For Sydney, a chance to see Bruno Mars in London started with a simple entry into a Fandiem sweepstakes. She never expected that entry to turn into something truly special.

From winning the sweepstakes to traveling across the Atlantic, Sydney’s Bruno Mars experience was one for the books, and it all started with a little luck and a lot of excitement.

Entering the Sweepstakes

Sydney has been a Bruno Mars fan for over ten years, becoming hooked by ‘24K Magic.” When she saw that she could donate to support Make-A-Wish to enter, she saw no downsides.

“I like to donate to charity anyway, but might as well potentially win the opportunity to go see Bruno in concert. Perfect.”

She had almost forgotten she entered the sweepstakes, until she received a message from us.

“I was just lounging on my couch watching TV and then I saw the email with ‘BRUNO MARS’ and ‘LONDON’ in all caps. I started shaking and then I opened the email. I called my mom and texted my best friends. It was crazy.”

London Adventures

With no time to waste, Sydney took full advantage of her upcoming trip across the pond.

“We saw that Tyla was going to have a listening party for her new album in London the day that we landed. We submitted a request for tickets, not thinking much, but as soon as we landed, we got the email that we got the tickets to go to the listening party with Tyla.”

From the very start, Sydney knew this was going to be a special experience, full of luck and surprises. Before the concert, she filled her time with excursions and sightseeing.

“We went and saw The Book of Mormon musical, which was one of the funniest musicals that I've ever seen. After that, we ate a quick dinner and then headed to the British Museum to walk around for a couple hours before it closed.”

Arriving at Wembley

Then, the big day finally rolled around. Things were getting real, and the Bruno community was coming together.

“On Olympic Way, they had like four to six merch stands so we stopped and got a couple shirts. We actually had made some friendship bracelets to hand out, so we were able to just walk around and hand out bracelets.”

There must have been some magic in the air, because things just kept getting better.

“One of the Wembley workers came up to us with a mic and was like, ‘Do you want to play ‘Finish the Bruno Mars lyric’ to win merch?’ And I'm the biggest Bruno Mars fan so I was like, ‘I've been dreaming of this. I've been waiting. I've been preparing for this.’ He played ‘Talking to the Moon’ and of course, we finished the lyrics and won a t-shirt outside Wembley.” 

Getting into the concert was so organized. We were able to get in really early and then we got our seats. The prize package said ‘premium seats’, but I was like, ‘This is a sold out stadium, how premium really can they be?’ And it was incredible seeing where we were sitting.

Showtime!

It was finally time to head inside the stadium, and while heading down to her premium seats, Sydney was still reeling. The lights went down, and the openers took the stage.

“DJ PEE .WEE, which is Anderson .Paak, was one of the funniest people that I've seen as an opener. He was so good. And Victoria Monet was beautiful, she did so well.”

Finally…it was the moment every fan waits for. Everyone in the stadium was riddled with anticipation, until finally, it was Bruno’s turn to captivate the audience.

“Bruno is such a good performer. I was singing my heart out to every single song, basically. I definitely cried a couple of times during the concert as well.”

The show was fulfilling in more ways than one to all the true Bruno fans in the crowd.

“When Bruno brought out Anderson .Paak to do Silk Sonic songs, I definitely cried a little bit for that, too. It was amazing because I never thought I would be able to see them together in concert. The concert itself was just absolutely incredible.”

A Tour of the City

As if this trip couldn’t get any better, the festivities were not over after the concert. The next morning, Sydney woke up bright and early for her walking tour of London.

“We started in Piccadilly Circus, which is a famous intersection. Then we heard different stories and learned about the British Crest. We went to Buckingham Palace, which is really cool, and we also saw Big Ben.”

The crown jewel of the tour was the time spent at Westminster Abbey, which also provided an extra special treat.

“That day they actually had an organ recital so they ended the tour 30 minutes early, and we were able to watch the recital inside of Westminster Abbey. I played the violin and I did ballet, so I love classical music. And just hearing that while sitting inside of Westminster Abbey was incredible.”

A Lasting Impact

Upon reflecting on this experience, Sydney was left with the lasting idea: donate more money to charity. It helps people, and you have the chance to win experiences like this.

“I'm so grateful for this whole experience. Everything is aligned up so perfectly, and it was something that I'll never forget, so I'm very thankful for this whole opportunity. I definitely will be donating a lot more now as well.”

Sydney entered to support the mission that Make-A-Wish stands for, but ended up with new experiences and memories that will last a lifetime.

See Sydney’s full experience HERE.