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Sometimes life gives you lemons, and you make Lemonade. Then, you experience a Renaissance. That’s the way it’s working out for megastar Beyoncè these days. She just opened her highly-anticipated Renaissance World Tour in Stockholm, Sweden, and it’s already receiving rave reviews.
But behind the scenes, Beyoncé’s tour is even more impressive. In a world where she, Janet Jackson, and Taylor Swift are all on the road at the same time, Beyoncé, 41, is projected to out-earn even 33-year-old Swift, who’s playing at stadiums on her Eras tour, which is likely to earn the “Lavender Haze” artist over $1 billion.
Per Forbes, Bey may finish Renaissance with a bank account enhanced by $2.1 billion while Taylor Swift is bringing home the bacon to the tune of $1.6 billion.
The touring experts cited in the Forbes article say Beyoncé and Swift are likely taking home 100% to 110% of revenue. Beyoncé has 57 sold-out shows scheduled on Renaissance, which wraps up in September in New Orleans.
Bey and Swift are also taking home the lion’s share of merchandising. In Swift’s case, she already has an extensive marketing strategy and plenty of merchandise available on her website. Beyoncé’s merch has been limited prior to her tour so experts believe she can command a premium price for merchandise sold at her shows.
At an average capacity of 65,000 plus at her show and a higher ticket price, Beyoncé looks to be the winner and will gross more on this tour than on her previous tours combined. Swift is estimated to have expenses of 20% to 25% of tour earnings for her production which may include up to 50 semi-trucks. After seeing Beyoncé’s elaborate stage, it’s likely she has close to that as well.
Beyoncé’s high ticket prices which range from $200 to $685 are likely the difference maker between the two platinum-selling artists. In Stockholm, large areas on the floor level were set aside for the BeyHive and Club Renaissance buyers who pay higher prices to be there.
Fortunately, the reviews are in and it appears that the concert costs were well worth the experience. Video from the concert shows Beyoncé looking and sounding good, putting on a three-hour concert.
However, music critics and fans did notice that Beyoncé utilized her dancers more than ever before and was limited in her movements, appearing to favor one leg over the other. That lends credence to reports earlier in the year that surfaced after the Dubai hotel opening concert that the singer had surgery on her foot.
Here’s a clip from the show where Beyoncé appears to get choked up at the enthusiastic response to the first time she’s been on the road solo since 2016’s Formation tour.
Renaissance heads to Belgium on Sunday, while Swift kicks off a three-night stand at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia on Friday.
See how Twitter’s reacting to Beyoncé kicking off the tour below.
