Over nearly four decades, Billboard Boxscore has charted the biggest tours in the world. From Whitney Houston and Billy Joel in the ‘80s to SZA and Post Malone in 2023, artists have topped Boxscore charts in Vegas theaters, international stadiums and everything in between.
Earlier this year, road warrior Elton John broke the record for the highest grossing tour of all time with the Farewell Yellow Brick Road Tour. His tour began in September 2018, was interrupted by COVID for two years, and returned stronger than ever — and stronger than everyone else. Now, after more than 300 shows, the tour has ended, further extending its lead as the first tour to earn more than $900 million.
Most recently, Beyoncé broke the top 10, as the Renaissance World Tour closed on Oct. 1, 2023. One of four 2023 tours crowding the leaderboard, the Renaissance World Tour breaks up the near-monopoly of British rock acts, edging out Roger Waters‘ The Wall Live.
The updated top 10 tours of all-time include previous record-holders by Ed Sheeran and The Rolling Stones, as well as live legends such as Guns N’ Roses.
John’s triumphant farewell tour is one of four in the top 10 with post-pandemic results, but more upheaval could be on the way. Still on the road, Sheeran recently slipped by the $400 million mark with his current tour, with more shows scheduled for this year. And that’s not to mention post-pandemic treks by P!nk, Taylor Swift, The Weeknd and more.
An influx of tours by these artists would not just help to modernize the top 10 but, on the back of Beyoncé’s entrance, would add more diversity, breaking up a current roster that includes seven tours by classic rock acts, eight acts from the U.K. and Ireland, and a top 10 that is almost exclusively white and male.
Below are the 10 highest grossing tours in the Boxscore archives, ranked by total earnings, according to figures reported to Billboard Boxscore. All 10 have grossed more than $500 million. Who will be next to join the club?
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Coldplay – A Head Full of Dreams Tour (2016-17)
Image Credit: Kevin Mazur/GI for Atlantic Records Gross: $524 million
Attendance: 5.4 million
Shows: 115Coldplay didn’t just level up with the A Head Full of Dreams Tour. The 2016-17 trek nearly tripled its previous best, 2011-12’s Mylo Xyloto Tour. The five-year gap, an extra 38 shows, and upgrading to stadiums worldwide turned the pop-rock group into titans of touring. Only recently was it surpassed by the band’s current tour, scaling the all-time list even further.
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The Rolling Stones – No Filter Tour (2017-19, 2021)
Image Credit: Kevin Mazur/GI Gross: $547 million
Attendance: 2.9 million
Shows: 58The Stones move quickly. One of two top-10 tours that included fewer than 100 shows, The No Filter Tour was comprised of four brief summer runs, two in Europe and two in North America. Among the most powerful touring acts in the world, the rock legends averaged more than $11 million per show on the 2019 U.S. run, managing a $500-million-plus tour in less than 60 concerts.
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The Rolling Stones – A Bigger Bang Tour (2005-07)
Image Credit: STR/AFP via GeI Gross: $558 million
Attendance: 3.5 million
Shows: 111We weren’t lying when we said that The Rolling Stones are among the most powerful touring acts in the world – they were the first act with two tours in the all-time top 10. Beginning in August 2005, A Bigger Bang Tour is the oldest trek on the ranking, inflation be damned.
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Beyoncé – Renaissance World Tour (2023)
Image Credit: Kevin Mazur/WireImage Gross: $580 million
Attendance: 2.8 million
Shows: 56From 56 shows in the span of less than five months, Beyoncé claims the briefest tour among the all-time top 10, while establishing herself as an anomaly. She is the only woman, the only Black artist and the only American solo act on the list, bringing a mix of R&B, dance and pop to a group of almost exclusively British rock. The Renaissance World Tour wrapped on Oct. 1, 2023, with $141.8 million in Europe and $438 million in the U.S. and Canada.
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Guns N’ Roses – Not in This Lifetime… Tour (2016-19)
Image Credit: Paul Kane/GI Gross: $584 million
Attendance: 5.4 million
Shows: 158The title of GnR’s comeback tour was apt, as the band shocked the world by reuniting most of its classic ‘80s lineup, getting Axl Rose, Slash and Duff McKagan back together. The reinstated lineup paid dividends, first conquering the Americas in 2016, then Australia and Europe in 2017, and then all over again in 2018-19.
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Harry Styles – Love on Tour (2021-23)
Image Credit: Kevin Mazur/GI for ABA Gross: $617.3 million
Attendance: 5 million
Shows: 169Combining post-pandemic shows in support of 2019’s Fine Line with ’22-’23 dates surrounding his Grammy-winning Harry’s House album, Styles earned more than $600 million across five continents. The tour ended on July 22, 2023, in Italy, with its total gross eclipsing the career earnings of One Direction, the pop group that shot him to stardom.
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Coldplay – Music of the Spheres World Tour (2022-23)
Image Credit: Ole Jensen/Getty Images Gross: $617.8 million
Attendance: 6.3 million
Shows: 107With its post-pandemic return, Coldplay mounted its biggest tour ever and followed The Rolling Stones to become the second artist with multiple $500M tours. The band is making the most of the world tour, selling out stadiums in North and South America, Europe, Asia and Australia. Dates are scheduled through February 2024, leaving more room to scale this list.
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U2 – U2 360° Tour (2009-11)
Image Credit: Kevin Mazur/WireImage Gross: $736 million
Attendance: 7.3 million
Shows: 110U2 held the all-time touring record from 2011 to 2019, having broken ground commercially as the first $700 million tour ever, and artistically with in-the-round technological advances that cemented the Irish rockers as one of the world’s premier live music experiences. Bono & co. dominated the 2009 year-end Top Tours ranking, slipped to No. 2 for 2010, and returned to the summit for 2011.
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Ed Sheeran – The ÷ (Divide) Tour (2017-19)
Image Credit: Kyle Gustafson / For The Washington Post via GI Gross: $776 million
Attendance: 8.9 million
Shows: 258Ed Sheeran broke U2’s record in August 2019 and held it for more than three years. Across six continents, Sheeran sold nearly nine million tickets, still more than any other run in Boxscore history. Sheeran’s tour is one of just a few in the all-time top 10 that was propelled by new music, launching while “Shape of You” remained atop the Billboard Hot 100, and running through the releases of ÷ (Divide) and No.6 Collaborations Project and lengthy chart runs of “Perfect” and “I Don’t Care,” with Justin Bieber.
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Elton John – Farewell Yellow Brick Road Tour (2018-20, 2022-23)
Image Credit: Erika Goldring/GI Gross: $939.1 million
Attendance: 6 million
Shows: 330With eight shows in Australia and New Zealand in January 2023, Elton John officially secured the highest-grossing tour of all time. And with 49 final arena shows in Europe, the five-year farewell tour has come to a close, extending his lead over Sheeran, U2 and literally everyone else by more than $150 million. He began in arenas before the pandemic and graduated to global stadiums after, accelerating the tour’s rise from a top 20 contender to the all-time champ — a milestone Billboard commemorated in June with an award to John in a garden party at Windsor. While on tour, John’s career earnings have grown to $1.98 billion, making him the highest-grossing solo artist of all time.