2022 - MFC meetup & M&G with Mika @ Royal Festival Hall, London - 10 November - REPORTS / PHOTOS / VIDEOS

[Kumazzz]

INSTAGRAM

https://www.instagram.com/p/CkygrItrO31/

 

mikafanclub

A very informal gathering of international @mikainstagram fans here in London to see the recording of #thepiano tonight. 💖🇬🇧🎹🎵 #mika #music

 

[silver]

Lots of familiar faces there.

 

I hope Kath and Abby made it to the recording OK

[crazyaboutmika]

29 minutes ago, silver said:

Lots of familiar faces there.

 

I hope Kath and Abby made it to the recording OK

They did

 

[Kumazzz]

https://www.instagram.com/p/Cky9_bXrlNM/

 

[TTel20]

Obviously we cannot talk about the show etc. It was nice to catch up with some of you. The show is proof that music is powerful, shares more than words can.

 

I wanted to post something before going to bed as I am disappointed with the behaviour of some « Mika fans ». Two people behind us who talked often, when they shouldn’t and preventing us from hearing some stuff said during the show. Not being focused so didn’t even understand a simple instruction. Sadly making jealous comments about some fans being sat closer to the stage. 

It was made very clear that mobile phones had to be turned off at the start of the recording, no photos or videos to be taken. Another person still took a photo, with the flash so well done for being discreet.

And meeting Mika… No comment.

 

We are lucky that the team put tickets aside for us, Deb liaised with us and wanted to share seeing Mika with us. 
Why putting time and effort when some people show no respect.

 

On an happy ending, I finally got a photo with Ida and talked a bit with her, added another Mika’s autograph to my collection, saw Lang Lang. 

[EmmAcarena]

It was lovely meeting all of you !! 💖

[mellody]

I split these posts into a new thread. We can't talk about details of the filming for The Piano or post pictures of the show, but there's lots of pictures and videos of fans meeting Mika afterwards, that surely are worth an extra thread.

[Anna Ko Kolkowska]

I haven't seen any people filming or taking photos during the show. Which is absolutely opposite to what we have seen in Philharmonie de Paris 😜

I was impressed.

[kath]

Still struggling with eyesight so difficult for me to read or see pics and please excuse any mistakes.

yes - the people behind us behaved appallingly. 
 

Mika fans at the end were very predictable. Over the (almost) 16 years little has changed really. It’s push push, selfish behaviour. Such a shame. 
 

HOWEVER… all that said- what a fantastic night! Abby and I had a complete nightmare to get there but were very grateful that the staff let us in at 6:50. The show was absolutely incredible and I literally can’t wait to see the series! 
and I certainly hadn’t expected a M and G with Mika. 
Thank you so much Deb (and everyone involved) for all your hard work to pull this off for us. It is much appreciated. 
And lovely to see so many old faces. X

[TinyLove_CJ]

I've seen various posts on IG, including the video of Mika receiving the MFC yearbook (which is so sweet by the way!), and it really seems like it was a wonderful night!

 

I know your not allowed to talk about the show but are you at least allowed to say what Mika sang at all? 

[Paoletta]

so lucky fans it will never happen to me to meet Mika  thanks so much for sharing 

Edited November 11, 2022 by Paoletta

[CharlotteL]

From the videos I've seen on insta, it looks like you had a great evening!

Mika seemed so delighted by the yearbook and understandably so, it's wonderful. I've only been on here a very short time but the things you all pull off together are fantastic 

And I can only agree with Mika in thanking Deb for all the work she puts into this. Can't wait to join you next time!

[kath]

We can talk about Mika.

it was well known even beforehand that he would do Grace Kelly and Happy Ending. 👍🎉

[mellody]

We're also allowed to promote the show, but not tell any details, and especially not say anything about the contestants.

 

So what I'll say about the show is, you're in for a treat if you can watch it on TV. It was pretty different from what I had expected, and absolutely stunning! Mika was great, he also hit the high notes perfectly (I had been wondering about that, as sometimes he had problems with it during the summer), but believe it or not, he wasn't even the highlight of the show for me.

 

Btw, I suppose the reason why MFC had seats in the back was that Mika was in the audience at some point, and they didn't want us all to turn our heads during the recording.

 

There were some empty seats in the front that, bit by bit, were filled with people from the back. So a bunch of us got lucky to sit in 4th row - but Mika apparently knew where (the main part of) MFC was seated, and looked up there quite often, while I'm not sure if he noticed us - we had a good view tho.  So there wasn't really any need to be jealous, especially as Mika also was so generous with his time after the show, for all of us.

 

6 hours ago, kath said:

Mika fans at the end were very predictable. Over the (almost) 16 years little has changed really. It’s push push, selfish behaviour. Such a shame. 

 

Yes, it was like that 15 years ago, and it's still like that now - however, it depends on the individuals. I've also seen him come out to meet a crowd of 100 after a show and everyone stayed calm, while it can get crazy if just 10 or 20 fans don't accept his personal space.

 

Was great to see you all again and spend some time together! And so happy that finally after 2 years we were able to give Mika the yearbook in person again!

[Bren]

24 minutes ago, mellody said:

believe it or not, he wasn't even the highlight of the show for me

That is indeed hard to believe  

[Anna Ko Kolkowska]

12 hours ago, mellody said:

Mika was great, he also hit the high notes perfectly (I had been wondering about that, as sometimes he had problems with it during the summer),

 

This part always surprises me. He forgets the respiration techniques, forces his throat and misses this high note. And that's why I don't like him singing Happy Ending at gigs. But yesterday he missed one or two first ones. Then he pulled himself together (I saw it on his face) and then till the end it was great. I think Ida worked with him on this point. Definitely he used his diaphragm correctly this time 

 

12 hours ago, mellody said:

but Mika apparently knew where (the main part of) MFC was seated, and looked up there quite often,

 

 

Yes, we were clapping like crazy with our arms up   Hard to miss us. That's why I stayed in the group. I wanted to live this moment together with other MFCers. We did the same for Ida and Max when they were waiting on the stage  And they have seen us as well. It was so funny! We distracted Max and and he couldn't hide his laughter.

 

I am happy I was there. Live music in the place like this is something special. This cristal clear sound of the piano was so beautiful. As Mika mentioned at the beginning they were looking for pianistes who were able to make a magic with the music and the instrument.

It happens to me very rare during concerts but the magic was sooooo strong that I started to cry at the moment. I think some of you can imagine which moment I talk about. 

 

The cherry on top was the information that Mika will come to see us after the show. I couldn't believe it.

It was my first M&G like this. Thank you to all persons involved in this 

 

 

Edited November 12, 2022 by Anna Ko Kolkowska

[mellody]

34 minutes ago, Anna Ko Kolkowska said:

I wanted to live this moment together with other MFCers.

 

Yes, and that was the most important part, to be with our friends.  Even if it was 2 groups then. I don't think I'd have gone to the front if Deb hadn't been there - she was originally sitting next to me, but when her husband spontaneously had to cancel his original plans and came with her, they got new seats together - sadly, not with MFC. So I asked Michelle if she wanted to sit with me in Deb's original place, as I didn't know if I'd know the others who were sitting around me. She gave her original seat to Ani's daughter, who didn't have a ticket - but then Ani and her daughter got seats elsewhere together in the end. And later, when we got the chance to sit with Deb, we took it - although I was hesitating a bit, it'd definitely have been nice in the big group as well. And Bea joined us when the guy on stage said that people from the back should come to the empty front seats. It was all a bit chaotic with the seats, in advance, and up until the show started... as I said before, flexibility is a good feature in Mikaland. 😅 (tho in this case I don't think he had to do much with the organization).

 

All in all, I hope everyone was happy with their places, I think the view was good everywhere, and Mika looked and waved up to you several times. I was happy to sit between Deb and Michelle, and to see the pianists' hands/fingers on the piano, I just really love watching that, it always amazes me.

 

Will upload my 2 videos from the M&G and a few pix in my next post.

[mellody]

My videos:

Mika talking about Deb and saying it's nice to see you all, and his reaction to the BeReal question

 

Mika receiving the yearbook:

 

Photos (just look at those eyelashes! ):

 

 

[mellody]

IG post by Ida

https://www.instagram.com/p/Ck1ak7_t7h9/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y= 

[holdingyourdrink]

This few days were amazing. The weeks leading up to were already very exciting, because we knew we would see eachother again and make memories. Also, this time of year London is getting ready for Christmas, which personally is my favourite time of year - because of all the lights and decorations around the city.

 

Just to name the countries where all fans were from on top of my head: UK, US, Finland, Poland, Bulgaria, Rumania, Italy, Switzerland, France, Belgium, The Netherlands and Germany. (Please let me know if I have forgotten a country!!) Although I know we all know this and this is oddly and funnily completely normal to us, I always find it impressive and astounding. I am always in awe when I hear 3-4 languages at the same time in our group. It’s really something special.

 

We can’t say anything about the contestants. I however can say that the show is definitely worth a watch, especially the final. We only saw snippets of the weeks leading up to it. But it is really well put together and it’s something I would definitely want to watch as soon as it will air.

 

Deb came up to everyone before the recording started and told us that Mika would meet us after the show. This lifted everyone’s spirit even more! And as you can tell from the videos online, he truly took his time.
 

There was some pushing when he came out to greet us, but he quickly told the security personell around him in a kind way “that it was ok” and Mika then kindly asked us to make some room. This shows us that he trusts his fans. I was 3rd or 4th row to the side where there wasn’t a lot of pushing, so I don’t know what was going on in the back. But after he asked us to do so it seemed to calm down after that. (Until he left, there was a lot of commotion again.)

 

Afterwards we all made our way to the bar in the lobby. It was a big lobby, so lots of room, and it’s also the main room to make your way to the general exits. Mika was there briefly and was greeted by friends and some fans. I observed the scene from a distance (as I was holding my own drink, not anyone else’s this time ) and just thought “well, at least I can say I was (we all were!) in the same bar as Mika, that’s pretty cool.” 

Saying goodbye is hard after such eventful and truly special days. But somehow I feel we are going to see eachother real soon!! 

[Caillean]

Hi MFC,

It has been a long, long time that I posted anything but the reason for it is that I do not want to give any comments or reviews on every Mika event because everyone has his/her own experience and memories. Anyhow, this year I have been seeing Mika at Bruges, Bertrix and London. I don't do M&G because Mika gives everything on stage and afterwards he has to have his peace. This time however I had a hotel close by (Strand Palace, very recommendable!) so I was very curious to see a m&g (from a distance for obvious reasons); I do so agree with Anna K.K., TTel20 and Kath. At a certain point his bodygard was angry. 'Fans' were pushing and thinking Mika was the 'guy next door'. A girl was pushing him to take a photo with her phone, a man was shouting with a flag of Ukraine etc.Mika was pushed in a corner (watch the videos). Luckily he had the door behind him to escape if necessary. I was behind the group looking at it with astonishment. I will never do a m&g again. If some 'fans' can't be more respectful to a man like Mika, who is too kind and too wellbehaved to make any remarks I respect him even more. Mika deserves respect. He is not a dog to do tricks in a circus like "we payed for you now dance for me". All said and done ,I saw familiar faces, a bunch of respectful fans also, a fantastic, emotional show and preformances that make you think how grateful we must be at some point.

Thank you Deb for organising tickets for us, happy to see Kath. Sorry but I am not the sociable type to join the inner circle of MFC I rather stay in the shadows. Also thank you Mika for another exeptional evening. As always it was magic !

[Aki Celeste]

17 hours ago, mellody said:

My videos:

Mika talking about Deb and saying it's nice to see you all, and his reaction to the BeReal question

Mika receiving the yearbook:

Photos (just look at those eyelashes! ):

 

 

 

Goodness, what a lovely moment! Thank you for capturing it so well for us fans who couldn't be there. I especially loved his comments on the artwork (congrats @holdingyourdrink !), and even caught a glimpse of my own contribution when he paused with the page open. A truly special evening, from the sounds of it - thanks again for sharing. 💖

[Paoletta]

so lucky thanks again for sharing 

[bkxx]

Hi Kath

We were looking out for you to say hello, but unfortunately weren't able to see you.  We were in the stalls row BB.  Anyway, agree it was a fantastic night and very interesting to see how all the filming took place.

On 11/11/2022 at 1:43 PM, kath said:

Still struggling with eyesight so difficult for me to read or see pics and please excuse any mistakes.

yes - the people behind us behaved appallingly. 
 

Mika fans at the end were very predictable. Over the (almost) 16 years little has changed really. It’s push push, selfish behaviour. Such a shame. 
 

HOWEVER… all that said- what a fantastic night! Abby and I had a complete nightmare to get there but were very grateful that the staff let us in at 6:50. The show was absolutely incredible and I literally can’t wait to see the series! 
and I certainly hadn’t expected a M and G with Mika. 
Thank you so much Deb (and everyone involved) for all your hard work to pull this off for us. It is much appreciated. 
And lovely to see so many old faces. X

 

[mellody]

On 11/11/2022 at 1:32 AM, TTel20 said:

On an happy ending, I finally got a photo with Ida and talked a bit with her

 

Cool, when/where did you meet her? I know some fans were looking for her after the show, to say thank you for her wonderful performance, but we didn't see her.