Among the features of Magna Charta’s annual spotlight on live entertainment in Europe is the ranking of the highest-grossing tours that took place on the continent in the 12-month period ending January 31. Ranked #1 on the chart is venerable rock band Genesis with a total gross of $18.1 million earned on the first leg of “The Last Domino?” tour which began on September 20 in Birmingham, England.
The European leg, booked in six UK cities until early October, was the first of three rides on the world tour which also included a five-week stay in North American cities over the last two months of 2021. A second leg across Europe, due to begin on March 7, will include three-night engagements in Cologne, Lanxess Arena in Germany as well as The O2 in London. Venues in Berlin, Hanover, Paris and Amsterdam will each present two performances.
Last autumn, the UK’s top five arenas each hosted Genesis for several shows, with the Birmingham tour opener at the Utilita Arena hosting the band for three nights. Ticket count at this first engagement was 29,550 for a total gross of $4.89 million, the band’s best box office take in Europe last year.
A Sept. 24-25 run at Manchester’s AO Arena, the program’s second venue, grossed more than $3.5 million. With a total of 21,014 sold, the hall recorded an average of 10,507 per show, the highest during the first stage. Two-night stands followed at First Direct Arena in Leeds, Utilita Arena in Newcastle and M&S Bank Arena in Liverpool.
The band’s UK final for 2021 was the only single-performance engagement and only held in Scotland: a show on October 7 at Glasgow’s OVO Hydro which attracted 9,860 fans. With a box office exceeding $1.8 million, it was the highest-grossing single performance on the tour’s first run.
In addition to Genesis’ three Birmingham gross shows, all of the band’s concert engagements have grossed enough to be among the 15 highest-grossing box office totals reported to Pollstar for any artist during the eligibility period. the Magna Charta.
After Genesis on the list of the best European tours, the “Beat Again” tour of the English vocal group JLS, ranked second in the 100 best. the trek postponed last October with dates booked until November in UK cities. Based on sales from 22 shows reported at 13 venues, the band moved 154,581 tickets grossing $11.1 million. The highest-grossing venue on the tour was The O2 in London, which recorded sales of $1.88 million from 25,027 tickets sold at concerts on November 4 and 5.
German Schlager singer Roland Kaiser completes Magna Charta’s first three tours with more than $8.5 million in gross takings from 33 performances, mostly at arenas in his home country, but his box office totals also include performances in Vienna and Zurich. Overall, it sold a total of 157,805 tickets across 30 venues from August to November. Berlin’s Mercedes-Benz Arena produced its best ever box office figures grossing $513,690 and selling tickets for a total of 9,949 on October 30.
