Coldplay score biggest rock tour of all time

nme.com:

Coldplay‘s ‘Music of the Spheres’ tour is officially the highest-grossing rock tour ever.According to Billboard Boxscore, the British band’s current tour has grossed $945.7 million and sold 8.8 million tickets since it began in March 2022, making it both the highest-earning and best-selling rock tour since Boxscore‘s records began 40 years ago.They’ve surpassed a record previously set by Sir Elton John‘s ‘Farewell Yellow Brick Road’ tour, which earned $939million.

The legend achieved this number with 328 shows and five years of touring from September 8, 2018 to July 8, 2023.At the time, John bypassed Ed Sheeran‘s ‘The Divide Tour’ at the end of 2019, which made $776.4million (£630.5million).Sheeran previously beat U2’s ‘The 360 Tour’ to the record.Yet, although they still have 21 more shows to go, it doesn’t seem like Coldplay will surpass Taylor Swift’s colossal ‘Eras Tour’ record any time soon.

Swift made history in December when the tour became the first to gross $1billion (£796million).According to Pollstar, a live entertainment trade magazine Swift sold a “mind-boggling 4.3 million tickets at an average ticket price of $238.95”.

They also calculated that the singer grossed roughly $17.3million for an average show for the current leg of her tour.The ‘Music Of The Spheres’ tour has been praised for “setting a new standard” when it comes to an eco-conscious approach to live music, thanks to a slew of sustainable initiatives introduced by the band.In June, it was revealed to have already produced 59 per cent less CO2e emissions than their previous stadium tour in 2016 and 2017.