Backstreet Boys open concert series in Düsseldorf with “Into The Millennium” show

They float from the stadium ceiling onto the stage, and from then on it's all about pop nostalgia: Flying on five hoverboards, the Backstreet Boys opened their concert series in Düsseldorf. “We’ll take you on a journey into the past,” promised Howie Dorough at the start of the show. Equipped with a 32 meter high stage, pyrotechnics and a laser show, he and his bandmates AJ McLean, Nick Carter, Brian Littrell and Kevin Richardson brought their successful album “Millennium” (1999) to new life over the next two hours.

The five musicians had previously shown the show “Into The Millennium” in Las Vegas. The focus is on hits like “I Want It That Way” and “Larger Than Life”. The US band is now playing ten stadium concerts in Düsseldorf until October 7th; around 450,000 tickets have been sold, according to organizer Live Nation. There are still remaining tickets for some shows. According to the organizer, these are the Backstreet Boys' only appearances in Europe this year.

“So many years, so many memories”

The concert series still has the subtitle “Homecoming: Live in Germany”. Even before their global success, the Backstreet Boys had fans in this country, as the singers emphasized in Düsseldorf. «Germany, you were our first love. You loved us above all others and we loved you," said Kevin Richardson. “So many years, so many memories,” added Nick Carter. The boy band was founded in 1993 in Orlando, Florida.

Their show is a journey back in time to the turn of the millennium: while the band changes outfits, snippets of old music videos and concerts are shown. The singers' monochrome outfits - including caps and hats - tie in seamlessly with the costumes from the videos.

At some point the band holds an old cover of the German youth magazine “Bravo” into the camera and poses with it for the fans. They are fully committed to the “Millennium” journey: at the band’s request, most of them came in white and light blue, the colors of the album.

90s program for fans

Fans from all over the world came to the “Homecoming”. Many of them had already been waiting for the five singers in front of the posh Breidenbacher Hof hotel in the previous days. On Friday there were at times a few hundred people; The public order office arrived and blocked off the hotel entrance.

For the next two weeks, the city is also promoting a Backstreet Boys program around the concerts. There are 90s theme parties and special city tours.