Bon Jovi Tops Hot Tours With European Run

Bon Jovi lands at No. 1 on the weekly ranking of Hot Tours with $71.9 million in box office grosses reported from the European leg of the “Because We Can Tour” that has played concert venues in North America, South Africa and Europe since launching in February.

The European run began in Bulgaria on May 14 and wrapped with an appearance at the British Summer Time festival in London’s Hyde Park on July 5.  Most of the concerts during the European trek were at large stadiums, but performances at outdoor concert sites were also on the itinerary.

The top attendance count came from a stadium performance in Munich on May 18, the first of four concerts in German cities.  The sellout crowd topped 64,000 at Munich’s Olympic Stadium, site of the 1972 summer games. A string of concerts at U.S. stadiums began on July 12 with a show at Chicago’s Soldier Field and will continue through the end of July

Justin Bieber scores the second place slot on the Hot Tours tally with $6.5 million in ticket sales from six U.S. arenas during his “Believe Tour’s” seven-week jaunt through North American markets this summer.  The pop star was on the road in Europe earlier in the year, but kicked off his second North American leg on June 22 in San Diego.  After the summer schedule wraps in August, tour dates are booked in Asia, Central and South America as well as Australia and New Zealand through early December.

Rock legend Eric Clapton ranks at No. 3 with a combined gross of $6.2 million from venues in the U.K. and Ireland during a series of concert dates during May to kick off the second leg of his “50 Years Further On Up the Road Tour.”

Touring to celebrate his 50th year as a professional musician, Clapton began his 2013 touring effort with a North American leg back in March and April, but the European trek began in Dublin on May 9.  He closed out the U.K. schedule with a seven-show run at London’s Royal Albert Hall (May 17-18, 20-21, 23-24, 26) with sellout crowds on each night.  A total of 33,374 tickets were sold at the famed London theatre with revenue totaling £2.3 million (US$$3.5 million).

1. BON JOVI
$71,970,513
May 14-June 30
Vasil Levski National Stadium, Sofia, Bulgaria (1/1)
Krieau Race Course, Vienna (1/1)
Olympiastadion, Munich (1/1)
Telenor Arena, Oslo (1/1)
Koengen, Bergen, Norway (1/1)
Stockholms Stadion, Stockholm (1/1)
Ratinan Stadion, Tampere, Finland (1/1)
Parken Stadion, Copenhagen (1/1)
Etihad Stadium, Manchester, U.K. (1/1)
Villa Park, Birmingham, U.K. (1/1)
Cardiff City Stadium, Cardiff, U.K. (1/1)
Stadium of Light, Sunderland, U.K. (1/1)
Slane Castle, Slane, Ireland (1/1)
Waldbuhne, Berlin (1/1)
PGE Arena, Gdansk, Poland (1/1)
Cannstatter Wasen, Stuttgart (1/1)
RheinEnergieStadion, Köln, Germany (1/1)
Eden Aréna, Prague (1/1)
Parque da Bela Vista, Lisbon (1/1)
Estadio Vicente Calderón, Madrid (1/1)
Stadio San Siro, Milan (1/1)
Stade de Suisse, Bern, Switzerland (1/1)
783,650 (783,650)

2. JUSTIN BIEBER
$6,536,112
July 2-10
Chesapeake Energy Arena, Oklahoma City (1/1)
American Airlines Center, Dallas (1/1)
CenturyLink Center, Omaha, Neb. (1/1)
Wells Fargo Arena, Des Moines, Iowa (1/1)
United Center, Chicago (1/1)
Bankers Life Fieldhouse, Indianapolis (1/1)
82,033 (82,033)

3. ERIC CLAPTON
$6,253,825
May 9-26
O2, Dublin (1/0)
Odyssey Arena, Belfast (1/0)
LG Arena, Birmingham, U.K. (1/0)
Manchester Arena, Manchester, U.K. (1/0)
Royal Albert Hall, London (7/7)
60,265 (62,702)

4. MARK KNOPFLER
$3,796,231
May 17-June 1
S.E.C.C., Glasgow, U.K. (1/0)
Metro Radio Arena, Newcastle, U.K. (1/0)
Echo Arena, Liverpool, U.K. (1/0)
Bournemouth International Centre, Bournemouth, U.K. (1/1)
Motorpoint Arena, Cardiff, U.K. (1/0)
LG Arena, Birmingham, U.K. (1/0)
Brighton Centre, Brighton, U.K. (1/1)
Royal Albert Hall, London (6/6)
61,599 (63,722)

5. ONE DIRECTION
$2,016,919
June 19-July 4
Bridgestone Arena, Nashville (1/1)
Bell Centre, Montreal (1/1)
27,995 (27,995)

6. NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK
$1,676,144
June 18-July 5
Bridgestone Arena, Nashville (1/1)
Staples Center, Los Angeles (1/1)
26,805 (26,805)

7. FLEETWOOD MAC
$1,533,860
July 3
Staples Center, Los Angeles (1/0)
14,057 (14,772)

8. ELVIS COSTELLO
$1,472,196
May 31-June 22
Symphony Hall, Birmingham, U.K. (1/1)
St. David’s Hall, Cardiff, U.K. (1/0)
Colston Hall, Bristol, U.K. (1/1)
Royal Albert Hall, London (3/0)
City Hall, Sheffield, U.K. (1/0)
Milton Keynes Theatre, Milton Keynes, U.K. (1/0)
Philharmonic Hall, Liverpool, U.K. (1/1)
Sage, Gateshead, U.K. (1/1)
Opera House, Blackpool, U.K. (1/0)
O2 Apollo, Manchester, U.K. (1/0)
Barbican Centre, York, U.K. (1/0)
Cliffs Pavilion, Southend, U.K. (1/0)
Brighton Centre, Brighton, U.K. (1/0)
25,371 (27,808)

9. RASCAL FLATTS
$1,445,087
June 28-29
Blossom Music Center, Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio (1/1)
Klipsch Music Center, Noblesville, Ind. (1/1)
43,276 (43,276)

10. ANDRES CALAMARO
$1,384,808
June 6-29
Coliseo Cubierto El Campín, Bogotá, Colombia (1/0)
Parque Salitre Mágico, Bogotá, Colombia (1/0)
Plaza de Toros, Santiago de Cali, Colombia (1/0)
Auditorio Banamex, Monterrey, Mexico (1/0)
Teatro Diana, Guadalajara, Mexico (2/0)
Auditorio Nacional, Mexico City (1/0)
28,848 (47,761)

Source: Billboard