Ed Sheeran Concludes ‘Divide’ Tour, Sets All-Time Touring Record At $775.6m

Ed Sheeran
(Photo by Matt Jelonek/WireImage) – Ed Sheeran

With the conclusion of Ed Sheeran’s “Divide” Tour Aug. 26, the artist has officially set the record for highest-grossing tour, logging $775.6 million on 8.9 million tickets at 255 performances over multiple years. The previous record was held by U2.

“What Ed Sheeran and his team have accomplished in surpassing U2’s records represents the height of achievement in the world of live performance,” said Ray Waddell, president of media and conferences at Oak View Group, Pollstar’s parent company. “While U2’s ‘360’ tour and Ed Sheeran’s ‘Divide’ tour were different in many ways, what these two tours have in common are great songs performed well, smart, dedicated teams behind them, tireless work ethic, and, most importantly, passionate fans who connect deeply with what the artist has to say. This is a remarkable feat.”

The final show was one of four held at Chantry Park in Ipswich, England, near Sheeran’s hometown. That four-night stand grossed $12.9 million on 139,984.

Sheeran officially passed U2’s record of $735.3 million on the gross mark earlier this month with a two-night run at Messegelände in in Hannover, Germany.

A list of Pollstar’s Top Grossing Tours of All-Time has been updated to include Sheeran below.

Pollstar’s Top-Grossing Tours of All-Time – ranked by Gross

Artist – Tour Name – Year(s) – Gross (in millions) – Tickets Sold (in millions) – # of shows

1. Ed Sheeran – Divide – 2017-2019 – $775.6 – 8.9 – 255

2. U2 – 360 – 2009-2011 – $735.3 – 7.2 – 110

3. Guns N’ Roses – Not In This Lifetime… – 2016-ongoing – $561.1 – 5.1 – 145

4. The Rolling Stones – A Bigger Bang – 2005-2007 – $558.2 – 4.6 – 144

5. Coldplay – A Head Full of Dreams – 2017-2017 – $523.0 – 5.3 – 114

6. Roger Waters – The Wall Live – 2010-2013 – $460.2 – 4.1 – 220

7. AC/DC – Black Ice – 2008-2010 – $441.9 – 4.9 – 165

8. Madonna – Sticky & Sweet – 2008-2009 – $411.1 – 3.5 – 85

9. U2 – Vertigo – 2005-2006 – $395.6 – 4.6 – 131

10. Pink – Beautiful Trauma – 2018-ongoing – $380.3 – 3.0 – 154

 

This week’s (9/2) special issue of Pollstar, out Friday (8/30), will be devoted entirely to Ed Sheeran’s record-setting Divide Tour and its monumental accomplishments. 

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