IPSWITCH, U.K. – Ed Sheeran’s Divide world tour, which ran from March 16, 2017 to Aug. 26, 2019, raked in a reported $775.5 million from 255 shows around the world, helping the 28-year-old British artist, who performs alone, topple the record for top-grossing concert tour held by U2’s 110-show 360° tour since mid-2011.
The 360° tour, which ran from June 30, 2009 to July 30, 2011, traveled with an elaborate touring setup featuring four-legged stage structures dubbed “The Claw,” along with a massive, funnel-shaped moving LED video screens. By the time the 360° tour ended, U2 reportedly had at least three of the 165-foot-high structures, each costing an estimated $25 million to build.
For his Divide world tour, by contrast, Sheeran traveled relatively light, performing on his own with an acoustic guitar and custom loop pedal, setting the all-time record for Billboard’s Nov. 1-Oct. 31 annual touring charts with $429 million from 99 shows in 2018.
Sheeran went on to top U2’s record for all-time top grossing tour earlier this month, according to Pollstar, which tallied the artist’s take at $432.4 million for calendar year 2018. Pollstar noted that since Aug. 2, the Divide tour has reigned as the top money-making tour (gross dollar sales, not adjusted for inflation).
The Divide tour is Sheeran’s third global trek, in support of his third studio album, stylized as ÷, which was released on March 3, 2017. It started with a show in Turin, Italy on March 16, 2017 and drew in more than 8.2 million ticket holders by the time it finished its 14-leg run across six continents, wrapping up with a show in Ipswitch, U.K. on Aug. 26, 2019.
