U2 sets record for highest grossing tour ever

11 April 2011

by Christie Eliezer

U2’s 360 tour is now the highest grossing tour in music history. Last night (Sunday April 10) the Irish superstar band’s second show at Morumbi Stadium in Sao Paulo, Brazil, saw them overtake the US$558 million (A$528 million) gross take set by the Rolling Stones’ Bigger Bang tour in 2005—2007.

Next month, Bono and cohorts head to Mexico, the U.S. and Canada. By the time they finish this leg on July 30 at the Magnetic Hill Music Festival in New Brunswick, Canada, they will have earned US$700 million (A$662.8 million).

By then, it will be the most attended tour of all time, with seven million tickets over 110 shows sold. The 360-degree stage set-up allowed the seating capacity to increase by 15-20%.The previous record holders of this milestone were, again, the Rolling Stones. Their Voodoo Lounge tour of 1994-1995 shifted 6.4 million tickets.

U2’s 360 tour also broke their own record set in 2005 by their Vertigo tour which played to a total of 4.6 million.

The band visited Australia last December, with hip hip superstar Jay Z supporting (see the photos). They also made a surprise appearance on Hamish & Andy's Thank You farewell tour.

The 360 tour was divided into seven legs, beginning in Barcelona in 2009. In 2011, they did South Africa in February, before moving on to Brazil, Chile and Argentina.

U2’s manager Paul McGuiness told Billboard that having the biggest tour of all time was “kind of mind-blowing. It means that it’s a record that will probably never be outstripped.”

On June 24, U2 headline the Glastonbury Festival in England, with Coldplay and Beyonce also locked in as other headliners at the five day event.

U2 are throwing ideas around for their next album. Tracks so far are 'futuristic — U2 going sci-fi," according to Bono. Be interesting to see if they preview any of the tracks when they headline the Glastonbury festival in the English summer.