Who’s ready for BeyDay in Charlotte?

The Renaissance has finally arrived in the Queen City as Beyoncé is set to perform on Wednesday night at Bank of America Stadium. In preparation, Charlotte has responded with dances, food specials, spectacular outfits and a planned clear night of weather. Fans are over the world for the pop icon’s stop. Here’s how Charlotte reacted to the concert:

5:30 p.m.: Fans wait in merch lines ahead of gates opening

Beyoncé fans waited in multiple lines — some about 50 people deep — about 5:30 p.m. Friday to get their official Renaissance World Tour merchandise.

The merchandise truck, which sat just off the corner of South Mint and South Graham streets outside Bank of America Stadium, offered T-shirts, sweatshirts, keychains and more.

Kim and Meilis White, a mother-daughter duo who came to Charlotte from Rock Hill for the show, said they’d been in line for about 15 minutes.

“We’re just looking,” Kim said.

Meilis - who previously saw Beyoncé when she toured with her husband, Jay-Z — said she’s excited to see her musical idol since childhood again.

It’s Kim’s first time seeing the megastar.

“We’re excited to hear good music,” she said.

– Mary Ramsey

5:45 p.m. | Last minute choice is the best outfit choice for Beyoncé

Rhonda K. Bryant, 35, styled herself and her cousin, Tiffany, 35, for the Beyoncé concert.

She loves pink, so she chose to wear an all-pink ensemble, featuring a pink catsuit, sleeves and pink metallic cowboy boots. She customized her cowboy hat with stickers listing some of Beyoncé’s songs.

She planned her outfit yesterday, she said. She admits her outfit was a last-minute choice.

“That’s when I get my best ideas,” she said.

Tiffany Bryant wore open-toe clear heels, brown scrunched pants and a green and brown marbled sleeveless top. She said her cousin planned her outfit on Tuesday, before Rhonda had planned her own concert attire. Everything she wore she already had in her closet.

– Audrey Elsberry

5:55 p.m. | “I’ve got to bring my A-game”

Kelyn Maynard, 34, was inspired by ballroom for her outfit, which consisted of long, black mesh gloves, a black two-piece and a sparkly bandana.

“It’s Renaissance, so of course you got to go all out,” she said. “So I did look at her tour earlier in London. Everybody was going blinged out. So, I was like, ‘OK, I’ve got to I’ve got to bring my A-game.’”

– Audrey Elsberry

6 p.m.: Crowds swell uptown ahead of Beyoncé show

Thousands filled the sidewalks and streets outside Bank of America Stadium by 6 p.m., ahead of gates opening for Beyoncé’s show.

Fans were dispersed among gates around the stadium, but some lines still grew to a city block or more.

Doors open at 6:30 p.m., except for VIP ticket holders, who could get in as early at 6 p.m.

– Mary Ramsey

7 p.m.: Musicians get the party started outside BofA Stadium

From a violinist to a drummer and a brass band, the music started in uptown even before Beyoncé takes the stage.

Multiple musicians were playing right outside of Bank of America stadium Wednesday evening as concertgoers arrived for the Renaissance World Tour.

Some in line danced along to the tunes and left tips for the musicians.

– Mary Ramsey

7 p.m. | Raleigh fan “taking it all in”

Trevor Roberts from Raleigh spent months in preparation for the concert but says it is all worth it.

“I’m seeing Beyonce just perform. She’s an amazing performer, vocalist. I’m just excited to see her, oh my gosh,” Roberts said.

His favorite song from the Renaissance album is “Energy,” but Roberts said he doesn’t care which songs she performs. He’s just happy to see Beyoncé in person.

“I think that I’ll be speechless. And just kind of taking in, I like to sing and all of that, to like perform so I’m just going to take that in, you know, and kind of take in in her expertise,” Roberts said.

– Terry Benjamin

7:15 p.m. | “Anything for Beyoncé”

Alana Abad from Virginia Beach is coming to the concert as a birthday trip from her best friend.

“I’m very excited and just surprised, they were like, ‘You want to go to Beyoncé?’ and I’m like, ‘Who doesn’t want to go to Beyonce?’” Abad said.

Abad said the drive from Virginia to Charlotte was worth it. “We took a little drive, but anything for Beyoncé, am I right?” she said.

The moment she hopes for most is to see a certain special guest.

“I’m hoping to tell everyone that I saw Blue Ivy. That’s probably going to be my most hyped moment, “ Abad said.

– Terry Benjamin

7:15 p.m. | “It will represent the queen, Beyoncé”

Torrey Dixon, 45, wore a white cowboy hat, plaid pants and a Beyoncé T-shirt. He got his shirt a couple of days ago, but he’s been thinking about what he was going to wear for weeks. He wanted to combine the ideas of style, comfort and his love of Beyoncé, he said.

“That’s why I mixed these together. I thought, ‘It will be comfortable, it will be cool, it will be sexy and it will represent the queen, Beyoncé,” he said.

– Audrey Elsberry

7:20 p.m. | “Freedom of expression”

Jamar Holloway, 34, wore an outfit from a fast-fashion retailer. He said his white tank top is an homage to Beyoncé’s “Crazy In Love” music video. His sparkly cowboy hat and sneakers coordinated with his silver holographic nail polish.

Beyoncé’s Renaissance World Tour is a “freedom of expression,” Holloway said.

– Audrey Elsberry

7:20 p.m. | “Something outrageous”

Tommy Bennett, 67, is from Danville, Virginia. He said he found pieces of his outfit at a vintage boutique in his hometown. Before deciding on his outfit, he laid out about five different options. He decided to throw on a mix of different styles, paired with an extremely wide-brimmed sun hat.

“I always wear something outrageous,” he said. “When I saw this hat online I said, ‘It’s going to be hot, and I’m going to need some shade.’”

He wore his hat with a newsprint blazer, white cowboy boots and a pair of black and white shorts.

“I wanted to wear something shorter than short, so I decided on hot pants,” he said.

He said it is amazing to see the network of people Beyoncé is bringing to her tour. As the present of his local NAACP branch, he said, this kind of event is what the organization encourages.

“I love it. You can reach out to everybody — everybody’s here,” he said. “It’s fashion, its personality and it sends a message to bring everyone together.”

– Audrey Elsberry

7:30 p.m. | “Disco alien cowgirl” outfits

Kitty Hear, 23, was styled by her friend Gavin Jambora, 20, who bought their tickets to the show on presale. He created her bedazzled her black cowboy hat and sent her inspiration photos for a concert outfit. The two friends said everyone’s outfits were very disco and 1980s inspired. They described it as, “disco alien cowgirl.”

“I think the concept of Renaissance in 2023 is an Afrofuturism Western theme,” Hear said. “Because with the popularization of (the movie) “Get Out”, that was also another black Afro-American Western. It’s kind of like a reclamation.”

“I don’t really know where (the Western aspect) came from,” Jambora added. “But if Beyoncé tells us to do it, we’re going to do it.”

Hear wore loose-knit knee-high socks that she bought from Amazon. She said the Renaissance tour style has to do with mixing textures just as much as mixing colors. People around the stadium seemed to exemplify that idea as denim was paired with leather, sparkles, pearls and knits.

Jambora paired his silver disco pants with a large tinsel poncho and matching boots. They both carried matching pink paper fans, an accessory many concert-goers brought to fight the intense afternoon sun.

The Renaissance tour aesthetic is Jambora’s favorite of Beyonce’s albums.

“It’s just giving: ‘Be who you want and do what you want,’” he said.

He said he enjoys dressing up for concerts because he can be comfortable knowing everybody is also going to be dressing up, he said.

– Audrey Elsberry

7:30 p.m. | “It’s the unity”

Keli Green is looking at this concert as something special, seeing everyone from different backgrounds and ethnicities all together.

“It’s the unity — everybody is in their silver and black. I’m seeing all people here just happy and enjoying themselves,” Green said.

Being there in her eyes is something momentous.

“We’re a part of history with actually being here, so I’m excited to be a part of it,” Green said.

– Terry Benjamin

7:30 p.m. | Lines dying down as concert start time nears

The lines to get into Bank of America Stadium that once spilled into the street were largely contained in the stadium by 7:30 p.m.

Some groups of fans were still making their way through uptown for the show, stopping to take pictures and making sure their mobile tickets were loaded properly.

– Mary Ramsey

7:45 p.m. | A “cultural reset”

Stacy Sprinkles, 21, wore a custom-made bodysuit that she had made overseas in the U.K. She started thinking about her outfit three months ago and wanted to look like a walking disco ball. She spent between $600-$700 on her outfit, she said.

“I wanted to be really shiny and over the top,” she said.

Sprinkles said Beyoncé is combining old school and new school with the Renaissance tour look. She described the tour as a “cultural reset.”

Sparkles was sitting with her friend, Melody Rose, 21. It was Rose’s first time seeing Beyoncé, and Sprinkles’ first concert. They are both big Beyoncé fans, they said, and play her music around the house.

Rose wore a holographic silver two-piece set with a futuristic pair of platform boots. She based her outfit around the boots, she said.

Her priority with her outfit was to make a statement, she said, which she felt like she accomplished. She was inspired by the Renaissance album song “Alien Superstar,” and channeled that in her outfit.

“She’s making underground culture and making it mainstream,” Sprinkles said.

– Audrey Elsberry

7:50 p.m. | Beyoncé wore all black, so she wore all black

Annie Hobson, 19, and her friend Kaitlyn Golyski, 19, traveled from Aiken, South Carolina, for the concert.

Hobson and Golyski used social media to find inspiration for their outfits. Hobson said she used Pinterest to find outfits based on what other people wore to previous shows.

Golyski, who used Pinterest, Instagram and TikTok to find outfit inspiration, said she pulled inspiration from a show where Beyoncé wore all black, so she wore all black.

Golyski also attended Taylor Swift’s Eras tour. She said she thinks one similarity between the two tours is that concert-goers channel the style of the artist when choosing their outfits.

She said she doesn’t think the outfits from Beyoncé’s tour are as extreme as Swift’s Eras tour.

– Audrey Elsberry

8 p.m. | “I feel seen”

Dallan Russell, 22, stood about one foot above the crowd in his platform shoes. The boots were paired with a cowboy hat, an embellished bodysuit and a silver metallic skirt. He said putting together his outfit was stressful because he ordered so much of it online and worried he wouldn’t be able to get all the pieces in time.

He said his outfit is inspired by his favorite song on the Renaissance album, “Alien Superstar.” His outfit had a diamonds-and-pearls theme, he said.

Looking at other people’s concert outfits also helped him choose his look, he said. He used TikTok for inspiration, as well.

“I feel seen,” Russell said. “She acknowledged the LGBT community and ballroom culture.”... “She paid homage to a lot of Queer people.”

He described ballroom culture as, “a group of people in the room showcasing their talents, dancing, showing face and their outfit, being present, being them unapologetically and living their lives.”

Russell has no other chance to dress up like he did for the Renaissance tour — it is his version of the Met Gala, he said.

– Audrey Elsberry

8 p.m. | “Breathing the same air as Beyoncé”

Antonio Hines said he was raised on Beyoncé’s music and that it is amazing being able to see her live.

“I feel like we’ve been listening to Beyoncé since like elementary school. It’s just a full circle moment,” Hines said.”We will literally be breathing the same air as Beyoncé. I came, I saw, I conquered.”

– Terry Benjamin

8:15 p.m. | “Life-changing experience”

Johannah Shelton from Asheville was able to go to see Beyoncé due to her friends having a spare ticket a month prior to the concert. Now, being in Charlotte, she is looking forward to what’s in store.

“I feel like this is about to be a life-changing experience,” Shelton said.

– Terry Benjamin

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