Entirely funded by the founder of beloved Spanish supermarket chain Mercadona, Juan Roig, this state-of-the-art multipurpose indoor arena opened in September 2025. The venue has a capacity for up to 20,000 people and was conveniently located barely 300m from my chosen accommodation. Unlike my previous concert experiences with Roxette, the arena provides seated tickets. Mind you, we didn’t remain seated for long, though. Upon arriving in Valencia by train, we spent the rest of the morning exploring the area, fairly close to the stunning City of Arts and Sciences cultural and architectural complex, designed by Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava and the Turia river Gardens. Before the gates opened at 19.00 some hardcore fans were waiting for them, and we saw their black van arrive at about 18.30 and greeted them. They didn’t stop or anything.

After the show we returned to the same area and this time Mikael Nogueira gave us a wave from the passenger seat. Nice! After the gates opened we had plenty of time to check out the stage and grab something to eat and drink. My friend spotted Clarence, Christoffer and Jonas behind the stage, so we waved at them. I told Jonas getting one of his plectrums would make my day and lo and behold, a couple minutes later he came out and threw a few. I will treasure that plectrum forever! My friend, my sister and I returned to our second-row seats and waited for the show to start. As with previous gigs on this autumn leg of the tour, there was no supporting act. Roxette was expected to start their show at 21.00. Three minutes after the designated time, they came on stage. My sister took the lovely pictures on this post. Be sure to thank her on her IG: @marianmontes48. I will be uploading several videos to my YouTube channel (marox79) as well.

The Roig Arena boasts a huge screen providing video from any any angle. It is Europe’s highest-resolution video scoreboard. Its four flat LED screens with faceted edges, designed by LG, allow for a continuous, uninterrupted image. According to some friends that were seated further at the back, no footage of the show was displayed. They were sightly disappointed not to hear them play “June Afternoon”, one of their favorite songs. After the show I mentioned they’ve NEVER played that banger live. Like ever. Another song that could be added to the summer shows. How about that? The band was in top form. You can see Lena feeling a lot more comfortable in her new role as Roxette’s lead singer. She gives it her all, and you can tell she truly respects the songs and the band’s legacy. She really rocks! No changes in the setlist, much to my regret. If only they played Things will never be the same again -with its electric guitars in full blast- like they did in South Africa and Australia… I had even prepared a banner asking for the song to be played -which I forgot at the hotel, just my luck, huh!

Hope they’ll take notice of our suggestions at some point and humor us with slight changes to the setlist. How about a new concert opener, or having What’s she like? back in, or “Fireworks” to the setlist, Mr. Gessle?

Setlist

• The Big L.
• Sleeping in My Car
• Dressed for Success
• Crash! Boom! Bang!
• Wish I Could Fly
• Opportunity Nox
• Fading Like a Flower
• Vulnerable
• Milk and Toast and Honey
• Almost Unreal
• Stars
• She’s Got Nothing On (But the Radio)
• It Must Have Been Love
• How Do You Do!
• Dangerous Band presentation – with Christoffer playing the Anthem of Valencia while locals proudly sang along.
• Joyride

Encore

• Spending My Time
• Listen to Your Heart
• The Look
• Queen Of Rain

Both Per and Lena greeted the audience in Spanish and thanked us for the continued support and our loud ‘Oé, oé, oé’ cheering. Per mentioned it was his first time in the beautiful city of Valencia. Hopefully it will not be the only one. He joked about whether Valencia was always that way on a Saturday night and hinted at moving there. During Joyride, hardcore fans on the first row had brought several heart-shaped ballons we waved. Some even made it to the stage and Lena played with those. Finally, Queen of Rain was performed and front row fans displayed several printed ‘Tack’ signs with a heart they had prepared. On our way out, my friend spotted Åsa waiting for a fan and we took the chance to take a quick photo with her, and I asked her to pass along the message to the band so they play “Things Will Never be the Same” again in Europe. She mentioned the arena had a curfew of 11pm and therefore they can’t play longer shows. Meeting her and talking to her was the icing to an already unforgettable evening. The merch stand was located outside the arena, and we did spend some money on the latest goodies.

Next stop on the tour was the very next day in Barcelona, at the Sant Jordi Club. I was unable to attend, as I had to work on Monday. Won’t say no to at least one of their summer gigs, though. No miracles took place in Barcelona, which got the same playlist they’ve been doing since Halmstad in the summer. Have you attended any of the autumn shows?

Share your thoughts below.