Hoyoverse games are well known for a multitude of reasons, but one of the things that you can guarantee will always be on point is the music. Whether you’re picking flowers or battling a god, HOYO-MiX never fails to capture the vibe perfectly.
But it goes even further than vibes, as music is also a perfect vehicle for capturing memories. Take, for example, your journey across Teyvat. From the light, airy sounds of the flutes as you first approached Mondstadt, to the powerful, clashing symbols and mournful strings that saw you through the peak of battle and tragedy in Inazuma, the soundtrack to your adventure will never fail to bring you back and remind you of how far you’ve come.
As such, the name for the current Genshin Concert, ‘Melodies of an Endless Journey’, is extremely on point. Over the end of 2023 and into early 2024, the Genshin Concert has once again embarked on its own journey across the globe, and I was lucky enough to attend the London date at the Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall.
If it weren’t for the lovely Hoyoverse reserving us tickets, I doubt I would’ve managed to go, as it sold out minutes after it went to general sale – with only one concert in the UK, and it being one of two in the whole of Europe, it was a highly competitive battle. And, having finally had the opportunity to experience the concert firsthand, it’s easy to see why.
Nestled between multiple landmarks and popular attractions, the Royal Festival Hall sits on the edge of the Thames, a stone’s throw away from the London Eye and Trafalgar Square. It’s a beautiful location, with glass walls looking out over Southbank, classy spot lighting, and multiple staircases leading off to different doorways. There are also several small bars and concession stands where you can buy drinks or food, but I didn’t visit any of these so I can’t comment on pricing or quality.
I was, however, surprised at just how small the auditorium itself is. At a max capacity of only 2,700, it feels very intimate, and with my seats only being about four rows from the front, I could practically smell the resin on the bows. This, of course, has its pros and cons. On one hand, such an intimate venue naturally feels very cozy, and the tiered seating means that everyone gets a good view of the stage.
However, it does seem bizarre to hold the only UK date in such a small venue. On top of that, Southbank Centre has a membership that allows you to purchase tickets on presale. A single membership costs £69-79, and a joint membership for two people costs £130-140. It seems that many people purchased a membership just to be in with a chance to get tickets, as I heard online that there were only around 400 tickets available for general sale, which means some people would’ve paid as much as £170 for one ticket, ending up with a year’s membership that they may not use throughout the rest of the year.
Luckily, the venue did put restrictions in place to prevent scalpers from buying out all the tickets and selling them for an inflated price, but that doesn’t detract from the fact that the tickets were in such short supply, meaning many people missed out.
I do hope, having seen just how astronomically popular the concert is, that Hoyoverse will work with venues to arrange more dates in the future, allowing more people to get the chance to enjoy this beautiful experience. After all, Genshin Impact is a massively popular game, and I’m sure they’d have no issue selling out a whole week’s worth of concerts, especially having seen the number of people expressing their disappointment at missing the opportunity to purchase tickets online.
Now, enough griping about tickets, let’s get onto the concert itself. The venue was immediately abuzz, with many attendees dressed up in cosplay as a variety of Genshin Impact characters. Taking our seats before the concert started, we got to watch the orchestra warm up their instruments as the animation of the celestial path from the game’s login screen played on a large projector overhead.
Then, the full Genshin Concert Orchestra filed in and took their seats, followed by the legendary conductor Roth, who was met with raucous applause. Roth is a Grammy-winning artist and an internationally recognized figure in the world of video game music, known for his work with Nobuo Uematsu and Square Enix as music director and conductor of multiple Final Fantasy orchestral performances.
The performance began with the Genshin Impact main theme, and I immediately felt goosebumps trail down my arms. It was absolutely breathtaking, and a perfect way to kick things off. From there, the orchestra worked their way through each of the nations we’ve visited so far, guiding us through Mondstadt, Liyue, Inazuma, Sumeru, and, finally, Fontaine.
Throughout the performance, the screen above displayed a montage of clips taken from the game’s cutscenes and character showcase trailers, with live footage of the orchestra themselves peppered throughout.
The combination of the footage and the music does a wonderful job of taking you back through the highlights of your journey through Teyvat. It brought back so many wonderful memories for me, with the soft melodies evoking a sense of familiarity and comfort, and the vibrant, energetic battle music reminding me of all those intense battles and bosses we’ve long since defeated. And, I must admit, I did shed a tear towards the end of the Inazuma arc, seeing the chaos come to an end and watching Genshin Impact’s Kazuha place the broken vision on his friend’s grave.
There were a few short intervals throughout the performance, with 15-minute breaks between Mondstadt and Liyue, and Liyue and Inazuma. The first three nations definitely took up more of the runtime than anything else, with Sumeru and Fontaine seeming to go by in a blur – though I was still very pleased that they had their time to shine, as Sumeru has some of my favorite tracks in the game.
It was also absolutely enchanting to have some guest artists take to the stage to perform with classical instruments from different nations, truly enhancing the unique setting of each location we’ve visited. Intervals included, the performance lasted between two and a half to three hours, but, with how beautiful and enthralling it was, it felt like it passed in the blink of an eye.
I do, however, have to mention the Genshin Impact merch situation at the venue, which was a bit of a low-light. As with previous years, there were Genshin Concert t-shirts, a gift box, and a few other goodies for sale, as well as individual merch available for each of the characters available on this year’s Genshin Concert key art. This means standees, badges, and keyrings for the following:
- Genshin Impact’s Zhongli
- Genshin Impact’s Childe
- Genshin Impact’s Diona
- Genshin Impact’s Ganyu
- Genshin Impact’s Xiao
- Genshin Impact’s Eula
- Genshin Impact’s Albedo
Naturally, this roster includes some extremely popular characters, so I was already expecting a bit of carnage at the merch stand – but still had hopes to pick up something featuring my beloved Xiao, Zhongli, or Childe. However, I wasn’t expecting it to be quite so bad.
The merch stand was initially a bit tough to spot – a few tables tucked down some stairs, with barriers in place for queues. Most of the stock must have gone before the concert, as, by the time the first intermission had started, the stand had run out of the commemorative necklaces and most of the merch for several of the characters. Additionally, the queue was so long that most attendees didn’t get to the table by the end of the 15-minute break. People were pushing, running to the front, ducking under barricades, and generally going wild, with the staff attempting to corral everyone into some sort of order.
I decided to call it quits and tried again during the second intermission. But, naturally, when I finally did get to the counter, there was next to nothing left. There were also no prices on the items, so prospective customers had to ask for an item before learning how much it would cost.
That’s when I learned two things. Firstly, the acrylic standees cost a whopping £25 (a direct conversion of around $31.69, even though they’re available on Genshin Global for $19.99 and on eBay for as little as $11-15 depending on the character). I expected the merch to be pricey, but was surprised to see it cost more than I’d seen it sell for online.
Secondly, I heard one of the staff mention that they were given extremely limited stock (I believe they said about 25-28 copies of each standee, though I naturally can’t confirm exact quantities). This is absolutely baffling to me, as I’m sure they would have still sold out even if they had triple the amount – and, at £25 a piece, would’ve made a fortune.
I feel they could have really done with a bit more stock, some better signposting, and perhaps a catalog of items with prices available to people in the queue, so we knew what to expect and ask for by the time we got to the front, thus making the line of people move faster. It would’ve been even better if they had two merch stalls available to cut down the wait. But this is all a minor niggle in an otherwise wonderful experience.
Of course, even though I didn’t manage to grab any of the merch I’d been eyeing up online, I didn’t leave empty-handed. Every attendee received a gift upon leaving the auditorium after the performance, which is a lovely gesture. It came in the form of a brown and gold envelope with a wax seal, containing a holographic ticket with the concert’s key art on it. We also received a card with a redemption code inside, which rewards you with a few in-game items including primogems and a new wing glider. But, again, don’t worry if you missed out – I’ve heard that the Genshin Concert bundle will be available on the in-game store in the future.
Overall, the Genshin concert was a truly magical experience, and I highly recommend it to anyone considering buying a ticket in the future. The performance was breathtaking, and truly took us all on a journey through our memories of this iconic game, and I simply can’t wait to make even more memories and listen to more melodies as we continue to visit other nations. I only hope that, in the future, we get a few more dates (and a bit more merch) so that even more travelers can share in the wonders of HOYO-MiX and the Genshin Impact Orchestra.
If you want to continue your adventures across Teyvat, keep an eye on our Genshin Impact update and Genshin Impact events guides. We’ve also got a Genshin Impact tier list so you can see which characters are worth pulling on the next Genshin Impact banner, as well as a list of all the new Genshin Impact codes to keep your primo-fund healthy.