Sheeran Owns Highest Grossing Tour

• Pollstar can officially confirm that as of Friday, Aug. 2, Ed Sheeran‘s Divide Tour will set the all-time highest-grossing tour record. Counting tonight’s show at Messegelände in Hannover, Germany — the 246th show of Sheeran’s nearly two-and-a-half year run, Pollstar forecasts the total gross thus far of Sheeran’s Divide Tour, $736.7 million, will surpass the previous record of $735.4 million, set by U2 on July 30, 2011 — a towering accomplishment many thought would never be broken.

In a statement, Sheeran said, “I just found out the Divide Tour is set to be the highest-grossing tour of all time — this is amazing. I feel very lucky to have experienced all of the wonderful countries and crowds over the past 2 ½ years. Thank you to the fans and everyone who made it possible.”

Sheeran, along with a team led by his longtime manager Stuart Camp, employed a novel touring strategy which combined a massive amount of shows, multiple stadium and arena plays and relatively low-priced tickets. “What Ed has accomplished is truly incredible,” said Camp. “I thought we might have a shot at having the highest attendance record but not the highest-grossing tour.” Camp continued, “I don’t think there’s much of a coincidence that my favorite band growing up was U2. I’m not putting us at that level because they’ve obviously maintained their career for much longer, but to even be in the same ballpark as them or spoken in the same sentence with a touring act like that is very humbling.”

Ray Waddell, President of OVG’s Media & Conferences which oversees Pollstar, commented, “In all my years covering the business, it’s amazing to see an artist like Sheeran, at the age of 28, create a new touring paradigm and achieve a touring record that may not be broken in this lifetime. And he still has a lot more to do.”