Photo: Alexia Arizzabalaga
Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band has topped the chart of the highest grossing tours of 2016, revealed to have taken in $262 million, according to touring industry publication Pollstar.
Beyoncé was close behind, taking second place in the grossing list with $256.4 million for her Formation World Tour. Filling 2.24 million seats worldwide, Beyoncé performed 49 shows across 46 cities in 2016.
The third highest grossing artist was Coldplay, who earned a staggering $241 million. Meanwhile Guns ’N’ Roses and Adele fill the fourth and fifth spot. Hats off to Bruce Springsteen and his team for that slim but epic victory.
The Boss' 2016 The River Tour supported the 2015 release The Ties That Bind: The River Collection, which coincided with the 35th anniversary of his 1980 release, The River - the album often described by Melody Maker as "taking a trip through the rock 'n' roll heartland as you've never experienced it. It's a walk down all the streets, all the places, all the people and all the souls that rock has ever visited, excited, cried for and loved."
On 23 December, Bruce Springsteen gave an official release to his last ever E Street Band performance that featured Clarence Clemons. The historic performance that happened in 2009 at the HSBC Arena in New York saw Springsteen and his E Street Band perform for over three hours, and was the final date for his Working On A Dream tour.
Clarence Clemons, also known as the “Big Man”, passed away on 18 June in 2011 due to complications after suffering a stroke. He performed alongside Springsteen on the saxophone for close to 40 years.
Meanwhile, Beyoncé was named 2016’s most charitable celebrity by DoSomething.org thanks to her support and work for the social movement Black Lives Matter, as well as her support for gender equality. The website read, “The Lemonade singer also put the spotlight on the #BlackLivesMatter movement by sharing the red carpet at MTV’S VMAs with the mothers of Trayvon Martin, Eric Garner, Michael Brown and Oscar Grant III.”
Beyoncé sparked controversy earlier this year when performing 'Formation' at the Super Bowl halftime show in February. With an all-black dance troupe, Beyoncé gained criticism after paying homage to the Black Panther Party, and creating an X as a tribute to Malcolm X.
The full 2016 list of highest earning tours will be revealed on 6 January.
The Boss will continue his tour in 2017 by going down under to Australia and New Zealand and Beyoncé will play in the US.
