London has seen a surge of sightings of Pitbull this week, but it’s not the rapper himself everywhere — instead, hordes of his look-alikes are flooding the city. With bald caps, drawn-on goatees, and sharp suits, these fans are making their way to the O2 Arena to catch the Miami star live.
More than 20 years into his career, Pitbull — known for hits like “Hotel Room Service,” “Timber,” “Give Me Everything,” and “El Taxi” — has become a staple on playlists worldwide, from weddings to clubs. The trend of dressing like him started to pick up during his concerts after the pandemic lockdowns, with a few look-alikes appearing here and there. But since he came to the U.K., the phenomenon exploded.
“Maybe out of 20,000 people coming to the show, 30,000 coming to show, you’ll see a thousand,” Pitbull remarked after his Monday show in London.
This fan movement has grown from a niche oddity into a major trend, driven less by perfect resemblance and more by capturing the vibe. Most of those dressed as Pitbull at the London concert were women — or “Pitbelles,” as one might say.
Groups of these fans were spotted traveling on the underground to North Greenwich, dancing for hours outside the arena to a live DJ set before the show started. They took photos in front of giant Pitbull posters and carefully added drawn-on goatees before donning sunglasses. Fans like Rebecca Petrie and Jamie Lee Hart, who traveled all the way from Scotland, said women tend to be braver when it comes to dressing up.
“To have more women in the crowd, it just goes to show you that they are feeling what the most powerful woman in my life has taught me on stage,” Pitbull said, referring to his mother. “A gentleman who knows how to have a good time — sometimes a little naughty, sometimes a little nice, but more than anything a good person who will do the right thing.”
Videos from his London concert in February showed many look-alikes enjoying songs like “On the Floor” and “Fireball.” When additional June dates for his “Party After Dark” tour were announced, ticket buyers got the hint: dress up or stand out as one of the few who didn’t. The arena floor on Monday resembled a sea of bald caps, while the stands looked like a quirky school trip with rows of white shirts and black ties.
“If you’re going to a Pitbull concert, you need to really feel his energy, and you can’t do that without a bald cap and a suit,” said attendee Keeley James Elliot, posing with Pitbull-themed inflatable globes outside the venue.
Fans can expect to see more of this in his upcoming European shows in Paris, Prague, and Poland, before he returns to the U.S. for stops in South Dakota, Las Vegas, and the Iowa State Fair, and later heads to Australia in October. While the “305” area code is synonymous with South Florida, Pitbull’s reach now stretches worldwide.
He’s well aware of the trend and deeply appreciates his fans’ enthusiasm. “To have people out here feeling that good dressed up as me — man, unbelievable,” he said.
