Elton John’s Historic Farewell Tour Becomes First to Surpass $900 Million

Elton John’s Farewell Yellow Brick Road Tour, which commenced in September 2018, has achieved remarkable milestones. It dominated Billboard’s monthly Top Tours ranking in February 2019, repeating this feat six more times. The tour claimed the top spot in the 2020 year-end ranking, despite a shortened tracking period, and secured positions in the top five in 2019 and 2022. Recently, it attained an impressive No. 2 rank in the midyear 2023 ranking.

In January, the tour achieved a historic feat by surpassing Ed Sheeran’s The Divide Tour and becoming the highest-grossing tour in Boxscore history. Not only did it exceed $800 million in total earnings, but now, with less than two weeks remaining before its final show, it has reached another monumental milestone.

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Based on the data reported to Billboard Boxscore, the Farewell Yellow Brick Road Tour has amassed a staggering $910.4 million in gross revenue as of June 18. This remarkable achievement establishes it as the first tour ever to break the $900 million barrier. In comparison, the previous record-holders, Ed Sheeran and his tour with $776.4 million, and U2’s U2 360 Tour with $736.4 million fall significantly behind Elton John, trailing by a margin of $134 million.

Leading the update are a trio of performances at Manchester’s AO Arena, generating $7.4 million from 44,200 tickets sold. Additionally, Birmingham’s Utilita Arena hosted another three shows, accumulating $6.6 million from 38,500 tickets. In total, Elton John’s ongoing European arena leg has amassed an impressive $89.6 million across 41 shows thus far. With eight shows yet to be reported, the Farewell Yellow Brick Road Tour is poised to add another $15 million to $20 million, further enhancing its already groundbreaking success.

These recent reports have skyrocketed John’s cumulative Boxscore ticket count to surpass 20 million, encompassing data since 1986. This figure accounts for an impressive 1,437 headline shows as well as co-headlining dates alongside esteemed artists such as Billy Joel and James Taylor, among others.

(Photo Credit: Samir Hussein/WireImage)