When Taylor Swift brought her massive, sold-out Eras Tour touched to Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara in late July, she did more than break the venue’s curfew and propel some 100,000 Swifties into heights of sing-along ecstasy.And more of the same is in store when Beyonce brings her Renaissance World Tour to the stadium on Wednesday, Aug. 30, and Ed Sheeran performs there Sept. 16 .
“These major events translate to real world benefits for the surrounding area and, with Beyonce and Ed Sheeran as the final two concerts this season, we believe there is much more to come.” How big? Swift’s and Beyonce’s tours are projected to gross more than $2 billion each, which would make them the top two road shows of all time. And Sheeran’s tour has been drawing packed houses — his recent show at Lumen Field in Seattle broke the venue’s concert attendance record, which had previously been held by Swift, reports the Seattle Times.
Artists like Beyonce and Swift have also seen an influx in fans willing to travel to see the same concert tour a second, third or even a fourth time. “This year has seen the concert business roar back,” says Daniel Kohn, editorial director at Spin magazine. “Thanks to tours by some of the biggest artists in the world, concerts have become events that only compare in terms of cultural impact to the Super Bowl and World Series.”
While stadium shows have been going on since at least the heyday of the Beatles, the experience of attending these large-scale concerts has definitely changed over the decades.