EXCLUSIVE: Rita Ora wipes away tears during Girls Aloud’s emotional tribute to late bandmate Sarah Harding at their exclusive gig in London

Rita Ora was seen becoming visibly emotional on Tuesday night, as she watched Girls Aloud perform a tribute to Sarah Harding during their show at O2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire.

The singer, 33, attended the exclusive gig with her husband Taika Waititi and broke down in tears during the band’s moving tribute to Sarah – who tragically passed away from breast cancer in 2021 at the age of 39. Nadine Coyle, Nicola Roberts, Cheryl, and Kimberley Walsh reformed in honor of their 20th anniversary, kicking off a reunion tour in May that came to a close on Sunday night.

And in between energetically performing their nostalgic pop hits, the group have honored their late bandmate throughout the tour, with several touching tributes in their shows. Keeping Sarah as the focus from the start until the end of the performance, their concerts began with song Untouchable, which was set against a backdrop of footage of Sarah displayed on pink curtains.

Sarah’s vocals are also featured during their rendition of iconic hit The Promise, and she is shown in old footage singing on the screen, while Nadine, Cheryl, Kimberley and Nicola turned to face their backs to the audience. While she can also be heard singing with the band during I’ll Stand By You, before the girls perform Whole Lotta History, which was also dedicated to the late star.

Black and white footage of Sarah singing is shown, followed by a emotional montage dedicated to the late star which reads: ‘The darkest nights produce the brightest stars.’ The touching nods to Sarah have caused all four girls to become emotional at points throughout the reunion tour, while fans have been left in tears every night.

And Rita was among them on Tuesday, seen repeatedly swiping at her face to wipe away her tears, before joining in on the applause from the crowd. Her emotional reaction comes after Nadine also broke down in tears while performing the tribute to Sarah during Girls Aloud’s final show in Liverpool on Sunday.

The singer, 39, was comforted Cheryl, Kimberley and Nicola as the band sang along to Sarah in an unreleased version of I’ll Stand By You. Sarah had sung the track solo and the band and crowd joined in as a video of her played out.