The Weeknd’s “After Hours til Dawn” tour has created history as he completes his record-breaking trek’s European leg.
The Weeknd has broken the record for the highest-grossing tour by a Black artist in history, this time surpassing Michael Jackson. With almost 1.6 million tickets sold, it became the highest-earning tour by a Black artist in European history, grossing $158.1 million. With 160,000 concertgoers over two nights, the Canadian singer also shattered the record for most attendees at London Stadium. Supporting acts for the two gigs, which were held on July 7 and 8, were Mike Dean and Kaytranada. With Beyoncé, Bad Bunny, and Taylor Swift leading the way in ticket sales, The Weeknd faced fierce competition, but with a $350 million win, After Hours Til Dawn is now the fourth highest-grossing tour of the 2020s, just surpassing Ed Sheeran. With an adjusted total of almost a billion dollars, Elton John’s five-year farewell tour, which concluded recently in Sweden, holds the record for both the highest-grossing tour of the decade and all time.
The Weeknd commemorated the achievement by paying tribute to Jackson, who passed away in 2009 at the age of 50, after establishing a new tour record. The producer of “I Feel It Coming” released a video showing a fan performing Michael Jackson’s 1980 smash song “Dirty Diana” in Brussels, Belgium. “My king. Then, now, and forever. Rest easy”, he wrote in the caption of his Instagram post. Omar Al-Joulani, President of Touring for Live Nation, told Variety he was amazed and said, “It’s incredible to see the Weeknd hit this milestone less than halfway through his massive sold-out European run.” He recognised The Weeknd’s extensive international fan following that he has amassed over time. Co-head of CAA’s North American tours, Darryl Eaton, continued: “On the heels of an enormous, hugely successful U.S. tour, Abel continues to sell at an astounding level across Europe. Abel entertained 160,000 fans across two nights at London Stadium, with another show in London to come at Wembley in August. We couldn’t be more proud to work with him and his team on this incredible tour!”
Since the summer of 2022, the Toronto R&B singer has been travelling on his After Hours Til Dawn tour. Currently, he has just finished in Europe, stopping in Germany, France, and Spain. In October, The Weeknd’s tour came to an end in Mexico in support of his two pandemic releases, Dawn FM and After Hours. The tour has already brought in over $350 million. This touring record was previously held by Michael Jackson, whose 1987 Bad tour brought in $311 million after accounting for inflation. Starting in Manchester, The Weeknd’s second leg featured performances in Brussels, Barcelona, Milan, Paris, and other cities. His Latin American tour began in the fall with performances in Guadalajara, Mexico on October 25 and included stops in Mexico City, Rio de Janeiro, Buenos Aires, and more.
The Weeknd also became the only male soloist to have multiple Hot 100 No. 1s from three or more albums when he joined Jackson earlier this year, according to Billboard. When The Weeknd isn’t performing live, most fans can catch him in HBO’s “The Idol” as nightclub owner Tedros. The gifted storyteller talked candidly about the challenges of balancing live
performances as his stage name with reshooting the series as Tedros in an earlier interview with W magazine.
However, the journey is not yet finished. The Weeknd is about to take his show on the road, starting early next year with a run of shows in Australia and finishing up in neighbouring New Zealand. The Weeknd’s capacity to create music history at every step and his widespread appeal are well demonstrated by the success of his “After Hours Til Dawn Tour.”
Edited by: Anna Duffell