Ed Sheeran Tops Pollstars 2018 Touring Chart With Record $432 Million Gross

July 2024 · 5 minute read

Ed Sheeran topped Pollstar’s 2018 year-end global touring chart with a record $432 million gross on 4,860,482 tickets sold, the publication announced today, with Taylor Swift’s “Reputation” tour leading the U.S. tours chart with $277.3 million and came in second globally with $345.1 million on 2,888,892 tickets sold.

Jay-Z and Beyonce’s “OTRII” tour of North America and Europe came in third globally, with $254.1 million on 2,169,050 tickets sold.

In the announcement, the longtime live-entertainment touring publication said its Top 100 World Wide tours totaled $5.6 billion, with 59.8 million tickets sold, compiled from 3,691 event records. Its Top 100 North American tours totaled $3.7 billion U.S. dollars with 40.0 million tickets sold compiled from 3,025 event records.

Among other highlights, it noted that Sheeran’s 2018 tour numbers, when combined with 2017, is already the third highest-grossing tour in Pollstar’s history ($554.6 million) behind U2’s “360” ($735 million) and the Rolling Stones’ “A Bigger Bang” ($558 million) tours.

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Swift’s “Reputation” tour is No. 2 on the Top 100 Worldwide tours chart, with grossing $345 million; that puts her career history within $74.3 million of a $1 billion total, the publication noted.

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Combined grosses from Sheeran and Swift’s tours — a whopping $777.5 million — comprises 14% of the overall gross of the Top 100 Worldwide Tours.

Pollstar also noted that four artists — U2, Bruno Mars, Sheeran, and The Rolling Stones — who appear in the Top 10 of the 2018 Worldwide Tours chart also ranked in the Top 10 of 2017’s Worldwide Tours Chart: U2, who topped the 2017 chart with a $316 million gross and 2,713,136 tickets sold; Bruno Mars, fourth in 2017 with $200.1 million on 2,030,029 tickets sold; Sheeran, eighth in 2017 with $124.1 million on 1,525,882 tickets sold; and the Rolling Stones, ninth in 2017 with $120 million on 755,345 tickets sold.

2018 Top 10 Worldwide Tours:

GROSS                                                           TICKETS SOLD
$432.4              Ed Sheeran                            4,860,482*
$345.1              Taylor Swift                          2,888,892
$254.1              Jay-Z / Beyoncé                   2,169,050
$169.2              Pink                                        1,285,411
$167.6              Bruno Mars                           1,290,438*
$166.0             Eagles                                    964,245
$151.0              Justin Timberlake                1,193,365
$131.3              Roger Waters                        1,448,771
$126.2              U2                                           927,034*
$116.6              The Rolling Stones              750,914*

2018 Top 10 North American Tours:

GROSS                                               TICKETS SOLD
$277.3              Taylor Swift                          1,268,706
$166.4              Jay-Z / Beyoncé                   1,298,038
$166.0             Eagles                                    964,245
$114.4              Kenny Chesney                    1,297,731
$110.0              Justin Timberlake                791,780
$105.0             Ed Sheeran                            1,136,497
$97.8               Journey / Def Leppard        1,000,272
$95.3               Pink                                        688,558
$88.3               Springsteen On Broadway  173,461
$79.0               Drake                                     678,410

Top 3 Promoters

Live Nation                         49.6 million tickets

AEG Presents                     11.6 million tickets

Messina Touring Group    5.3 million tickets

Top Stadiums
Foro Sol                                              Mexico City, Mexico          887,802

MetLife Stadium                               East Rutherford, NJ          521,215

Gillette Stadium                                Foxboro, MA                       454,383

 

Top Amphitheaters

Ruoff Home Mortgage Music Center      Noblesville, IN           588,023

BB&T Pavilion                                             Camden, NJ              505,287

The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion   The Woodlands, TX   467,620

Top Theaters
Auditorio Nacional                           Mexico City, Mexico          1,325,493

Radio City Music Hall                      New York, NY                     1,004,255

Fox Theatre                                        Atlanta, GA                         704,828

Top Clubs

The Anthem                                       Washington, D.C.               391,835

House Of Blues Boston                    Boston, MA                         325,731

9:30 Club                                            Washington, D.C.               240,156

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