Fans equally took to the comments to explain the impact that the tour has had on them:
‘I feel honored to be a part of a group full of beautiful, kind, encouraging and good souls. This tour made me the happiest and healthiest version of myself. To Harry and every Harrie, thank you for the love’
@MS-Queenforever, ‘Love On Tour, Forever’
As the title of both the video and the tour suggests, the focus of Styles’ tour is love. To love everyone equally, freely, and openly – something Harry can be seen to practice in his life and interactions with others. Harry has become an emblem of kindness; his song Treat People With Kindness incites the famous ‘boot scoot’ at his concerts; fans otherwise unknown to each other join together to dance a routine resembling the one shown in his music video.
A Lifetime of Love
My close friend and fellow Harrie, Giovanna, has been a fan since Harry’s early auditions on X Factor and explains what it has meant to her to watch his journey and be part of the Love On Tour experience:
Being a fan of Harry Styles has been a dream. At 12 years old I became a super fan of One Direction and ever since then I have loved Harry. Seeing him grow not only as an artist but as a person in the last ten years has inspired me a lot. Songs like Treat People With Kindness are just nice mantras to follow in life whether you’re a fan or not. More recently, seeing him at Love On Tour three times, I can honestly say it was the best show I’ve ever been to, from planning an outfit to fan-made dances to Harry’s interactions with the audience. Everything about the show is so wholesome and you really do feel safe and at home. Love On Tour will always have a special place in my heart and I cannot wait to see what he does next.
Giovanna Torrentino-Smith
For Giovanna, a great deal of the magic lies in the giving: what Harry gives to the fans and what the fans give back in their gratitude and support for him and one another. The relationship is more symbiotic than transactional – perhaps what makes Love On Tour so unique.
How a House Becomes a Home
They call it homesickness like a disease to love and miss where you live. Where you feel most at home. In many ways, though, it’s a beautiful thing to miss a place, a person, or a thing that fosters authenticity and where love once lived.
As someone who has been lucky enough to attend three Love On Tour shows, I can say with certainty that Harry’s House continues to become a literal and figurative home for so many people, brought to life by the tour. It is one thing to feel a connection with strangers online but to feel at home with new-found friends in a physical space is something entirely apart.
Harry – thank you. The fans you acknowledge as ‘supportive, emotionally generous’ people are a testament to both their characters and your own.
As Stevie Wonder would say, ‘music is a world within itself with a language we all understand’.
