The following is a list of the most-attended concert tours with at least 3.5 million tickets sold, as well as the tours with the most tickets sold by year and the most tickets sold in a single day. The number of attendances is often considered to measure the success of a tour. However, the most-attended tours do not necessarily generate the largest profit, due to ticket pricing. Rankings of most successful tours are generally based on gross revenue instead of number of attendances.
Pollstar and Billboard provide boxscores, which are the primary data showing the commercial performance of tours, but since not all concerts are reported to them, especially before 2000, the number of tickets may rely on estimations by other sources. Tours may score large total attendances because of their number of shows, which can span multiple calendar years.
Coldplay's Music of the Spheres World Tour was the first tour to sell more than 9 and 10 million tickets, achieving the feat over the course of 175 shows between 2022 and 2024. Taylor Swift's Eras Tour later became the first run by a solo and female act to reach the two milestones. It also broke the record for most-attended tour in a single year, with 5.21 million people in 2024. U2 achieved the annual most-attended tour six times, more than any other act.
Tina Turner, Cher, Madonna, Swift and Pink are the only women with a tour attended by 3.5 million people or more. According to Pollstar and Billboard, Swift is the only female artist to have the largest tour attendance in a single year. She also broke the record for fastest-selling tour, with 2.4 million tickets in a single day for the first American leg of the Eras Tour (2023–2024). Coldplay are the only act to sell a million tickets in 24 hours on two separate occasions: the first and second European run of the Music of the Spheres World Tour.
Most-attended tours
Over 5 million attendance
† | Indicates an ongoing concert tour |
- Audience view of Coldplay's Music of the Spheres World Tour in Brazil
- Audience view of Taylor Swift's Eras Tour in the United States
- Audience view of Ed Sheeran's +–=÷× Tour in Finland
3.5–4.9 million attendance
- Aerial audience view of the A Bigger Bang Tour in the United States
- Audience view of the Where We Are Tour in the United States
Year(s) | Tour title | Artist | Tickets sold | Shows | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2021–2025 | Extraterrestrial World Tour | Joker Xue | 4.9 million | 147 | |
2023–2024 | Summer Carnival | Pink | 4.8 million | 97 | |
1997–1998 | Bridges to Babylon Tour | The Rolling Stones | 4.8 million | 108 | |
2008–2010 | Black Ice World Tour | AC/DC | 4.8 million | 168 | |
2005–2007 | A Bigger Bang Tour | The Rolling Stones | 4.7 million | 147 | |
1996–1997 | HIStory World Tour | Michael Jackson | 4.5 million | 82 | |
2005–2006 | Vertigo Tour | U2 | 4.6 million | 131 | |
2016–2019 | A Classic Tour | Jacky Cheung | 4.5 million | 233 | |
1987–1989 | Bad World Tour | Michael Jackson | 4.4 million | 125 | |
1987–1990 | A Momentary Lapse of Reason Tour | Pink Floyd | 4.25 million | 198 | |
2010–2013 | The Wall Live | Roger Waters | 4.1 million | 220 | |
2016–2019 | WorldWired Tour | Metallica | 4.1 million | 159 | |
1987–1988 | Break Every Rule World Tour | Tina Turner | 4 million | 218 | |
1997–1998 | PopMart Tour | U2 | 3.9 million | 93 | |
2012–2013 | Wrecking Ball World Tour | Bruce Springsteen · E Street Band | 3.65 million | 127 | |
1992–1993 | Dangerous World Tour | Michael Jackson | 3.5 million | 69 | |
2003–2004 | Licks Tour | The Rolling Stones | 3.5 million | 117 | |
2008–2009 | Sticky & Sweet Tour | Madonna | 3.5 million | 85 | |
2014 | Where We Are Tour | One Direction | 3.5 million | 69 | |
2002–2005 | Living Proof: The Farewell Tour | Cher | 3.5 million | 325 |
Most-attended tours by year
Year | Artist | Tour title | Tickets sold | Source | Top-grossing tour of the year |
Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1997 | U2 | PopMart Tour | 1.70 million | Pollstar | Yes | |
1999 | NSYNC | NSYNC in Concert | 1.80 million | Pollstar | No | |
2000 | No Strings Attached Tour | 1.65 million | Pollstar | No | ||
2001 | U2 | Elevation Tour | 2.06 million | Billboard | Yes | |
2002 | Dave Matthews Band | Dave Matthews Band 2002 Tour | 1.35 million | Billboard | No | |
2003 | The Rolling Stones | Licks Tour | 3.47 million | Billboard | Yes | |
2004 | Prince | Musicology Live 2004ever | 1.47 million | Billboard | No | |
2005 | U2 | Vertigo Tour | 3.00 million | Billboard | Yes | |
2006 | The Rolling Stones | A Bigger Bang Tour | 3.50 million | Billboard | Yes | |
2007 | The Police | The Police Reunion Tour | 1.85 million | Billboard | Yes | |
2008 | Bon Jovi | Lost Highway Tour | 2.15 million | Billboard | No | |
2009 | U2 | 360° Tour | 3.07 million | Billboard | Yes | |
2010 | Bon Jovi | The Circle Tour | 1.90 million | Pollstar | Yes | |
2011 | U2 | 360° Tour | 2.88 million | Billboard | Yes | |
2012 | Bruce Springsteen | Wrecking Ball World Tour | 2.28 million | Pollstar | No | |
2013 | Bon Jovi | Because We Can | 2.65 million | Pollstar | Yes | |
2014 | One Direction | Where We Are Tour | 3.43 million | Pollstar | Yes | |
2015 | On the Road Again Tour | 2.36 million | Pollstar | No | ||
2016 | Coldplay | A Head Full of Dreams Tour | 2.67 million | Pollstar | No | |
2017 | U2 | The Joshua Tree Tour 2017 | 2.71 million | Pollstar | Yes | |
2018 | Ed Sheeran | ÷ Tour | 4.86 million | Pollstar | Yes | |
2019 | 2.45 million | Pollstar | No | |||
2020 | Trans-Siberian Orchestra | Christmas Eve and Other Stories Tour | 0.88 million | Pollstar | No | |
2021 | Harry Styles | Love On Tour | 0.67 million | Pollstar | No | |
2022 | Coldplay | Music of the Spheres World Tour | 3.80 million | Pollstar | Yes | |
2023 | Taylor Swift | The Eras Tour | 4.35 million | Pollstar | Yes | |
2024 | 5.21 million | Pollstar | Yes |
Fastest-selling tours
* | Indicates previous record holder for the fastest-selling tour |
Year | Artist | Tour title | Tickets sold | Notes | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2023 | Taylor Swift | The Eras Tour | 2.4 million | First North American leg | |
2005 | Robbie Williams | Close Encounters Tour* | 1.6 million | ||
2024 | AC/DC | Power Up Tour | 1.5 million | ||
2022 | Coldplay | Music of the Spheres World Tour | 1.4 million | Second European leg | |
2010 | Take That | Progress Live | 1.3 million | ||
2017 | U2 | The Joshua Tree Tour 2017 | 1.1 million | ||
2016 | Guns N' Roses | Not in This Lifetime... Tour | 1.1 million | ||
2000 | NSYNC | No Strings Attached Tour* | 1.0 million | ||
2016 | Bruno Mars | 24K Magic World Tour | 1.0 million | ||
2021 | Coldplay | Music of the Spheres World Tour | 1.0 million | First European leg | |
2024 | Shakira | Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran World Tour | 0.9 million | Latin American leg | |
2023 | RBD | Soy Rebelde Tour | 0.8 million | ||
2024 | Coldplay | Music of the Spheres World Tour | 0.7 milion | Third North American leg | |
2017 | Ed Sheeran | ÷ Tour | 0.7 million | Oceanian leg | |
2023 | Madonna | The Celebration Tour | 0.6 million | ||
2009 | AC/DC | Black Ice World Tour | 0.5 million |
See also
- List of highest-grossing concert tours
- List of highest-grossing concert tours by women
- List of highest-grossing concert tours by Latin artists
- List of highest-grossing live music artists
- List of most-attended concert residencies
Notes
- ^ Based on estimations, as Swift has not reported her numbers to Billboard or Pollstar.
- Other estimate attendances are 8.9 million.
- Other estimate attendances are 6.4 million.
- Other estimate attendances are 6.2 million.
- Other estimate attendances are 5 million.
- Other estimate attendances are 4 million.
- Bruce Springsteen's Wrecking Ball World Tour was attended by 2.29 million people in 2012 and 1.36 million people in 2013.
- Other estimate attendances are 3.4 million.
- Other estimate attendances are 3 million.
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