Metallica Just Flew to the UK and Pretty Much Broke Wales
San Francisco rock legends Metallica brought the capital city of Wales to a screeching halt over the weekend with a series of firsts.
To start with, June 28 was the first time the band had played the small Celtic nation (total population: 3 million) in 30 years. Then — possibly as a result of the length of time between visits — the metal icons managed to sell 76,000 tickets for a single show, making it the largest single concert to ever happen in Wales. At least 13 roads around the city center closed in preparation for the event.
Excitement built for days before the Principality Stadium gig, with fans and revelers holding full-blown Metallica street parties outside a variety of pubs, occasionally spotting band members as they did so. Then, during the show, bassist Rob Trujillo and guitarist Kirk Hammett performed a cover of Tom Jones’ “Delilah,” a song the Welsh traditionally like to sing at weddings, parties and sporting events. “Delilah” was recently banned from the Principality Stadium for having lyrics that some domestic violence charities objected to. Still, a review from WalesOnline noted that the cover got “one of the biggest cheers of the night.”
But it was after Metallica left Cardiff that the Welsh really got a taste of Metallica’s mettle. The band donated £20,000 (roughly $26,500) to Cardiff Foodbank — the largest celebrity donation the charity has ever received. (In June 2024 during her Eras tour, Taylor Swift also gave Cardiff Foodbank enough cash to provide three-day emergency food parcels to 925 people.)
Rachel Biggs, chief executive of the organization, told BBC Radio Wales on Monday morning that the Metallica cash would provide 9,000 meals to a thousand people in need, in South Wales. “It’s incredible that celebrities are using their status to donate and raise awareness of causes such as ours,” Biggs noted. “It’s going to make an incredible difference.”
While these financial offerings took Wales entirely by surprise, Metallica has been donating to charities all over the world since 2017, when the band’s members and crew started the All Within My Hands foundation (AWMH). The organization gives back to cities that welcome Metallica on tour and helps incentivize fans to participate in blood drives by giving participants limited edition merch.
Metallica’s efforts in Wales also marked the first time that UK blood services had ever partnered with a band to champion blood donation. Simon Campbell-Daves, of Welsh Blood Service, told the BBC: “We cannot be any more thankful to [the fans that donated] and to Metallica for their support in making this happen. It’s been incredible.”
Before Metallica had even arrived in Cardiff, Wales’ neighbors in Ireland were on the receiving end of even larger donations. After Metallica played Dublin’s Aviva Stadium on June 19 and 21, AWMH gave €40,000 (around $45,000) to anti-domestic violence organization Women’s Aid and another €40,000 to homeless charity, the Dublin Simon Community. Back in 2020, AWMH donated $250,000 to five wildfire relief organizations on the west coast. According to a 2025 CBS news report, AWMH has donated $10 million across the U.S. to workforce education programs.
In the Bay Area, we have a tendency to take Metallica for granted a little bit — another band that’s simply part of the local fabric. It’s impossible not to appreciate the quartet on a fresh level after viewing them through the rest of the world’s eyes though. Cardiff magazine, Buzz, ended its Metallica live review with an entreaty: “Come back soon please, lads.”