Elton John is one of the most popular and successful musicians of all time. He has been performing for over 50 years and has sold over 300 million records worldwide. His live shows are legendary and he is still in high demand as a concert performer today, regularly touring worldwide to packed stadiums and arenas. Therefore, whenever Elton John announces a new concert or tour, it is guaranteed to generate a lot of interest and sell a high number of tickets.
Elton John’s Popularity as a Live Performer
Elton John’s popularity as a live performer has endured over the decades. He puts on an energetic and flamboyant show, performing hit after hit to the delight of fans. The elaborate costumes, over-the-top production, and Elton’s masterful piano playing and powerful vocals create an unforgettable experience. Fans of all ages and backgrounds are eager to see Elton John in concert. His shows routinely sell out instantly, regardless of the size of the venue. Even as he advances in years, Elton John’s drawing power as a live act has not diminished.
Demand for Elton John’s Farewell Tour
In 2018, Elton John announced that he would be retiring from touring after one final world tour, named the Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour. This instantly created even more demand from fans wanting to see Elton John perform live one last time. The Farewell tour started in September 2018 and is scheduled to comprise over 300 shows across five continents, concluding in 2023. It is expected to gross over $800 million.
Knowing this is their last chance to see a living legend in concert before he retires has motivated fans to ensure they get tickets to Elton John’s goodbye tour. Tickets have been selling out immediately for all dates announced so far, often crashing ticketing websites due to overwhelming demand. Additional dates keep being added in cities worldwide to meet demand. But still, not everyone who wants to has been able to get tickets, such is the unprecedented interest.
Total Tickets Sold So Far
As of October 2023, Elton John is about one year away from completing his Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour. By this point, he has performed over 270 of the 300+ planned shows. Though exact numbers are not available, several sources estimate the total tickets sold for the tour so far to be between 4 and 5 million.
The tour began with a run of 300,000 tickets sold in North America in the fall of 2018. It then moved to Europe in 2019, selling a reported 1 million tickets for those shows. In 2020, the tour moved to Australia and New Zealand before being postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
When it resumed in 2022, strong demand saw large crowds in Europe and North America. More shows were continually added, extending the tour through 2023. Considering typical attendance numbers for Elton John in arenas and stadiums, plus multiple sold-out shows in most markets, total ticket sales for the 4 years so far would likely land between 4 and 5 million.
Average Tickets Sold Per Show
Elton John has performed in a wide variety of venues during his Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour. These include:
– Large stadiums – Average around 40,000-50,000 capacity
– Arenas – Average around 10,000-20,000 capacity
– Amphitheaters – Average around 5,000-10,000 capacity
– Theaters – Average around 2,000-5,000 capacity
Most of Elton John’s shows have completely sold out no matter the venue size. Even the shows added later for smaller theaters have filled up quickly. Only a handful of dates have not sold out, mostly those added to the end of the tour.
If we take the middle of the estimated total tickets sold so far – 4.5 million tickets across 270 shows, that equates to an average of approximately 17,000 tickets sold per show on the Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour.
This number accounts for the wide variation in venue capacities throughout the multi-year global tour. The average per show estimate also factors in any non-sold out dates or seats, which have been very limited overall.
Notable High Grossing Shows
While almost all shows on Elton John’s farewell tour have been successful, there have been a few standouts that sold an especially high number of tickets and grossed over $1 million:
- Los Angeles, CA – Dodger Stadium – September 2022 – 103,000 tickets sold over 2 nights
- East Rutherford, NJ – MetLife Stadium – July 2022 – 100,000 tickets sold over 2 nights
- Chicago, IL – Soldier Field – June 2022 – 85,000 tickets sold over 2 nights
- Toronto, ON – Rogers Centre – September 2022 – 82,500 tickets sold over 2 nights
- Vancouver, BC – BC Place Stadium – October 2022 – 75,000 tickets sold over 2 nights
These outdoor stadium shows in major markets are Elton John’s biggest concerts of his farewell tour. The multi-night engagements allowed him to perform for over 75,000-100,000 fans in a city and gross well over $1 million per show. They demonstrate Elton John’s enduring ability to draw huge crowds throughout the lengthy farewell tour.
Challenges in Quantifying Total Tickets Sold
While estimations put total ticket sales for Elton John’s farewell tour at around 4-5 million so far, the exact number is difficult to quantify definitively. Reasons for this include:
- No official tourwide data on total tickets sold – numbers are given sporadically by promoters/venues
- Constantly shifting tour schedule – dates being postponed, added, or changed
- Varying ticketing platforms – no centralized source for data
- Untracked secondary market ticket sales – resales not counted
- Comps, giveaways, unsold seats – may not reflect final attendance
- Scalped or fake tickets – can distort projections
Without access to complete internal ticketing figures direct from the tour promoter, only rough estimates of total ticket sales are possible. The best indicators available are venue capacities over the tour’s duration, reported box office revenue, and partial sales data released from various markets.
Projection for Remainder of Farewell Tour
As Elton John heads into the homestretch of his Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour in 2023, what can be expected for ticket sales in the final year? Assuming the remaining 30-40 dates maintain the high demand seen so far, total tickets sold by tour’s end should reach between 5 and 6 million.
Upcoming stops scheduled for 2023 in Australia, New Zealand, Europe, and North America are mostly large stadium/arena shows or multiple dates in cities. Venues such as Auckland’s Mt. Smart Stadium, London’s Hyde Park, and Foxborough’s Gillette Stadium can seat anywhere from 35,000-65,000+. Several cities like Manchester, Paris and New York have 2-4 dates scheduled, signaling high market demand.
Barring any unforeseen postponements or cancellations, Elton John’s Farewell tour should conclude in 2023 having sold around 5.5-6 million total tickets. For a legendary music icon’s final bow, this would be an unprecedented achievement and a testament to his enduring popularity worldwide. The massive interest and ticket sales cement Elton John’s status as one of the most successful and beloved live performers of all time.
Conclusion
Elton John’s Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour has demonstrated phenomenal demand, with total tickets sold projected to reach between 5-6 million by the end of the 300+ show global tour. Average estimated ticket sales per show are around 17,000. Key factors driving high sales include Elton John’s legendary popularity as a live performer, the rarity of this being his last tour ever, and his enduring ability to sell out huge stadiums and arenas year after year worldwide. Challenges in quantifying exact numbers exist due to variables like changing tour schedules and lack of access to complete ticketing data. However, all indicators point to Elton John’s farewell tour being an unprecedented commercial success and a fitting live music swan song for one of the most popular artists in pop history. The millions of tickets sold are a testament to Elton John’s incomparable career.