Adele’s highly anticipated Las Vegas residency sparked a frenzy for tickets when they went on sale last year. As one of the world’s best-selling music artists, Adele has legions of dedicated fans who were eager to see her perform in an intimate venue like Caesars Palace. So just how many people tried to get tickets to her Weekends with Adele shows? Let’s take a closer look at the demand.
When did Adele announce her Las Vegas residency?
Adele first announced that she would be doing a residency in Las Vegas in November 2021. She made the announcement via two posts on her Twitter and Instagram accounts on November 30. The posts revealed that the shows would take place at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace beginning in January 2022.
The initial schedule was for 24 shows, running on weekend dates from January 21 to April 16, 2022. Each week would have two shows, one on Friday and one on Saturday. This twice-a-week format over three months makes it a true residency rather than just a short series of concerts.
When did tickets go on sale?
Registration for the Ticketmaster Verified Fan program began on December 1, 2021, the day after Adele announced her residency. Fans had to register by December 4 to be eligible to receive a unique access code that would allow them to purchase tickets.
Tickets then went on presale via Ticketmaster Verified Fan on December 7, 2021. The presale was available to those who had received access codes. Tickets went on general sale to the public two days later on December 9.
Key Ticket Sale Dates
Date | Event |
---|---|
November 30, 2021 | Adele announces Las Vegas residency |
December 1-4, 2021 | Registration open for Ticketmaster Verified Fan |
December 7, 2021 | Presale for Verified Fans |
December 9, 2021 | General public onsale |
How quickly did the shows sell out?
The answer is – almost instantly! Tickets to see Adele in Las Vegas were in incredibly high demand from both fans and resellers. All 24 shows essentially sold out immediately.
The Verified Fan presale on December 7 sold out within minutes. Given that Verified Fan requires registration ahead of time, there were likely hundreds of thousands of fans vying for tickets in that presale window.
When the general onsale opened two days later, tickets again disappeared almost immediately. Most dates were completely sold out within 30 minutes or less.
The incredible speed at which these shows sold out demonstrates just how excited people were to see Adele in concert again after she took a multi-year hiatus from touring between 2017-2022.
How quickly Adele’s residency dates sold out
Ticket Sale Type | Time to Sell Out |
---|---|
Verified Fan Presale | Minutes |
General Public Onsale | 30 minutes or less |
How many people tried to get tickets?
Exact numbers are hard to pin down. However, we can make some educated guesses based on a few key data points:
- The Colosseum at Caesars Palace seats around 4,100 guests.
- There were 24 shows initially scheduled.
- Looking at similar situations for high-demand artists, we estimate at minimum hundreds of thousands registered for the Verified Fan presale.
- For the general onsale, it’s likely that millions more people worldwide tried to purchase tickets.
To dig a bit deeper on estimates:
- If there were 200,000 verified registrants, and each person requested 2 tickets on average, that equals 400,000 ticket requests for the presale.
- Estimates for the general onsale are more variable, but could easily be 2-3 million more people trying to purchase tickets.
Adding it all up, a reasonable estimate is that 3-4 million people worldwide likely tried to purchase tickets across the Verified Fan presale and general onsale.
For some context, that would be approximately:
- 5x the population of Las Vegas
- Half the population of London
- 1% of the population of the United States
That is an incredible amount of demand from fans hoping to see one of this generation’s premier pop singers perform.
Estimating the Number Who Tried for Tickets
Ticket Sale | Estimated Number Who Tried |
---|---|
Verified Fan Presale | 400,000 |
General Onsale | 2,000,000 – 3,000,000 |
Total Estimate | 3,000,000 – 4,000,000 |
How does this demand compare to other artists?
The insane rush for Adele’s residency tickets is comparable to very few other artists in pop music today. Here is how it stacks up against ticket sales for other recent residencies in Las Vegas:
- Lady Gaga – Her 2019 residency also sold out quickly. However, Gaga had two residencies with 74 total shows vs. Adele’s 24, so demand was more spread out.
- Katy Perry – Her 2021 residency took a few days to sell out vs. Adele’s instant sellouts.
- Britney Spears – Her ill-fated 2016 residency saw strong but not record-breaking demand.
- Backstreet Boys – Their popular 2019-2020 residency took over a week to sell out.
Notable exceptions with demand rivalling Adele include:
- Harry Styles – His recent 15-show residency at Madison Square Garden sold out instantly.
- Taylor Swift – Past tours and residencies have seen huge demand and instant sellouts.
- BTS – The K-pop group has broken ticket sale records repeatedly.
However, very few musical artists can generate the level of pandemonium seen with Adele’s 2022 Las Vegas residency announcement. She exists in truly rarefied air when it comes to fan enthusiasm and willingness to purchase tickets.
Comparing Demand for Recent Vegas Residencies
Artist | Demand Level |
---|---|
Adele | Extremely high |
Lady Gaga | Very high |
Katy Perry | High |
Britney Spears | Moderate |
Backstreet Boys | Moderate |
Why was demand so high?
There are several key factors that drove unprecedented demand for tickets to Adele’s Las Vegas residency shows:
She hadn’t toured in years
By the time tickets went on sale in December 2021, it had been over four years since Adele’s last live concert. Fans were beyond eager to see her perform again.
Her new album had just released
Adele’s latest album, 30, was released on November 19, 2021. The residency announcement came just two weeks later, with tickets on sale only a few weeks after that. Fans jumped at the first opportunity to see her sing new songs live.
Intimate Vegas venue
Seeing a superstar like Adele in a relatively small 4,100 seat theater creates more demand than huge arenas. Fans leapt at the rare chance for an intimate Adele concert experience.
Weekend format
The Friday/Saturday format made attending from out-of-town feasible over a long weekend. Her global fans could make a trip of it.
Pent-up demand
After a four-year tour hiatus, fans everywhere were desperate to see Adele. This created a massive case of pent-up demand that was unleashed when tickets finally went on sale.
Conclusion
In conclusion, anywhere from 3-4 million rabid Adele fans worldwide likely attempted to purchase tickets when her 2022 Las Vegas residency was announced. This nearly unprecedented level of demand reflects Adele’s status as a once-in-a-generation pop superstar with fans willing to do just about anything to see her perform. Her four years away from the stage led to massive pent-up demand that overwhelmed ticket sales and led to instant sellouts. Adele’s popularity and rarity of touring created the perfect conditions for a record-breaking scramble for tickets when Weekends with Adele was announced.