Ed Sheeran Breaks Record for All-Time Highest-Grossing Tour
Photo by Gareth Cattermole/Getty
Ed Sheeran is everywhere. There is not a convenience store, fast-food restaurant, radio station or television channel in the world where you can escape the redheaded humanoid. Wherever you are in the world, you’re bound to hear his crooning somewhere—he’s on TV, he’s in movies, he’s on the radio and, lest we forget, he’s on tour constantly.
Well, it looks like the musician’s complete omnipresence has worked out for him: Sheeran is set to dethrone U2 as having the highest-grossing tour of all time, according to Pollstar data.
The musician is expected to break the record as his Divide Tour crosses the $736.7 million mark on Friday night, surpassing U2’s previous record of $735.4 million in 2011.
It’s important to note that there are some market differences between the two tours, namely the amount of shows the two acts performed and Sheeran’s lower ticket prices. U2’s 2011 360 Tour ran for “only” 110 shows, whereas Sheeran’s current, two and a half year-spanning tour will amount to 255 dates once it concludes on Aug. 26, per Pollstar. The average ticket price of Sheeran’s tour was $86.75, as compared to U2’s $101.15, hence the need for twice as many dates to catch up to the record.