Hot tickets: Ten blockbuster tours for 2024

Dominated by Taylor Swift’s record-shattering Eras Tour, 2023 was an unprecedented year for the concert industry, with business up double-digit percentages in virtually every metric.

Total grosses for the Top 100 Worldwide Tours were up 46% to a $9.17bn (2022’s total was $6.28bn), according to Pollstar’s year-end charts, while attendance was up 18.38% in total tickets sold to 70.1 million (2022: 59.2m).

But 2024 could prove to be bigger still. Here, IQ runs through ten of the blockbuster outings planned for the next 12 months…

TAYLOR SWIFT
Eras has already been crowned as the first tour in history to surpass $1 billion in revenue, but is projected to take its total to more than $2bn by the end of this year. The run resumes in Asia next month in Tokyo, Japan and lands in Europe in May, when highlights will include a sold-out eight-night stand at London’s Wembley Stadium, before returning to North America in the autumn. 

Territories: Asia/Australia, Europe, North America

Dates: February-December

COLDPLAY
More than nine million tickets have been sold for the Music of the Spheres tour, which began in March 2022, according to Live Nation. Coldplay recently confirmed an additional run of Australia and New Zealand dates for October-November 2024, which will see the band perform in Sydney, Melbourne and Auckland for the first time since 2016.

Territories: Asia, Europe, Australia/New Zealand

Dates: January-November

ED SHEERAN
Sheeran’s + – = ÷ x (Mathematics) Tour was the seventh highest-grossing concert run of 2023 according to Pollstar, generating US$268,017,633 from 54 stadium shows in Australia & New Zealand and the US and Canada. His upcoming itinerary includes stops as far afield as Bahrain, the UAE, Taiwan, Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines and India, along with a slate of festival dates.

Territories: Asia, Europe

Dates: January-September

BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN AND THE E STREET BAND
Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band sold more than 1.6 million tickets for their 2023 European jaunt, and are coming back for more this summer for a run of stadium concerts sandwiched between two tour legs in North America. The tour includes a number of US dates rescheduled from 2023 while Springsteen recovered from peptic ulcer disease.

Territories: North America, Europe

Dates: March-November

P!NK
P!nk further extended her Summer Carnival Tour late last year after shifting more than three million tickets for the stadium run so far. The ANZ leg, which kicks off in February, is already the country’s biggest-selling run ever by a female artist.

Territories: Australia/New Zealand, Europe, North America

Dates: February-November

FOO FIGHTERS
The Foos begin the year by wrapping up their Australian and New Zealand shows later this month. A European stadium run will follow in June alongside some high-profile festival headline spots, before a US and Canada trek later in the summer.

Territories: Australia, Europe, North America

Dates: January, June-August

GREEN DAY
Green Day are marking the anniversaries of their seminal American Idiot and Dookie albums by heading out on a global stadium tour. The Saviors Tour comprises more than 30 dates in North America and Europe, including festivals such as Rock im Park/Rock am Ring (Germany), I Days (Italy) and Isle of Wight (UK).

Territories: Europe, North America

Dates: May-September

DRAKE
The multi Grammy Award-winning Canadian will be joined by rapper J. Cole across many of the dates on his It’s All A Blur Tour – Big As The What? Tour. While the arena run is currently limited to the US, Drake has teased adding a European leg.

Territories: North America

Dates: January-March

BAD BUNNY
The Puerto Rican’s 2022 World’s Hottest Tour lived up to his name as Bad Bunny became the highest-grossing touring artist in a calendar year up to that point. The 29-year-old streaming sensation returns to the road next month for 47 arena dates across 31 cities throughout North America.

Territories: North America

Dates: February-May

KAROL G

Reggaeton superstar Karol G will make her long-awaited European tour debut this summer. The Colombian singer-songwriter will bring Mañana Será Bonito (Tomorrow Will Be Nice) to arenas and stadiums across the continent after completing a 27-date trek across 14 cities in Latin America.

Territories: North America, Latin America, Europe

Dates: February-July

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