Festival Roi Arthur in Brittany was the second festival of the late August weekend after Les Solidarités in Namur and the schedule was tight, we drove to France directly after the festival in Belgium without sleeping. Again, the festival day was long with several artists and also again, Mika’s performance was definitely worth the effort, everything looked and sounded absolutely beautiful.  I’m not sure if something was done differently or if the stage was simply ideal height and distance, either way the lights looked particularly amazing. The sound was clear and it was possible to separate details and also for that reason I very much enjoyed the performance. Mika started with Ice Cream and during the song he came down close to the audience to get a red cowboy hat from the front row and it fitted well with his white appliquéd suit and gave the same cowboy look as in Brighton a few weeks earlier where he also got a red hat from the audience. One of my favourite moments of the night was soon after that with Origin which regularly has been my favourites this summer. 

During Big Girl he rushed to the crowd giving a camera man next to the stage a quick hug on his way. He did a walk in the audience and returned on stage holding a black and white flag. The flag of Brittany is often called a symbol of Breton identity and indeed, every time I’ve seen concerts in Brittany which has happened a few times people have brought flags with them and every time one of the flags has ended up on stage and it happened this time as well. He was holding the flag also in the beginning of Jane Birkin while talking to the audience and then put it aside to have his hands free to move and dance and to make the crowd join the song. In the end of Jane Birkin during the sing along part he - just like day before in Belgium - talked first about his holidays that didn’t go exactly as planned and then raised a broken plastic crown he had probably taken during his walk in the crowd. I don’t speak French but understood that for a moment the plastic crown was symbolising magic. After Jane Birkin it was time for Underwater and people were holding lights in the dark and even the small view I could see from my spot was impressive and the full sea of lights Mika had in front of him on stage must have looked  stunning.

Then changing the outfit for Relax and Bougez. Some of the stage outfits are quite thick and sturdy material and I imagine and hope that the silvery one for the high energy jumping songs is at least a bit lighter and maybe somehow stretchy allowing him to move more easily. There are several big and very familiar jumps in Relax and the latest Bougez includes a lot of continuous jumping and sometimes I wonder if the casual audience - people who come to see him not already knowing his live performing - can understand how physical his performing really is. He makes everything look easy and effortless but the jumping he does for the energetic songs is something most people in the audience could never be able to do, most people are never in their life physically fit for that. In addition to be able jump Mika is also extremely strong considering his slim appearance. The red wings he was wearing during Relax in Brighton are just one example. Some of the flowers during the Bloom Tour were actually very heavy as well but the audience couldn’t see that because he handled them all in a similar way and also, the fingers that look so delicate in photos are pure iron which obviously makes the sense when he hits the piano. The lights at Roi Arthur looked incredible during Bougez and if possible I loved the performance even more than I did in Belgium. 

During Elle Me Dit Mika was wearing his elegant bright white suit with the big white flower and he spotted white flower glasses in the crowd and took them for a moment to complete the outfit. Then Grace Kelly and then finally Happy Ending which I had looked forward to the whole night. Happy Ending is a classic that everyone loves. During years I’ve been lucky to hear some outstanding Happy Endings that are out of this world and make time stop. Not every festival performance can or is meant to be like that and with big crowds I often look forward to Underwater much more than Happy Ending because Underwater has a different power with big crowds. This year, however, Happy Ending has been one of the big highlights for me every single time. The stage has looked so gorgeous, the guitar has been highlighted which has created a fresh, sweet ending and the flowers on the piano have been the prettiest detail. During the Roi Arthur Happy Ending Mika - instead of the usual tiny flower rain - suddenly and very loudly dropped a huge pile of flowers over Clement, the guitarist, and then laughed extremely pleased with himself and it was very funny. Not the usual Happy Ending atmosphere for sure, but very, very funny and the audience laughed a lot.

C’est la vie was an important song once again. The audience choir wasn’t the best especially compared to Namur day before but Mika’s performance was of course wonderful and I tried to enjoy the song as much as I could because I knew and know we can’t take it for granted that the song will still be there in the future even though it would definitely and without a doubt deserve it. During We Are Golden Mika was playful with flowers again and he threw them over himself and he threw them to the audience as well. I was happy for We Are Golden because for schedule reasons it has been skipped a few times during the summer. Then it was turn for the final Love Today which was intense and full of adrenaline. Mika appeared on stage wearing his fresh white and green “botanical” suit and moved his body from side to side with music starting to jump. Later during the song he asked Max and Clement to move closer on stage and in the end of the song he walked alone on the catwalk towards the audience with the black and white flag that we had already seen during Big Girl and Jane Birkin to point out we were in Brittany and did his usual ending talk. 

Mika holding a flag on stage is a powerful scene. I realised I miss seeing him holding his own flags we have seen during years. The flags with the red heart and the big letter M were used during the Heaven Tour but we have seen them also later for example during his Eurovision spectacle. At Arena di Verona in 2022 many flags in different colours and with different symbols and motives like the peace sign and images of mushrooms were hold by Mika and the choir. It would be natural for Mika universe to have its own flag. In Brittany the flag represented the audience and it was appropriate. At the same time seeing him that way reminded me of the hugely impressive scene where he’s standing on stage alone and under beautiful lights holding his own flag his whole appearance and the strong pose telling “this stage is mine” which is all thrilling just as a thought. Roi Arthur got a wonderful, strong Love Today. Mika was jumping and the audience was jumping and there was a good group spirit and the both sides were encouraging each other with their energies and in the end Mika did an appreciative, grateful bow to  thank the audience. Luckily, after Love Today, there was still a short moment in the schedule for the Yo-Yo dance, always a nice little gesture to close the night.