A teacher from Essex, England was elated when his idol Adele borrowed his Pride flag to drape around her body as part of a recent performance in London and serenaded him and his friends in front of an audience of 65,000.
The day began when Dean William, an Adele superfan, went to a bottomless brunch with a couple of his friends and snagged tickets to the British Summer Time festival in London’s Hyde Park where the "Easy On Me" singer was to perform.
The event coincided with the 50th anniversary of London Pride.
At the venue, William and his friend Jack were approached by an Adele team member who informed William that the LGBTQ+ ally noticed he was wearing the Pride flag and was wanting to borrow it for her performance.
It was a no-brainer.
\u201cLast night I was invited by @Adele to sit side of stage for her performance at @BSTHydePark. Here\u2019s how the most random night of my life happened! A thread\u2026\u201d— Dean (@Dean) 1656871830
"OF COURSE I SAID YES!" wrote William in a Twitter thread chronicling his best night ever.
He shared a video of him being led by the contact person to a very exclusive area of the concert.
"Then we were whisked away into the Diamond VIP section and given a LOT of drinks tokens."
"This is the woman who approached us and took such good care of us."
\u201cShe asked if she could borrow mine so\u2026OF COURSE I SAID YES! Then we were whisked away into the Diamond VIP section and given a LOT of drinks tokens. This is the woman who approached us and too such good care of us \u2764\ufe0f.\u201d— Dean (@Dean) 1656871830
\u201cWe were stunned. This was a dream! Before long @adele came on stage and blew our socks off! Of course, singing Hello.\u201d— Dean (@Dean) 1656871830
After Adele sang her notable hits like, "Hello" and "I Drink Wine," the singer paused the show and asked the audience, “Is there a Jack and Dean somewhere?”
\u201cI\u2019ve just been sent a clip from the moment @Adele called us up \u2764\ufe0f.\u201d— Dean (@Dean) 1656871830
William said Adele, "in front of 65,000 people, asks where Jack and Dean are and calls us over to the barrier!"
He said he was unable to get footage since they were wrapped up in the moment.
But "Rumour Has It" he lost his mind.
\u201cThen, after two songs the MOST BIZARRE moment of my life happened. @Adele, in front of 65,000 people asks where Jack and Dean are and calls us over to the barrier! I of course, have no footage of this as I was losing my mind!!!\u201d— Dean (@Dean) 1656871830
\u201cWe were pulled over the barrier, and told by @adele that she wanted to give us the best seats in the house\u2026 they certainly were! Here are a few snaps\u2026\u201d— Dean (@Dean) 1656871830
William's friend Jack–who lives in Colchester with his wife and two children–said:
“There was no one between us and Adele, other than a couple of guards. She was leaning towards us, smiling. It was crazy.”
When Adele sang "When We Were Young" wearing the Pride flag William had previously purchased for "eight quid" ($9.54), William was overcome with emotion.
\u201cThen, during When We Were Young, @adele appeared wearing the very flag we bought for eight quid at Holborn station just hours before! I cried.\u201d— Dean (@Dean) 1656871830
In a dialogue with Adele leading up to that moment, William described it as "the most awkward drunk conversation of my life."
She asked William:
“Do you remember earlier on when you were coming in someone came and said ‘Can we have your flag in return for some drink tokens?’”
William, who has been escorted to the front of the stage, shouted back “8 quid from Holbein station!”
To which Adele asked, “8 quid? And how much in drink tokens?”
“A lot!” shouted William, adding, “About 20 of ’em!”
The amused singer replied, "Oh, really? Are you drunk?”
William exuberantly confirmed, “Yes!”
\u201cAND the most awkward drunk conversation of my life @Adele.\u201d— Dean (@Dean) 1656871830
The singer continued:
“Well I wanted that flag for later for what I’m doing, and they said you burst into tears because you got moved to the front, so I thought I’d give you front row seats.”
That was when Adele pulled out the Pride flag and draped it around herself before singing her rendition of “When We Were Young."
“To have someone with that level with that platform, 65,000 in front of her, stand as an ally and make you feel safe is phenomenal," said William.
Towards the conclusion, Adele shared a special moment with William and his friend before returning the LGBTQ+ banner to its previous owner.
“To end the most magical, perfect, mind-blowing pride @adele sung Love Is A Game, looked at us directly in the eyes and blew us a kiss," recalled William.
"THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU ADELE!!!! I’ll never ever forget this night and this pride!!!!"
\u201cTo end the most magical, perfect, mind-blowing pride @adele sung Love Is A Game, looked at us directly in the eyes and blew us a kiss. THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU ADELE!!!! I\u2019ll never ever forget this night and this pride!!!!\u201d— Dean (@Dean) 1656871830
Social media users expressed their enthusiasm for William.
\u201c@DeanWilliam @Adele What a memory you\u2019ll treasure forever! So happy for you \ud83d\udc99\u201d— Dean (@Dean) 1656871830
\u201c@DeanWilliam @Adele This is amazing! What an experience for you!\u201d— Dean (@Dean) 1656871830
\u201c@DeanWilliam @Adele It's so easy for artists to pay lip service to lgbtq, but great to see Adele proudly wearing the flag and giving recognition to you. Sad she's not done a gig in Manchester. She's a good lass that one \ud83e\udd70\u201d— Dean (@Dean) 1656871830
\u201c@DeanWilliam @Adele This is just brilliant. \u2665\ufe0f\u201d— Dean (@Dean) 1656871830
“I think I’m just going to take Pride flags everywhere with me," added William.
