Valentine’s Day marked one of the biggest mornings of UK onsales in living memory, as fans rushed to snag tickets for stadium outings for the likes of Beyoncé, Black Sabbath and Kendrick Lamar & SZA.

The shows have added to an already jam-packed summer schedule of outdoor shows in 2025, with superstars such as Coldplay, Oasis, Dua Lipa, AC/DC, Lana Del Rey, Imagine Dragons, Guns N’ Roses and Sam Fender also lining up to perform at the biggest venues.

The latest scramble has reignited fan and media chatter about the price of entry for major concerts, with some ticket types for Beyoncé’s upcoming Cowboy Carter Tour seeing hikes of up to 50% from her last outing two years ago.

The superstar returns to London’s Tottenham Hotspur Stadium (cap. 62,850) this June for a six-show run in support of the Award-winning album, with ticket prices ranging from £71-£950. Beyoncé sold out five shows at the same venue two years ago during her Renaissance World Tour (RWT), the second highest-grossing tour of 2023 after Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour.

The run grossed $579.8 million and sold 2.8 million tickets across 56 shows in North America and Europe, according to Billboard Boxscore. That venture took the Grammy Award-winner to 39 cities across 10 countries, while the upcoming trek will only visit eight cities in three countries, seeing Beyoncé play 29 total shows.

While the touring route has tightened up, ticket prices have predictably risen from her outing two years ago. Prices for seated tickets have risen by at least 20%, with the cheapest option available for these dates starting over £71.

Standing tickets took a greater hike, rising by up to 50% from 2023 prices. Fans looking to stand at the Cowboy Carter Tour can expect to pay a minimum of £220, and almost £500 to stand nearer the stage in the ‘club’ option. General standing tickets for RWT ranged from £106.80-£177.50.

“This expansion is driven by increasing consumer demand for live experiences”

Ticket prices are on the rise across all levels of touring, with Pollstar reporting average ticket prices rose 3.91% in 2024 to $135.92 (£107.80), and momentum is showing no signs of slowing.

“This expansion is driven by increasing consumer demand for live experiences fuelled by flagship concerts and residencies of global superstars and the proliferation of large-scale events in general,” said FKP Scorpio CEO Stephan Thanscheidt in a recent interview with IQ.

Featured Artists Coalition (FAC) boss David Martin credits past research by former Spotify economist Will Page for signalling the direction of travel.

“Even back in 2022, it was evident that much of the ‘boom’ that was being witnessed in live music was due to high value, major, large-scale shows,” Martin tells IQ. “Add inflation which impacts both artists’ costs and fans’ wallets, along with the lasting audience impacts of the pandemic and the trend for the biggest artists to host their own events and residencies and it’s easy to see the drivers of increased prices.

“While it is positive to see demand at that level, I’m concerned about the impact on mid-level and grassroots artists. If fans are spending huge sums on one-off events, it appears that there is a real danger that they’ll attend fewer shows elsewhere.”

Some artists are seeking ways to keep costs down for fans. Coldplay have offered a limited number of Infinity Tickets, priced at £20/$20/€20 each plus taxes and fees, across their record-shattering Music of the Spheres World Tour. For their return to Wembley Stadium for a historic 10-night stand in autumn, the band’s second London stint on the same tour, fans could score standing tickets for £112.75.

The rise in general ticket prices for top stadium shows has also been more than matched across premium offerings — Beyoncé’s VIP pit sections in front of the stage come at the price of £850, while Black Sabbath fans seeking a side-stage premium experience could fork out just under £3,000.

“Clearly there’s some quite fascinating trends in our culture right now”

The cheapest tickets available for the “greatest heavy metal show ever” start at £197.50, while general admission standing starts at £262.50. The July reunion will see Black Sabbath’s original lineup – Osbourne, Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler and Bill Ward – top the bill, marking Osbourne’s final performance and the first time the quartet have played together in 20 years. More than 150,000 fans reportedly joined the queue for tickets when they went on general sale at 10am today.

Meanwhile, those looking to see Kendrick Lamar & SZA’s UK/EU outing this summer can expect to spend £75-£750 for tickets, with GA standing starting at just under £160. Other tours set to descend on stadiums across the UK this summer include Linkin Park, Billy Joel, Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band, and Robbie Williams, to name a select few.

“Clearly there’s some quite fascinating trends in our culture right now,” observes Martin. “On one level, there’s an inexhaustible supply of new music, film, video, podcasts, books, substacks, and a whole mass of interesting niches and genres. It’s a complete cultural sprawl. On the other hand, there’s also that kind of ‘Barbenheimer’ effect, where audiences want to participate en masse for events by the likes of Coldplay, Oasis, Taylor Swift or Beyoncé. And they’re prepared to pay a premium for those experiences, even if it’s at the cost of others.”

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Beyoncé has added a handful of new stadium dates to her 2025 Cowboy Carter Tour following “incredible” fan responses and presale signup.

The Texan has announced a fifth and sixth night at London’s Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and a third night at each of Chicago Soldier Field, Paris’ Stade de France and Atlanta’s Mercedes Benz Stadium.

The general onsale starts this Friday, 14 February, with a BeyHive presale beginning tomorrow (11 February). There will also be a separate artist presale this week, as well sponsored presales taking place in select markets internationally.

The singer gave a preview of the tour, which is promoted by Live Nation and produced and directed by Parkwood Entertainment, with her Beyoncé Bowl halftime show during Netflix’s first-ever NFL 2024 Christmas Gameday. Her performance pulled in more than 27 million US viewers, with viewership for the programme since topping 60 million.

Beyoncé’s previous outing, Renaissance World Tour, was the second highest-grossing tour of 2023 after Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour. The tour grossed $579.8 million and sold 2.8 million tickets across 56 shows in North America and Europe, according to Billboard Boxscore.

The expanded list of Cowboy Carter Tour dates is as follows:

April 28, 2025 – Los Angeles, CA – SoFi Stadium

May 01, 2025 – Los Angeles, CA – SoFi Stadium

May 04, 2025 – Los Angeles, CA – SoFi Stadium

May 07, 2025 – Los Angeles, CA – SoFi Stadium

May 15, 2025 – Chicago, IL – Soldier Field

May 17, 2025 – Chicago, IL – Soldier Field

May 18, 2025 – Chicago, IL – Soldier Field

May 22, 2025 – East Rutherford, NJ – MetLife Stadium

May 24, 2025 – East Rutherford, NJ – MetLife Stadium

May 25, 2025 – East Rutherford, NJ – MetLife Stadium

May 28, 2025 – East Rutherford, NJ – MetLife Stadium

June 05, 2025 – London, UK – Tottenham Hotspur Stadium

June 07, 2025 – London, UK – Tottenham Hotspur Stadium

June 10, 2025 – London, UK – Tottenham Hotspur Stadium

June 12, 2025 – London, UK – Tottenham Hotspur Stadium

June 14, 2025 – London, UK – Tottenham Hotspur Stadium

June 16, 2025 – London, UK – Tottenham Hotspur Stadium

June 19, 2025 – Paris, France – Stade de France

June 21, 2025 – Paris, France – Stade de France

June 22, 2025 – Paris, France – Stade de France

June 28, 2025 – Houston, TX – NRG Stadium

June 29, 2025 – Houston, TX – NRG Stadium

July 04, 2025 – Washington, D.C. – Northwest Stadium

July 07, 2025 – Washington, D.C. – Northwest Stadium

July 10, 2025 – Atlanta, GA – Mercedes Benz Stadium

July 11, 2025 – Atlanta, GA – Mercedes Benz Stadium

July 13, 2025 – Atlanta, GA – Mercedes Benz Stadium

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Fresh off her Album of the Year win at the Grammys, Beyoncé has revealed the dates for her hotly tipped Cowboy Carter Tour.

Promoted by Live Nation and produced by Parkwood Entertainment, the 22-show run will kick off in April with four nights at Los Angeles’ SoFi Stadium and proceed to Chicago (Illinois), East Rutherford (New Jersey), London (UK), Paris (France), Houston (Texas), Washington D.C. and Atlanta (Georgia).

London’s Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and East Rutherford’s MetLife Stadium will also get the four-show treatment, while Beyoncé will play two concerts each at Paris’s Stade de France, Chicago’s Soldier Field, Houston’s NRG Stadium, Washington D.C.’s Northwest Stadium and Atlanta’s Mercedes Benz Stadium.

Her D.C. stint will see her performing in the US capital on 4 July, in what is slated to be an Independence Day celebration for the ages.

Beyoncé’s previous outing, Rennaisance World Tour, was the second highest-grossing tour of 2023 after Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour.

The stadium tour grossed $579.8 million and sold 2.8 million tickets across 56 shows in North America and Europe, according to Billboard Boxscore. It became the biggest one-year sum for an artist in Boxscore history, dating back to the mid-1980s.

Beyoncé’s previous tour, Rennaisance World Tour, was the second highest-grossing tour of 2023 after Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour

The Renaissance World Tour is the seventh highest-grossing tour in the Boxscore archives. Swift joins her as the only two women and only American solo artists in the top 10. Beyoncé is also the only Black artist on the all-time ranking.

News of the Cowboy Carter Tour comes less than 24 hours after Beyoncé, the most nominated artist in 2025 and in Grammys history, finally won Album of the Year on her fifth try for Cowboy Carter. The 43-year-old also went home with Best Country Album and Best Country Duo/Group Performance for her track II Most Wanted ft Miley Cyrus.

It also comes after Beyoncé’s halftime performance during the NFL 2024 Christmas Day Halftime Show, which brought in an average viewership of 27 million for Netflix.

Beyoncé is one of a raft of artists that have announced stadium tours for 2025, which promises to be the biggest year yet for mega shows.

Artists including The Weeknd, Linkin Park, Imagine Dragons, Billy Joel, My Chemical Romance, Olivia Rodrigo, Robbie Williams, Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band, Kendrick Lamar & SZA, Stereophonics, System of a Down, Catfish and the Bottlemen, Stray Kids, Sam Fender and Iron Maiden are all set for next summer’s circuit.

Read more about this year’s monster stadium year here.

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