Sir Elton John began his Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour in 2018, and even though the tour isn’t finished, the numbers indicate he has already generated $817.9 million from 278 performances. This marks the first tour to surpass $800 million, breaking the record of $776.4 million set by Ed Sheeran during his Divide tour.
Sir Elton John Is Touring
Ed Sheeran’s 258-show tour outperformed U2’s The 360 Tour, which generated $736.4 million, both tours largely taking place in stadium venues across multiple continents. In contrast, Elton John’s concerts from 2018 to 2020, and the first part of the previous year, were held in arenas in North America, Europe, and Oceania, before the final leg of the tour was performed in stadiums across each continent.
The data indicates that during the first three legs in North America, Elton John generated $268.2 million from 116 performances, while his stadium shows in the same region from July to November of the previous year produced $222.1 million from just 33 shows. Furthermore, his European stadium concerts brought in $69.2 million compared to the $49.9 million earned from arena shows, despite performing 12 fewer concerts.
Others Have Sold More Tickets
However, in terms of ticket sales, Ed and U2 have exceeded Elton, with the latter having sold 5.3 million tickets, placing him behind the Rolling Stones’ 1994-95 Voodoo Lounge tour, Coldplay’s A Head Full of Dreams concerts from 2016-17, and Guns N’ Roses’ Not in This Lifetime… concerts from 2016-19.
Ed Sheeran leads in terms of attendance with 8.9 million tickets sold, a record that Elton will not surpass on his current tour but may secure a fourth-place ranking. Throughout his career, dating back to his 1986 Ice on Fire tour, Elton has generated $1.863 billion and sold 19.9 million tickets for over 1,573 performances, including co-headlining shows with artists such as Billy Joel, Eric Clapton, and Tina Turner.
With this tour, Elton John has achieved a milestone by surpassing the highest career gross and attendance for a solo artist in Boxscore history, surpassing legends such as Bruce Springsteen and Madonna.