Beyoncé…the extraordinary economic phenomenon
“I lost my desire to be a star in the music world, and I no longer aspire to be a beautiful girl. I want to be an icon,” Beyoncé said years ago. She had to wait for the right moment to put the final touches on this ambition, and the moment came with the launch of her “Renaissance” world tour.
Beyoncé did not rush her livelihood, as the American singer is known for being patient, whether in releases or at concerts. Since patience and safety are inseparable companions, the revenues of the concert tour since its launch in Sweden in early May 2023 until now have exceeded $500 million.
“The Beyoncé Effect”
So far, Beyoncé has performed 52 concerts, traveling between a large number of European and British cities, Canada and the United States of America. There are 4 dates remaining on the tour calendar, and as soon as the brunette artist bids farewell to her fans after the last concert of the tour in Missouri on October 1, revenues will rise to two billion and 400 million dollars, according to Forbes magazine’s expectations.
Forbes magazine expects Beyoncé’s tour revenue to reach $2.4 billion (Instagram)
The average price per ticket is $700, but Beyoncé fans are willing to invest in an experience like this. How could they not, as they waited for their beloved to return to live singing performances, 7 years after her last tour, “The Formation Tour.” One and a half million people have flocked to the concerts so far, breaking world records in ticket sales. This made “Renaissance” the most profitable concert tour among female artists in history.
In doing so, Beyoncé has preceded an artist in whom she has always seen a role model; She stole the title from Madonna, whose “Sticky & Sweet” tour between 2008 and 2009 collected $408 million. While observers were expecting Taylor Swift to become the new queen of music tours after the tremendous success of her “Eras” tour, it became clear, according to Forbes, that Beyoncé would precede her colleague with approximately half a million dollars in revenue.
Beyoncé leads the most profitable concert tour among female artists in history (Instagram)
Beyond the numbers, Beyoncé’s tour has turned into a phenomenal economic phenomenon. Whenever an artist lands in a city, she brings financial prosperity. This has become clear since the first show in Stockholm, where the Swedish capital witnessed an unexpected increase, as a result of hotel, restaurant and transportation reservations, in addition to commercial activity in the markets.
The Swedish model spread to European and British cities and the American states, with Beyoncé’s fans flocking to it and flocking to its stores, hotels and restaurants. The BBC did not hesitate to describe Beyoncé’s tour as a “big economic moment,” as it pumped a recovery into countries’ economies, and the British network went so far as to use the label “The Beyoncé Effect.”
“Blue Ivy”
It took a year and a half of work to prepare the stage where Beyoncé appears. It consists of two parts that you move between during the concert, which lasts two and a half hours. In the background, there is a large circle lined with lights, as if it were a bridge connecting the two theatres. The show is divided into 6 parts, each of which begins with songs from the new album “Renaissance,” followed by works from Beyoncé’s extensive archive.
Beyonce looks at a huge stage that took a year and a half to design (Instagram)
“Queen B,” as her fans call her, is certainly not alone on stage. In addition to dozens of musicians and dancers, dazzling and sometimes shocking decorations are used. Suddenly, she enters the stage on the back of a silver horse of imaginary proportions, and then appears on board a tank. The surprises do not end here, as Beyoncé embraces the arms of a robot while singing to the amazement of the audience. As for the sea world section, it emerges from the heart of a shell in a view inspired by Botticelli’s painting “The Birth of Venus.”
Beyoncé’s tour decorations are impressive, including the huge shell from which the singer emerges (Instagram)
Four months after the start of the show, 120 “looks” in which Beyoncé appeared were counted. In these out-of-the-ordinary looks, she seeks help from the greats of the world of fashion and fashion design, including Alexander McQueen, Thierry Mugler, Balmain, Elie Saab, Georges Hobeika, and others.
However, the biggest surprise in the tour, which almost stole the spotlight from Beyoncé, is the artist’s 11-year-old daughter, “Blue Ivy.” Since the Paris show on May 26, the girl has joined her mother dancing to the songs “My Power” and “Black Parade.”
Blue Ivy (11 years old) joins her mother in dancing in two songs from the show (Instagram)
Blue Ivy’s performance attracted attention and was well received by the press. The daughter seemed to have mastery of her dance moves and confidence on stage, which she inherited from her mother and her father, the American rapper Jay-Z.
In addition to the young star, the Beyonce Theater hosted major stars such as DJ Khaled, who opened two Los Angeles shows for two consecutive nights. On the evening of September 4, in celebration of Beyoncé’s birthday, disco legend Diana Ross appeared to sing “Happy Birthday Beyoncé.”
Actress Diana Ross celebrated Beyoncé’s birthday on stage with her in California (Instagram)
Hundreds of thousands of attendees were joined by Beyoncé’s colleagues in the world of music and stardom, who flocked to her concerts to encourage and admire her. Among the celebrities who were seen applauding the star’s songs were Sir Paul McCartney, Shakira, Ariana Grande, Selena Gomez, Adele, Katy Perry… US Vice President Kamala Harris also attended one of the concerts. Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan Markle, were seen in the audience.
Beyonce on the back of a huge silver horse (Instagram)
Awaiting the conclusion of the shows early next month and the harvest of the five months of the world tour becoming clear, in addition to the visual dazzle and economic phenomenon, high-level artistic content and a remarkable vocal performance. Commenting on Beyoncé’s trip around the European and American continents, the British newspaper “The Guardian” said that it was “the greatest pop music show on Earth,” adding that it would inevitably change the rules of the game in the music industry.
