Billboard's all-time highest-grossing concert tours list has changed. Elton John has taken the top spot; leaping over Ed Sheeran and U2 along the way.
Now that John's “Farewell Yellow Brick Road” tour officially wrapped, the receipts show that it's the highest-grossing tour of all time. It grossed a total of $939.1 million during its 330-show, near-five-year run. The pandemic caused the prolonged length, but John traveled worldwide to make sure fans in every area got a chance to see him play.
That meant he overtook Sheeran's spot. Sheeran previously broke U2's record (more on them in a moment) and held the top spot for over three years. His “Divide” tour consisted of 258 shows and grossed $776 million. He's currently embarking on his own “Eras” tour titled the “Mathematics” tour. Granted, his “Divide” tour technically sold more tickets than any other tour including John's (the “Farewell Yellow Brick Road” tour played arenas and stadiums alike).
U2 had previously held the top spot for eight years. Their “360” tour was their biggest stadium tour and ran from 2009-2011 and grossing $736 million. It went through a few iterations with early shows emphasizing their latest album at the time — No Line on the Horizon — with later shows evolving into a tribute to Achtung Baby of sorts. While they are no longer on top, the “360” tour consisted over less than half of the shows on Sheeran's tour and a third of John's.
Coldplay, or “U2 sans coffee” as my father calls them, came in fourth place with their latest tour, the “Music of the Spheres” world tour. Running for 107 shows, the tour ended its 2023 run with a total of $617.8 million. Dates are still scheduled for next year, so the potential for them to move up is there.
Closing out the top five is Harry Styles and his “Love on Tour” tour. It ran for 169 shows and grossed $617.3 million before concluding on July 22, 2023.
While all of these figures are impressive, it feels inevitable that Taylor Swift and the “Eras” tour will top the list when it's all said and done. In the meantime, you can find the full top 10 list below (via Billboard).
- Elton John – “Farewell Yellow Brick Road” tour ($939.1 million)
- Ed Sheeran – “Divide” tour ($776 million)
- U2 – “360” tour ($736 million)
- Coldplay – “Music of the Spheres World Tour” ($617.8 million)
- Harry Styles – “Love on Tour” ($617.3 million)
- Guns N' Roses – “Not in This Lifetime” tour ($584 million)
- The Rolling Stones – “A Bigger Bang” tour ($558 million)
- The Rolling Stones – “No Filter” tour ($547 million)
- Coldplay – “A Head Full of Dreams” tour ($524 million)
- Roger Waters – “The Wall Live” ($459 million)
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