Tom Odell at Arena Pula - tickets for a night of piano, powerful emotion and songs from A Wonderful Life

Tom Odell at the Pula Arena: piano, big choruses and songs that live on silence

Tom Odell comes to the Pula Arena on 23 August 2026, at a time when his career simultaneously connects two audiences: those who have followed him since "Another Love" and a new generation that discovered his music through "Black Friday", the more recent album "A Wonderful Life" and the viral resurgence of older songs. Entry to the Arena is scheduled from 19:00, with the concert beginning at 20:00.

Odell's concert identity has for years rested on a very clear contrast: voice and piano can sound almost private, and then the same song can turn into a shared chorus sung by thousands of people. That is precisely why the Pula Arena feels like a natural setting for his music. The stone amphitheatre provides visual monumentality, while the stage still leaves enough room for those moments when nothing but the song is at the centre.

It is worth securing tickets in time.

From "Another Love" to "A Wonderful Life"

Tom Odell rose to fame at the beginning of the previous decade, and "Another Love" has remained his most recognisable song. The promoter of the Pula concert states that the song has surpassed three billion streams on Spotify, while "Black Friday", the title track of the album released in 2024, has reached almost 700 million combined streams. His more recent work has moved away from the image of the classic young pop singer-songwriter. From the 2021 album "Monsters" onwards, the focus has increasingly been on vulnerability, anxiety, loneliness, body image and the feeling that modern life constantly demands more attention. "Black Friday" stripped the arrangements back even further, while "A Wonderful Life" continued in that direction, but with a greater sense of breadth and dynamics.

"A Wonderful Life" was released on 5 September 2025. The album has 10 songs and runs for 39 minutes. Odell recorded it live with his band in London studios, with the intention that the instruments would not be completely separated and sterile, but would retain the feeling of musicians playing together. This is an important detail for understanding his current concert phase: the new songs were not conceived merely as studio layers, but as material that can breathe on stage.

Among the key songs from this phase are "Don't Let Me Go", "Don't Cry, Put Your Head On My Shoulder", "Ugly", "Prayer" and the title track "Wonderful Life". The album moves between gentle piano openings, acoustic passages and gradual crescendos. Odell does not try to turn every song into a huge chorus. Often it is precisely restraint, silence and repetition that carry the greatest weight.

• "Another Love" remains the song that connects his early career with today's global audience.
• "Black Friday" represents the more intimate, stripped-back sound that has defined his more recent phase.
• "A Wonderful Life" brings material written during travel and touring, with themes of anxiety, fragility and the search for hope.
• Recent concert programmes show that old and new material now work together, rather than one phase completely displacing the other.

What can be expected from the live repertoire

The exact set list for Pula has not been announced and should not be invented in advance. Nevertheless, recent performances from 2026 provide a useful framework. Set lists from summer concerts include "Black Friday", "Another Love" and "Wonderful Life", while performances during the "Wonderful Life Tour" also included other songs from the current album as well as older material.

For the audience, this means that the concert is not conceived as an uninterrupted pop production. Its dramaturgy relies on contrast. "Another Love" still has such a strong live impact precisely because of this: the song begins with its recognisable piano motif and can grow into mass singing without the need for elaborate stage design. A similar principle works in "Black Friday", where the emotional climax lies more in the voice and harmony than in sheer volume.

In 2025, Odell also performed as a supporting act for Billie Eilish on part of her European tour, before continuing with his own major "Wonderful Life Tour". This expanded his audience beyond the circle of people who follow classic singer-songwriter pop. Today, his concert can also appeal to listeners of alternative pop, piano ballads and more intimate indie sounds.

Who will find this concert especially interesting

The broader audience will probably react most strongly to "Another Love" and "Black Friday". These are songs that have long since moved beyond the boundaries of a traditional fan base. It is particularly interesting that "Another Love", released back in 2012, has not remained merely a nostalgic hit. Its new life on streaming platforms and social media has brought it to an audience that was not necessarily following Odell's career at the time of its original release.

Fans of the newer album can expect a concert in which "A Wonderful Life" is not simply an addition to the old hits, but an important part of his current artistic identity. The songs from that release were created during a period of intensive travel and writing, while Odell himself has described the long process of refining the lyrics. For that reason, the current concert cycle is more than a promotion of a new release: it shows where his songwriting style stands after more than a decade of a public career.

Tickets for this event are in demand.

The Pula Arena as part of the concert experience

The Pula Arena was built in the 1st century and is one of the most impressive preserved Roman amphitheatres. It was constructed from local limestone and is now also used for summer concerts, film screenings and other programmes.

For the concert experience, however, something else matters more: the audience is not inside an anonymous multipurpose hall. The limestone walls, open sky and visible historical structure are constantly part of the scene. This changes the sense of scale. Big choruses gain a monumental backdrop, while quieter songs create an unusual contrast with a space that is physically almost two thousand years old.

Because it is an open-air venue, visitors should check the weather forecast on the day of the concert and choose clothing and footwear suitable for a summer evening and stone surfaces. Information about permitted items, bags and special entry rules should be checked immediately before the event, because such details can vary from concert to concert.

Places are disappearing quickly.

Getting to Pula and moving around the Arena

The Arena is located in the central part of Pula, at Flavijevska ulica b.b. This is convenient for visitors arriving in the city without a car because the centre, city streets and transport links are concentrated within a relatively small area. Pula has an urban and suburban bus system operated by Pulapromet, and timetables and vehicle locations can be monitored through its app.

It is important, however, to allow for possible traffic changes around the Arena. During several major concerts in the summer of 2026, Pulapromet temporarily stopped serving the "Arena" and "Flavijevska" stops because of special traffic regulations. This does not mean that the same arrangement will necessarily apply on 23 August, but it is a good reason to check the latest notice on the day of the concert before setting off.

If you are arriving by car, the Karolina car park is located immediately in front of the amphitheatre. Since 1 April 2026, it has operated under a special regime outside the standard city zones, and during the summer period from 1 June to 30 September it is open 24 hours a day. Its proximity to the Arena is a major advantage, but on the day of the concert you should not assume that a free space will still be available at the last moment. Traffic restrictions, event production requirements or increased demand may further change the usual situation.

For visitors arriving by air, Pula Airport is connected by shuttle bus with the main bus station in Pula. A special daily timetable has been published for 23 August, and the airport warns that departures may change along with flight schedules. For that reason, it is useful to check again on the same day, especially if the planned arrival is close to the time when the gates open.

How to organise the evening without unnecessary rushing

• Check Pulapromet traffic notices on the day of the concert, especially for stops around the Arena.
• If you are arriving by car, do not plan to arrive at the last minute simply because the Karolina car park is next to the amphitheatre.
• If you are arriving by plane, check the current shuttle timetable between Pula Airport and the main bus station.
• Bear in mind that entry begins at 19:00 and the concert starts at 20:00.
• Check the weather forecast and the rules on bringing items inside before setting off, because the concert is outdoors.

Why this phase of Tom Odell's career suits the Arena so well

Odell is an interesting example of an artist whose biggest global hit has not become a burden on the rest of his career. "Another Love" remains an essential part of his performances, but "Black Friday" and "A Wonderful Life" have given him a new creative centre. Instead of expanding his sound towards increasingly large-scale pop production, he often narrows it down to voice, piano, acoustic guitar and a band playing with the feeling of a live room.

That approach is particularly effective in a venue such as the Arena. Monumentality is already present in the location itself, so the music does not constantly have to prove its own scale. A quiet song can remain quiet. A chorus can grow when its time comes. The audience can hear the details and then take over the melody in the next song.

Recent concerts also show that Odell does not hide emotional exposure behind the kind of distance typical of major pop tours. Reviews of performances from 2025 often describe precisely the transition between the full-band arrangement and moments at the piano. For an audience coming for the lyrics and melody, this is probably the most important part of the evening, while those who know only a few songs will get a clear overview of why his work has endured far beyond his initial success.

What is worth knowing immediately before entering

The most important confirmed timing information for the audience is simple: entry begins at 19:00 and the concert starts at 20:00. There is no need to assume in advance the duration of the performance, finishing time, supporting act, special guests or effects if such details have not been announced. The same applies to the set list. Recent concerts can indicate the direction of the repertoire, but they do not guarantee the same selection of songs in Pula.

If your priority is to hear the biggest songs, current performances provide good reason to expect a combination of new and older material, but the final order remains open. If the experience itself matters more to you, the key will be the contrast between Odell's intimacy and the vast historic setting. Few contemporary pop concerts offer a setting in which the silence between two piano chords can have a visual framework as powerful as a full chorus.

Ticket sales for this event are under way.

Sources:
- Barracuda Music - concert date, entry and start times, context of the current phase of the career, the album "A Wonderful Life" and song streaming figures.
- Tom Odell - information about the "Wonderful Life Tour" and the current concert period.
- Apple Music - release date, number of songs and duration of the album "A Wonderful Life", as well as context for the album "Black Friday" and the more recent phase of the career.
- Setlist.fm - recent set lists from 2026 used only as a guide to songs appearing live, without claiming that the same repertoire will be performed in Pula.
- Pula Tourist Board - history of the Arena and information about the venue's contemporary use.
- Archaeological Museum of Istria - location and address of the Arena and the historical context of the amphitheatre.
- Pula Parking - Karolina car park regulations and summer opening hours.
- Pulapromet - city bus connections and examples of temporary traffic changes during concerts at the Arena in 2026.
- Pula Airport - shuttle connection between the airport and the main bus station and the timetable for 23 August 2026.