The team behind Coldplay’s history-making Music of the Spheres run have revealed all about the most well-attended concert tour ever in a special ILMC 37 panel.

The band’s agent Josh Javor of WME, production manager Chris Kansy and Live Nation promoter Phil Bowdery were joined by Laura Coroianu of Romania’s Emagic for yesterday’s Coldplay: ‘Inside Music of the Spheres’ conference session at London’s Royal Lancaster Hotel.

Since kicking off in Costa Rica in March 2022, the tour has comprised 184 shows across multiple continents, including Asia, Europe, South America, North America and Oceania, with more than ten million tickets sold.

It has also set records for consecutive shows at numerous venues around the world, including ten nights in Buenos Aires, six shows in San Paolo, six shows in Singapore and three dates in Auckland, with a ten-night Wembley Stadium residency to follow later this year.

“The tour has also been heralded and recognised by climate action leaders around the world for its efforts in sustainability, which has led to a 59% reduction in CO2 emissions over the first two years of the tour,” noted moderator Ruth Barlow of Beggars Group.

“The important thing for the band is that every single ticket is sold, and everyone can afford to come to the show”

Discussing their sustainability commitments, Bowdery said: “The band, particularly Chris [Martin, singer] has always wanted to make sure that he was doing everything he possibly could to help in all of those areas. So every time they have toured, they’ve always looked at ways of trying to bring that to fruition.

“It was a commitment from all of them. They realised that by touring the way that we are – it’s quite a large show – they needed to try and do something in the way of sustainability… we have to try and cut down our footprint.”

So far, Music of the Spheres has been seen by 10.3 million people and grossed an estimated $1.14 billion, but Javor suggested it was the former statistic that took priority.

“The important thing for the band is that every single ticket is sold, and everyone can afford to come to the show,” he said. “Having the accolade of the highest-grossing tour of all time is not something they’re necessarily interested in… They want to have the tour that the most amount of people came to see.”

At three years and counting, the tour is already significantly longer than Coldplay’s previous global outings.

“Coldplay, historically, had never really toured for more than about two years,” pointed out Javor. “The last tour, we started in Buenos Aires in March 2016 and finished in November ’17. So when we all started this, genuinely, I don’t think anyone thought we’d be sitting here still doing it now, but I think the way the tour has morphed, and how everyone’s been enjoying it, has allowed us to continue.”

Tantalisingly, Bowdery added: “We’re not finished yet,” as Javor crossed his fingers when asked about the possibility of further tour dates.

“What was very important for Romania is it was the first time a show sold out basically the minute it was put on sale”

Javor disclosed that planning for the trek began as far back as 2019, before the pandemic. He said the cities visited in its first year of the outing were “quite standard” touring stops, with new territories becoming more of a focus in years two and three. Suggestions from fans also fed into the strategy.

“We will get messages because they’ve seen something on their social media that they want us to look into,” he explained, adding that the band’s two gigs at Bucharest’s 53,000-cap Arena Națională in June 2024 arose simply from never having played in Romania before (“We’d never been and we wanted to go”).

Emagic’s Coroianu, who organised the shows, suggested the concerts represented a victory for perseverance.

“We’d been sending offers in since about 2010,” she laughed. “Chris made up his mind that he wants to see other fans, and we got lucky. I think the confirmation came at ILMC the year before. We had a meeting and we heard that we’d got the show. Nobody believed in the beginning, and then it dawned upon everybody that it was really happening.

“What was very important for Romania is it was the first time a show sold out basically the minute it was put on sale. That never happened before. We were flabbergasted.”

“Chris and the band really know how to present their show”

The band’s tour announcement back in late 2021 came hand-in-hand with a 12-point plan for cutting their carbon footprint, including a pledge to reduce their direct carbon emissions from show production, freight, band and crew travel by at least 50% compared with their previous A Head Full of Dreams stadium tour.

Kansy, who recently became the first person to collect IQ Magazine‘s award for top production guru (aka The Gaffer), twice, spoke about the visual elements of the ongoing production.

“Coldplay has a tried and true formula for presenting their shows: no roof, open air, long runway, B-stage, C-stage, so they can get to different ports of the stadium and play to everybody,” he said. “They’ve done that again on Music of the Spheres, and it’s just bigger. There’s just more: it’s brighter, there’s more LED, the whole confetti presentation is just so, so effective. Chris and the band really know how to present their show, they know their audience, and they’re very good at it and very successful.”

Kansy also talked through the key sustainability practices.

“We started off doing the easy stuff – the stuff that anybody could do: no plastic, trying to keep food waste down,” he said. “But the meat and potatoes, no pun intended, behind the whole thing is how we power the show with BMW batteries. All of our shows are powered on batteries and that’s not just part of the show, it’s all of the show.

“We do have to use generators to some extent to charge the batteries when we can’t use sustainable house power, but we run our generators a fraction of what a normal show would and, more often than not, run HVO [hydrotreated vegetable oil] fuel.

“And then, of course… we’ve got our energy floors, where fans actually jump on the suspended rubber floor and the kinetic energy charges batteries. We’ve got solar that we lay out at the front of house. We’ve got solar that we lay out at the seats behind the stage. Those all charge batteries.”

“We need a significant amount of power to run the show, so there’s a lot of forethought and a lot of clever people involved”

He added: “We need a significant amount of power to run the show, so there’s a lot of forethought and a lot of clever people involved in this project to make sure we’re on point and make sure we have power and make sure that we’re as sustainable as possible.”

Bowdery praised the contribution of Live Nation sustainability manager Ariel Bojeun, who is on the road with the band for the entirety of the tour.

“In whatever city they’re going to, Ariel will be doing her job to make sure that she’s contacting all the local bus services and train services so that they can push on the Coldplay website the most sustainable way of getting to the gigs,” he said. “Ariel will make sure that even from crew catering, there’s no food wasted in any way, shape or form. If there is anything left, it goes to a local charity or local food house. So Ariel’s job is very complex and time-consuming, but she makes sure that everything works on the sustainability side.”

In closing, Kansy, who has worked with the likes of Nirvana, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Nine Inch Nails, Mary J Blige and Roger Waters in his 40-year career, summed up where Music of the Spheres ranks among his highlights.

“People ask me all the time, ‘What’s the favourite tour you’ve ever done?’ There’s so many different ways to answer that question,” he said. “Is it the money you make? The music you listen to every night?

“With Coldplay, it’s almost all there. The management and the band are so wonderful to work for. The level of respect that they give to everybody on their team, and the amount of care and emotional work that they do in regard to making sure everything is fine, I just couldn’t be more happy to work for Coldplay. I respect them greatly, and I respect management greatly, and their vision for the band, so having this kind of job is incredibly rewarding.”

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Police in India have closed an investigation into promoter BookMyShow (BMS) over the ticket sale for Coldplay’s recent concerts in Mumbai after finding “no irregularities”.

The band played three 55,000-cap dates at Mumbai’s DY Patil Sports Stadium on 18-19 & 21 January as part of their Music of the Spheres World Tour.

Tickets, priced between 2,500 rupees (€27) to 12,000 rupees (€129), sold out within 30 minutes last September, only to quickly reappear on secondary ticketing platforms at up to 40x face value.

The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the Mumbai Police launched a preliminary inquiry after lawyer Amit Vyas filed a criminal complaint against BMS and others, accusing the company of using bots to manipulate the sales process and colluding with resale sites to scalp tickets on the black market.

“Scalping and black marketing of tickets is strictly condemned and punishable by law in India and BookMyShow vehemently opposes this practice”

BMS, which said 13 million people attempted to buy tickets, denied any association with unauthorised secondary ticketing platforms and lodged a formal First Information Report (FIR) with law enforcement agencies.

“Scalping and black marketing of tickets is strictly condemned and punishable by law in India and BookMyShow vehemently opposes this practice,” it said at the time. “We have not only filed a complaint with the police authorities but are also proactively working with them to provide complete support in the investigation of this matter in any manner that may be required.”

The Hindustan Times reports that the EOW has now dropped the case, having found no evidence of ticket manipulation.

The week after their three Mumbai dates, Coldplay performed to 111,000 fans a night – the biggest shows of their career –at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India, on 25-26 January. The two gigs also set a record as the largest stadium concerts of the 21st century.

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Coldplay have set the record for the largest stadium concerts of the 21st century after drawing more than 222,000 fans across their two concerts in India.

The band brought their Music of the Spheres World Tour to the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, on 25-26 January, pulling in crowds in excess of 111,000 for each date – the biggest gigs of their career.

Fans in India were also able to watch the Sunday night show from their homes via the Disney+ Hotstar livestream.

Coldplay’s two-night Ahmedabad stand, which was presented by BookMyShow Live in partnership with Live Nation, came on the heels of their three 55,000-cap dates at Mumbai’s DY Patil Sports Stadium on 18-19 & 21 January.

Prior to that, the group, who are booked by Wasserman Music in the US and Canada and WME for the rest of the world, completed a record-breaking four-night run in Abu Dhabi, achieving the largest and longest series of ticketed shows in the UAE.

More than 12 million tickets have now been sold for the Music of the Spheres World Tour

The Music of the Spheres global trek is firmly established as the biggest-selling tour of all time, having now sold over 12 million tickets across Europe, North America, Latin America, Asia and Oceania since kicking off in 2022.

It resumes in April with four shows at Hong Kong’s new 50,000-seat Kai Tak Stadium. Operated by ASM Global, the venue hosted its first trial concert last week – a charity event featuring domestic artists  Jay Fung, Cloud Wan, Jace Chan and Dear Jane – for which capacity was capped at 18,000.

The tour will then stop for six nights in South Korea at Seoul’s Goyang Stadium before heading to the US and Canada from May to July. UK dates will then follow, comprising two gigs at Hull’s Craven Park Stadium (18-19 August) and an unprecedented 10-night residency at London’s Wembley Stadium (22 August-8 September).

Read IQ‘s interview with Coldplay production manager Chris Kansy, who was recently crowned The Gaffer for the second time, here.

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Taylor Swift’s The Eras Tour earned US$1 billion-plus for the second year in succession to more than double the haul of its nearest rival, according to Pollstar‘s 2024 data.

The epoch-defining 21-month trek, which wrapped this month, grossed an all-time record US$2,077,618,725 (€1.96 billion) at the box office after selling more than 10.1 million tickets.

Eras‘ 80 shows this year raked in $1,043,421,552 (€993.4m) from 5.2m ticket sales at an average ticket price of $200.27 (€190.68).

Coldplay’s Music of the Spheres World Tour was a distant second – generating $421.7m, having moved 3.3m tickets for 54 concerts (average ticket price: $128.05). Nevertheless, the ongoing run now holds the overall record for tickets sold on a single tour, shifting 10.3m tickets since commencing in March 2022, and is already the second highest-grossing ever.

“While the industry has slowed since 2023, we still saw record-setting revenues, with the top two tours of all time running concurrently”

“2024 has proven to be a historic year for the live entertainment industry, one we may never see again in our lifetimes,” says Andy Gensler, Pollstar editor-in-chief. “While the industry has slowed since 2023, we still saw record-setting revenues, with the top two tours of all time running concurrently. Taylor Swift’s powerhouse The Eras Tour shattered the all-time touring record, while Coldplay’s Music of the Spheres Tour sold more tickets than any artist in live entertainment history. That tour also grossed over $1.3 billion and remains the second highest-grossing tour ever, with 48 more dates scheduled in 2025.”

Also featuring in Pollstar‘s top 5 rankings are P!nk, who placed third with a $367.3m gross, and veteran Latin singer Luis Miguel at No.4 on $261.5m, followed by Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band with $251.3m.

The Top 10 rankings are completed by the Rolling Stones ($235m), Bad Bunny ($210.9m), Zach Bryan ($199.2m), Metallica ($179.4m), and Madonna ($178.8m).

Total grosses for the Top 100 worldwide top touring artists increased to a record $9.5bn, up from 2023’s $9.2bn.

The Top 10 in North America were the Rolling Stones (No.1), Bad Bunny (No.2), Zach Bryan (No.3), Luke Combs (No.4), Luis Miguel (No.5), Kenny Chesney (No.6), P!nk (No.7), Madonna (No.8), Aventura (No.9), and Taylor Swift (No.10).

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Coldplay have added new territories to their record-shattering Music Of The Spheres World Tour after ticket sales for the epic trek sailed past 10 million.

Launched in March 2022, the tour was recently confirmed by Billboard Boxscore to have grossed more than $1 billion – matching the feat of Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour.

The 10 new performances in 2025 will include the British band’s first full-length headline touring performance in India since their 2016 performance at Global Citizen Festival. In addition, the quartet will play their first shows in Hong Kong since 2009, Abu Dhabi, UAE since 2016 and Seoul, South Korea since 2017, as they continue to fulfil their vow to reach every corner of the globe.

Coldplay, who are represented by Wasserman Music’s Marty Diamond and Larry Webman in North America and WME’s Josh Javor for the rest of the world, have confirmed they will release a limited number of Infinity Tickets, which are released for every Coldplay show and cost the local currency equivalent of €20 per ticket.

Tickets must be bought in pairs and are restricted to a maximum of two per purchaser. Locations are revealed when fans pick up their tickets in person at the box office on the day of the show.

“Coldplay are the perfect example of a UK band who came through the grassroots circuit on their way to worldwide stadium-filling success”

Earlier this week, Coldplay confirmed six new shows at London’s Wembley Stadium (22-23, 26-27 & 30-31 August) and two at Hull’s Craven Park Stadium (18-19 August) – the only European cities where they will perform next year. The band have pledged that 10% of proceeds from the 2025 UK dates will be donated to grassroots venues organisation, the Music Venue Trust (MVT).

Kicking off in March 2022, the Music of the Spheres Tour has now sold more than 10 million tickets across Europe, North America, Latin America, Asia, Australia and New Zealand, making it the most highly attended tour by a group of all time.

The group are partnering with DHL on the tour to support their mission to cut tour emissions by 50%. Over the summer, the band delivered an update on their sustainability initiatives, revealing that, on a show-by-show comparison, the current tour has so far produced 59% less CO2e emissions than their previous stadium tour in 2016/17, exceeding their original target. More than nine million trees have already been planted around the world, with a further million to be planted before the end of the year.

Back in June, meanwhile, it was announced that Coldplay would be part of an advisory committee for their study of the live music industry’s carbon footprint.

Their newly announced Asia, India and UAE tour dates are as follows:

January 2025

11: Abu Dhabi, UAE – Zayed Sports City Stadium

18: Mumbai, India – DY Patil Sports Stadium

19: Mumbai, India – DY Patil Sports Stadium

April 2025

09: Hong Kong – Kai Tak Stadium

11: Hong Kong – Kai Tak Stadium

12: Hong Kong – Kai Tak Stadium

16: Seoul – Goyang Stadium

18: Seoul – Goyang Stadium

19: Seoul – Goyang Stadium

22: Seoul – Goyang Stadium

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Music Venue Trust (MVT) boss Mark Davyd has hailed a “massive day” for the grassroots music sector after Coldplay pledged that 10% of proceeds from their newly announced 2025 UK dates will be donated to the organisation.

The band have confirmed six new shows at London’s Wembley Stadium (22-23, 26-27 & 30-31 August) and two at Hull’s Craven Park Stadium (18-19 August) – the only European cities where they will perform next year – in the latest leg of their record-breaking Music of the Spheres World Tour.

Since the first Music Of The Spheres tour date in March 2022, the band have sold more than 10 million tickets – meaning it is already the biggest tour by a group of all-time.

“It’s a massive day for us and a massive day for the grassroots sector,” Davyd tells IQ. “The biggest band in the world have come out and said, ‘Yes, this is true. This is what needs to happen. We are going to do it.’ It doesn’t have to be a challenge for the music industry. It doesn’t have to be a challenge to any other artists. It could just become the new normal.”

Revealed via a poster placed in the window of the Dublin Castle in Camden, London – the scene of the first ever Coldplay show in February 1998 – on Sunday evening, the donation to the MVT will help fund the Trust’s work supporting UK grassroots music venues and upcoming artists.

Donations will also be made to the MVT by the concerts’ promoters (SJM Concerts, Metropolis Music and Live Nation), the band’s booking agent (WME), the venues and the official ticket agents (Ticketmaster, See Tickets and AXS).

“This conversation was started in December 2023,” says Davyd. “It was inspired by an organisation called Save Our Scene, which effectively connected us to Coldplay. When Chris [Martin] from the band had expressed to Save Our Scene that he really wanted to do something, they said Music Venue Trust was the right organisation. George [Fleming, founder] at Save Our Scene was particularly instrumental in making this happen.”

“The live music industry needs to think about what artists are telling them and think about what they can be doing themselves”

He continues: “This is Coldplay saying, ‘It’s very important to us and we want to do it this way,’ so it’s an incredibly helpful example. But somebody asked me this morning if this was proof that people in the music industry are going to deliver on the CMS Committee’s [calls for a ticket levy for grassroots venues] and no, this is just proof that artists really, really care about grassroots music venues.

“The live music industry needs to think about what artists are telling them and think about what they can be doing themselves.”

In a world-first for a stadium show, the band plan to continue their sustainability efforts by powering the Wembley concerts’ production with 100% solar, wind and kinetic energy, collected at the venue and elsewhere in the UK, and delivered by a specially-designed electric battery system. In addition, one of the satellite stages at each show will be fully powered by energy generated by the audience via kinetic flooring and power bikes.

Meanwhile, 50% of the tickets for the Hull shows – the band’s first ever concerts in the city – will go to local fans.

In June, Coldplay announced the tour has so far produced 59% less CO2e emissions than their previous stadium tour in 2016/17, exceeding their original target of a 50% reduction. They also revealed that nine million trees have already been planted, with a further million to be planted before the end of the year.

The group’s upcoming new album, Moon Music, which drops next month, will also set new standards for sustainability, with each LP made from 100% recycled plastic bottles.

The Music of the Spheres World Tour resumes in Australia on 30 October this year, taking in four nights at each of Melbourne’s Marvel Stadium and Sydney’s Accor Stadium, before switching to New Zealand for three gigs at Eden Park in Auckland.

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Enhanced security measures will be in place for Coldplay’s imminent Austrian residency at Austria’s Ernst Happel Stadium – the first concerts to take place at the venue since the cancellation of Taylor Swift’s three Eras shows.

Coldplay are bringing their Music of the Spheres Tour to Vienna this week for an unprecedented four-night run on 21-22 & 24-25 August. Support will come from Maggie Rogers and Oska.

Swift was due to perform at the 60,000-cap stadium from 8-10 August, only for the shows to be called off after a suspected terror plot was uncovered.

Der Standard reports the Coldplay dates will feature a large police presence, including officers in uniform and plain clothes, as well as special units and extensive video and aerial surveillance.

Large exclusion zones will be set up around the stadium before and during the band’s performances, with access and entry controls to be carried out around the site. Fans have been told to allow extra time for their journeys in the expectation of longer waiting times and increased bag checks. Security on public transport is also being stepped up.

Music of the Spheres’ sold-out 2024 European leg concludes next week in Ireland with four nights at Dublin’s Croke Park

A statement from Vienna Police reads: “To ensure that the events run smoothly and, above all, safely, comprehensive police security measures have been taken. The Vienna Police will be represented by several hundred officers around the stadium on the days of the concert – including uniformed officers, civilian officers and members of various special units.

“Traffic barriers and locks for approaching vehicles will be set up in the vicinity, which will be manned by police officers with special equipment. As with all such events, access controls will be carried out by the organiser’s security service.”

The concerts are being organised by Live Nation and Leutgeb Entertainment Group.

Music of the Spheres‘ sold-out 2024 European leg concludes next week in Ireland with four nights at Dublin’s Croke Park on 29-30 August & 1-2 September, before rolling on to Australia and New Zealand in October/November.

This month saw the outing crowned as the biggest rock tour of all time, having grossed $945.7 million and sold 8.8 million tickets since launching in March 2022, according to Billboard Boxscore. The quartet also recently broke records in Finland by playing to more than 178,000 people across four sold-out nights at Helsinki’s Olympic Stadium.

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Coldplay have reportedly reached a seven-figure settlement with former manager Dave Holmes.

Holmes, who worked with the group for more than 20 years prior to being dismissed in 2022, sued the Chris Martin-fronted band for breach of contract last year, seeking more than £10 million (€11.7m) in allegedly unpaid commission.

The group said they “vigorously disputed” the allegations and counter-sued for £14m, accusing Holmes of failing to “adequately to supervise and control” the budget for their ongoing Music of The Spheres World Tour.

They also alleged that Holmes leveraged his position as manager to secure $30 million in loans from Live Nation, which they claim could have created a conflict of interest in tour negotiations.

A spokesperson for Holmes hit back at the claims, telling MailOnline: “Accusing Dave Holmes of non-existent ethical lapses and other made-up misconduct will not deflect from the real issue at hand: Coldplay had a contract with Dave, they are refusing to honour it and they need to pay Dave what they owe him.”

“Chris and the band are happy they’ve drawn a line in the sand but it has come at a price”

According to documents filed at London’s High Court in May, obtained by The Sun, Coldplay have now agreed an undisclosed seven-figure settlement to stop private details being made public in court.

“Chris and the band are happy they’ve drawn a line in the sand but it has come at a price,” says a source, as per the Daily Mail. “The settlement cost them millions. They just want to move on.”

Coldplay are currently managed by the team of Phil Harvey, Mandi Frost and Arlene Moon. Last Saturday (29 June), the quartet headlined the Pyramid Stage at Glastonbury for a record fifth time.

The Music of the Spheres Tour, which kicked off in 2022, could see Coldplay become the first band to gross $1 billion from a single tour. At last count it had earned $810.9m, having been attended by 7.66 million fans.

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Coldplay have revealed they have beaten their target for cutting carbon emissions on their Music of the Spheres World Tour.

The band’s tour announcement back in late 2021 came hand-in-hand with a 12-point plan for cutting their carbon footprint, including a pledge to reduce their direct carbon emissions from show production, freight, band and crew travel by at least 50% compared with their previous A Head Full of Dreams stadium tour.

In their last update in June 2023, the group said the tour had produced 47% less CO2e emissions than their 2016/17 trek. Twelve months on, they have improved on those figures significantly.

“We’re happy to report that direct CO2e emissions from the first two years of this tour are 59% less than our previous stadium tour, on a show-by-show comparison,” say Coldplay in a statement. “These figures have been verified by the MIT Environmental Solutions Initiative.

“We’d like to say a huge thank you to our incredible touring family and to all the brilliant people who’ve made this possible. Most of all, we’d like to thank everyone who’s come to a show and helped charge the show batteries on the power bikes and kinetic dance floors; everyone who’s arrived by foot, bike, ride share or public transport; everyone who’s come with refillable water bottles or returned their LED wristband for recycling; and everyone who’s bought a ticket, which means you’ve planted one of seven million trees so far.

“As a band, and as an industry, we’re a long way from where we need to be on this. But we’re grateful for everyone’s help so far, and we salute everyone who’s making efforts to push things in the right direction.”

A comprehensive study of the live music industry’s carbon footprint is being conducted by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), co-funded by Coldplay, Live Nation and Warner Music Group (WMG).

Coldplay also launched a free app for fans as part of their pledge to make the tour as eco-friendly as possible. Highlights from the ongoing trek have included an 86% average return and re-use rate of LED wristbands, 18 shows powered entirely using the tourable battery system in 2023 made from recycled BMW i3 batteries and 23 partnerships with green travel providers to help fans travel to shows via super-low carbon transport.

“This latest analysis of Coldplay’s impact on the environment from touring is again setting a new standard for the entire music industry”

In addition, 17kWh average power per show has been generated via in-venue solar installations, kinetic dance floors and power bikes – enough to power the band’s C-stage performance each night.

All shows have offered free water refill stations for fans, while over 3,000 tCO2e has been saved by purchasing Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) for flights, and 72% of all tour waste has been diverted from landfill and sent for reuse, recycling and composting, while 9,625 meals and 90kg of toiletries donated from tour catering to the unhoused and unsheltered.

“For some time now, Coldplay has been leading by example in taking seriously and acting on the various interrelated environmental and social challenges facing humanity; climate change, biodiversity loss, air and water pollution, environmental injustice and more,” says Prof. John E. Fernández of MIT.

“With each subsequent year of their tour they demonstrate an evolving vision and expanded commitment to move the entire music industry toward true and humane sustainability and planetary resilience. From collecting unprecedented amounts of data to taking specific actions today based on rigorous analysis, Coldplay is modelling a trajectory toward a low carbon, biodiverse and equitable future.

“This latest analysis of Coldplay’s impact on the environment from touring is again setting a new standard for the entire music industry. The data and the methods of analysis support the conclusion that substantial progress has been made to reduce emissions in touring.”

The Music of the Spheres Tour could see Coldplay become the first band to gross $1 billion from a single tour. At last count it had earned $810.9m, having been attended by 7.66 million fans. This June, the group will become the first act to headline Glastonbury’s Pyramid Stage five times. They previously topped the bill in 2002, 2005, 2011 and 2016. The date will mark the band’s only European festival appearance of the year.

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Coldplay’s globe-trotting Music of the Spheres run could see them become the first band to gross $1 billion from a single tour.

The group topped Pollstar‘s Worldwide Top 100 Artists chart for Q1 2024, earning $100.5 million from 13 concerts, including six nights at Singapore National Stadium. The top 3 also consisted of U2, whose Las Vegas Sphere residency garnered $95.2m, and Madonna’s The Celebration Tour, which grossed $86.2m.

The Music of the Spheres World Tour, which was the fourth highest-grossing trek of 2023, kicked off in Costa Rica in March 2022 and has an average gross of $6.1m, with 43 stadium dates remaining.

At last count it had earned $810.9m, having been attended by 7.66 million fans.

“It’s no surprise to me that Coldplay has become one of the most successful touring acts of all time”

“It’s no surprise to me that Coldplay has become one of the most successful touring acts of all time,” the band’s international agent Josh Javor of WME tells Pollstar. “The band has been setting trends and pushing the boundaries of how fans experience a concert for years. This show has a great value for the ticket price and is one that attendees truly never forget – the amount of pure entertainment that the band packs into one show is unparalleled!”

Should they surpass the billion-dollar mark, Coldplay would follow in the footsteps of Taylor Swift, whose Eras Tour officially become the first tour in history to surpass $1 billion in revenue last December.

This June, Coldplay will become the first act to headline Glastonbury’s Pyramid Stage five times. They previously topped the bill in 2002, 2005, 2011 and 2016. The date will mark the band’s only European festival appearance of the year. Revisit IQ’s Music of the Spheres Tour feature here.

According to Pollstar data, the total of the Top 100 Tours in the first quarter of 2024 was up 35% year-over-year to $1.252bn – passing the billion-dollar mark for the first time in a Q1.

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