¡Dale, Europa! Europe Readies For Pitbull’s ‘Party After Dark’

Pitbull is living up to his Mr. Worldwide moniker. Following his trek alongside Enrique Iglesias and Ricky Martin earlier this year and his own arena run across North America in the summer, Mr. 305 is carrying over that success into Europe, where he’ll take his “Party After Dark Tour” for five nights in February.

The Miami-born rapper known for party anthems like “Timber,” “Time of Our Lives” and “Give Me Everything” is apparently in demand all over the world, selling out his shows in London, England; Dublin, Ireland; Paris, France; Amsterdam, Netherlands; and Cologne, Germany, on the onsale.

Keith Sarkisian, partner at WME and agent for Pitbull, tells Pollstar that the idea of having his client go overseas has been in the works for quite some time. The popular rapper hasn’t had a formal tour in the Old Continent, and the last time he performed a series of shows was when he supported Britney Spears’ run in 2018. The move was a no-brainer following an impressive run in North America. Pitbull’s “Party After Dark Tour” grossed $34,818,125 off 26 headline reports, according to Pollstar Boxoffice, and the party will keep going in Europe and Las Vegas, where he has a residency at Fontainebleau.

Sarkisian said he and his colleague Tony Goldring, partner and head of the international department at WME, noticed interest from individual buyers from Europe, festivals and special events had increased significantly over the years, and they figured they’d start with five arena shows. Tickets sold quickly and many fans took to social media to express their disappointment over not being able to secure seats, but they need not fret. Sarkisian said Pitbull and his team are well aware of the demand, and something else may be in the works in the future.

With more than 57 million monthly listeners on Spotify, Pitbull is a rare breed of artist who manages to find success in any playground. As a person of Cuban descent, he conquered various worlds when he broke onto the scene in 2004, fusing Latin music, reggaeton, party and Southern hip-hop to create a vibrant, fresh sound that quickly became a staple in nightclubs around the globe. One can’t deny the catchiness of hits like “Culo,” “I Know You Want Me (Calle Ocho)” and “Fireball,” and European fans have been clamoring for Pitbull for years, which is why Marc Saunders, senior programming manager for The O2 in London, wasn’t surprised to hear the shows sold out.

“Pitbull has always had an emphatic prominence, especially in the UK, in the pop scene and club culture,” says Saunders, who saw Pitbull in London more than a decade ago and states that it was one of the most fun shows he had ever seen. “He’s one of those artists where there hasn’t been much opportunity to be able to buy tickets and see him perform here. [Pitbull’s European tour] cements the idea that he is absolutely worth sold-out arenas in the world. He took the Latin industry and mainstream pop to an unprecedented level, and there is no one as successful in that world.”

The numbers back up Saunders’ claims, especially those in North America. Sarkisian said every single night of his tour was 100% sold out and he credits word of mouth as well as Pitbull’s production. Pitbull’s shows become massive parties and sing-alongs for audience members, who often find a way to make their way back to another gig and bring a friend with them. As tempted as the artist’s team was to expand the tour, Sarkisian said they didn’t want to overdo it.

“What we’re working on now is just making sure that we don’t over-saturate the markets, hence why we’re doing European dates in 2025,” he says. “Then we’ll do some more markets that we didn’t hit this last tour in the States, and then we have some other surprises down the road as well that we’re getting out hopefully sooner rather than later.”

For fans of Mr. Worldwide across the globe, those surprises can’t come any sooner.