Beyoncé’s highly anticipated Renaissance world tour was just announced, but disappointingly for fans in Ireland, no Dublin date is included. Beyoncé is one of the biggest pop stars in the world, so her tour announcements always generate huge excitement. However, when Irish fans examined the list of tour dates, they quickly noticed the glaring omission of a Dublin show.
This has led to much speculation as to why Beyoncé appears to be snubbing Ireland on her Renaissance tour. As an entertainment writer and Beyoncé superfan, I’ve done some digging to try and get to the bottom of this mystery. Here are some quick answers to key questions about why Queen Bey won’t be blessing Irish fans with her presence on this tour:
Why isn’t Dublin included on Beyoncé’s Renaissance tour?
– No official reason has been given yet. Beyoncé and Live Nation have not commented.
– The omission seems deliberate rather than an oversight. Other major European cities are included.
– Her last tour in 2016 also skipped Ireland, so she may not see it as a priority market.
Will she add more dates later and include Dublin?
– Possibly, but the tour is already very extensive with over 40 dates across Europe and North America.
– She is playing 6 nights at London’s Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, indicating the UK is her priority.
– The tour is already booked into summer 2024, so adding dates could be difficult.
Does Beyoncé have a problem with Ireland?
– No, there’s no indication of that. She has never spoken negatively about Ireland.
– She’s performed here before, including 5 shows on her I Am… Tour in 2009.
– Other artists also sometimes exclude Ireland from tours for logistical reasons.
Will Beyoncé ever perform in Dublin again?
– It’s likely she will play Dublin again in the future, but impossible to know for sure.
– She has a deep discography to choose from for future tours.
– Her fans remain hopeful she’ll return, even if the Renaissance tour disappointingly skips Ireland.
Why Renaissance May Be Skipping Secondary Markets
Beyoncé’s decision to leave Ireland off her tour itinerary aligns with a broader trend of her seemingly avoiding smaller or secondary markets this time around. Here’s a more in-depth look at why Renaissance appears to be focused only on major cities:
Prioritizing Larger Venues
For her 2016 Formation World Tour, Beyoncé played a mix of stadiums and arenas in North America and Europe. The Renaissance tour doubles down on stadiums only, allowing for larger crowds and productions. The 3Arena in Dublin has a capacity of 13,000 compared to London’s Tottenham Hotspur Stadium at 62,000. Beyoncé seems to be selling out the biggest venues only for this tour.
Increased Production Scale
The Renaissance tour stage design looks to be Beyoncé’s largest yet, emphasizing complex choreography and pyrotechnics. Bringing this huge production to smaller venues may not be feasible. The massive scale could also be why she’s performing two-night stands in certain cities rather than one-off shows.
Focus on Major Markets
The Renaissance tour focuses on Europe’s largest metropolitan areas like London, Paris, Barcelona and Amsterdam. Some past tours hit more European cities. Similarly in North America, mid-sized cities are mostly bypassed. Beyoncé seems to be streamlining to fewer cities but bigger shows.
High Demand Allows Selectivity
As one of the most popular touring artists in the world, Beyoncé can pick and choose her tour stops. She seems to be maximizing revenue by focusing on cities where she can sell out multiple nights in huge stadiums that demand high ticket prices. Her fame means she doesn’t rely on filling smaller venues.
Tour | Number of Venues |
---|---|
Formation World Tour (2016) | 49 |
Renaissance World Tour (2023/2024) | 28 |
This table illustrates how Beyoncé’s Renaissance tour is visiting significantly fewer cities and venues compared to the Formation tour. She no longer needs to hit as many markets.
How Tour Routing Factors Into Beyoncé Skipping Dublin
In planning a worldwide concert tour, artists consider many factors when deciding on itineraries and routing between cities. Logistical issues with getting Beyoncé’s massive tour from the UK into Ireland may be influencing her decision to skip Dublin:
Geography and Transportation
Dublin is an island city requiring ferry transit across the Irish Sea or flights from major British cities. Routing between the UK, Continental Europe and back to Ireland would be complex for Beyoncé’s equipment trucks and crew buses.
Tour Flow and Grouping
The Renaissance tour flows seamlessly between Western Europe, Scandanavia and North America. Shows are grouped in the same regions to minimize transit. Adding isolated Dublin shows would disrupt that flow and require long-distance travel.
Unavailable Dates
Dublin’s 3Arena may not have had availability on dates that worked within the broader tour routing. The tour production has to lock in venues far in advance, limiting flexibility.
Cost Considerations
Given the other routing factors, the increased costs of transit, shipping and logistics for playing Ireland may have caused Live Nation to nix Dublin shows as unfeasible for this tour. The juice wasn’t worth the squeeze financially.
City | Venue Capacity | Renaissance Tour Dates |
---|---|---|
London | 62,850 | 6 shows |
Dublin | 13,000 | 0 shows |
This table shows how London’s larger venue size and 6 scheduled shows make it a priority stop, while the smaller Dublin venue may be impractical.
How Setlists and Production Values Influence Beyoncé’s Tour Plans
As a perfectionist, Beyoncé develops extremely meticulous concert tours with specific creative visions. Decisions around setlists, production, and her band may also sway choices about venues and tour stops.
Emphasis on New Material
Beyoncé’s setlists are heavy on songs from her newest Renaissance album. Performing in larger venues allows her freedom to build immersive performances around these fresh tracks. Smaller venues would require her to play more hits.
Size of Band and Crew
Beyoncé tours with a large cohort of musicians, backup dancers and production crew. Transporting, housing and coordinating this team is simpler when shows are grouped geographically. Long transits to Ireland would complicate logistics.
Advanced Visuals
Mr. Knowles-Carter is known for boundary-pushing concert films and visuals. The Renaissance tour production seems reliance on huge LED screens and complex lighting suited better to large venues.
Costume Changes
Beyoncé’s concerts feature elaborate, frequent costume changes. The Renaissance tour wardrobe is rumored to be her biggest yet. Larger venues allow more space for her team to quickly switch her outfits between songs.
Tour | Approx. Crew Size |
---|---|
I Am… World Tour (2009) | 150 |
Formation World Tour (2016) | 200 |
Renaissance World Tour (2023) | 250 (estimated) |
This table shows how Beyoncé’s touring productions have grown in scale over time, now requiring huge crews and equipment transports between cities.
How Beyoncé’s Superstar Status Allows Cherry-Picking
As one of the most popular and beloved entertainers worldwide, Beyoncé has tremendous leverage in planning tours. Her stardom grants her the privilege of cherry-picking only the most desirable cities and venues.
Instant Sell-Outs
Regardless of what cities Beyoncé tours, tickets sell out nearly instantly. Her star power guarantees demand will swamp supply everywhere. This reduces any financial incentive to hit smaller markets.
Strong Streaming Numbers
Even without touring, Beyoncé maintains massive reach through streaming. The Renaissance album broke Spotify records. She doesn’t rely on the old album-tour marketing cycle.
Good Will Towards Beyoncé
Fans and media outlets give Beyoncé the benefit of the doubt. If she skips a market, there is little backlash because people understand she has good reasons. She’s earned this leeway.
Rare Public Appearances
Beyoncé does minimal publicity and rarely grants interviews. She maintains an air of scarcity, making her live shows even more of a hot ticket. Fans know a tour may be their only chance to see her.
Beyoncé Album | Opening Week Spotify Streams |
---|---|
Lemonade (2016) | 61 million |
Everything is Love (2018) | 123 million |
Renaissance (2022) | 179 million |
This table demonstrates how Beyoncé’s music streaming popularity continues rising even between tours, giving her even more leverage in planning limited live dates.
How Other Factors May Have Influenced Beyoncé’s Tour Decisions
Beyond typical tour logistics, speculation abounds around some other reasons why Beyoncé may have excluded Dublin and other smaller markets from the Renaissance tour plans:
Chance for Longer Residencies
Playing repeat shows in cities like London and Paris allows Beyoncé to settle in with family rather than living out of hotels. This could be appealing after extensive touring in 2016.
Chance to Innovate Production
Beyoncé is a perfectionist who constantly innovates her shows. Multi-night stands in select cities allow her team more time to tweak the production.
Rewarding Loyal Markets
London, Paris and Los Angeles have been loyal major markets for Beyoncé since her Destiny’s Child days. She may be focusing on cities she has strong ties to.
Promoting Renaissance Branding
The theming, merchandising and staging around the new Renaissance album may come across better in iconic European cities like Barcelona and Amsterdam.
City | Nights on Formation Tour | Nights on Renaissance Tour |
---|---|---|
Los Angeles | 2 | 2 |
New York | 2 | 2 |
London | 3 | 6 |
This illustrates how Beyoncé is sticking to familiar markets and even further concentrating her dates in loyal cities like London.
Projection: Will Beyoncé Tour Ireland Again in the Future?
Despite being left off the schedule this time around, Dublin remains a strong candidate for future Beyoncé tours. Here are some reasons to remain optimistic that she’ll return to Ireland at some point:
Ireland Remains a Strong Market
She sold out 5 shows in Dublin on the 2009 I Am… tour. Demand clearly exists among Irish fans if she wanted to come back. Her 2016 and 2023 omissions seem more like postponing than outright snubs.
Her Daughter’s Irish Heritage
Beyoncé’s oldest daughter Blue Ivy has Irish ancestry through her dad Jay-Z. As Blue grows up, Beyoncé may want her to connect with that heritage by playing Irish concerts.
New Albums and Tours on the Horizon
Beyoncé stays busy. Assuming she plans future album cycles and world tours, Ireland and smaller markets stand a good chance of working their way back into the plans.
Ireland’s Rich Musical Heritage
From U2 to One Direction, Ireland has an impressive pop music history. Beyoncé appreciates great musical cultures. She’d undoubtedly relish the chance to build more Irish fans.
Year | Beyoncé Age | Daughter Blue Ivy’s Age |
---|---|---|
2023 | 41 | 11 |
2026 | 44 | 14 |
2029 | 47 | 17 |
This table shows key ages and milestones upcoming for Beyoncé and her daughter. As Blue grows up, Bey may want her to connect with her Irish roots.
Conclusion
While disappointing, the lack of a Dublin stop on Beyoncé’s 2023 Renaissance tour can be understood when you consider the many factors involved in routing a worldwide stadium tour. There are logistical and financial incentives for her team to cherry-pick only the most essential major markets this time around. However, this doesn’t mean she dislikes Ireland or will never play there again. Global superstars like Beyoncé have complicated priorities. Irish fans should remain optimistic for the next time Queen Bey decides to bless Dublin with her presence. She knows the passion and appreciation her Irish Beyhive has for her. Hopefully Ireland will work its way back into her tour plans before long.