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BEYONCÉ RENAISSANCE WORLD TOUR

Beyoncé returns to Cardiff for Renaissance World Tour!

Following the wildly successful release of BEYONCÉ’s seventh studio album, RENAISSANCE, the global superstar has announced RENAISSANCE WORLD TOUR, her first solo tour in over six years.

The 2023 tour, produced by Parkwood Entertainment, and promoted by Live Nation, kicks off on May 10, 2023, at Friends Arena in Stockholm, SE, making stops throughout Europe in Cardiff on 17th May 2023 , Edinburgh, Sunderland, Paris, London, Marseille, Amsterdam, Warsaw and more.

This will be Bey’s third visit to Cardiff’s home of Welsh Rugby, first performing here in 2016, followed by 2018, as part of her much celebrated On The Run II Tour, and her first ever joint tour with Jay-Z.

TICKETING DETAILS:

Tickets start from £50 and will be on sale from 10am Tuesday 7th February via: tour.beyonce.com

Principality Stadium hospitality packages will be available for this event from £375 +VAT pp, from 10am, Tuesday 7th February via wru.wales/BeyonceVIP

RENAISSANCE WORLD TOUR DATES:

EUROPE May 10, 2023 – Stockholm, SE – Friends Arena May 14, 2023 – Brussels, BE – King Baudouin Stadium May 17, 2023 – Cardiff, UK – Cardiff Principality Stadium May 20, 2023 – Edinburgh, UK – BT Murray Field Stadium May 23, 2023 – Sunderland, UK – Stadium of Light May 26, 2023 – Paris, FR – Stade de France May 29, 2023 – London, UK – Tottenham Hotspur Stadium May 30, 2023 – London, UK – Tottenham Hotspur Stadium

June 08, 2023 – Barcelona, ES – Olympic Stadium June 11, 2023 – Marseille, FR – Orange Velodrome June 15, 2023 – Cologne, DE – Rhein Energie Stadion June 17, 2023 – Amsterdam, NL – Johan Crujff Arena June 21, 2023 – Hamburg, DE – Volksparkstadion June 24, 2023 – Frankfurt, DE – Deutsche Bank Park June 27, 2023 – Warsaw, PL – PGE Narodowy

NORTH AMERICA July 8, 2023 – Toronto, ON – Rogers Centre July 12, 2023 – Philadelphia, PA – Lincoln Financial Field July 15, 2023 – Nashville, TN – Nissan Stadium July 17, 2023 – Louisville, KY – L&N Federal Credit Union Stadium July 20, 2023 – Minneapolis, MN – Huntington Bank Stadium July 22, 2023 – Chicago, IL – Soldier Field Stadium July 26, 2023 – Detroit, MI – Ford Field July 29, 2023 – East Rutherford, NJ – MetLife Stadium

Aug. 01, 2023 – Boston, MA – Gillette Stadium Aug. 03, 2023 – Pittsburgh, PA – Acrisure Stadium Aug. 05, 2023 – Washington, DC – FEDEX Field Aug. 09, 2023 – Charlotte, SC – Bank of America Stadium Aug. 11, 2023 – Atlanta, GA – Mercedes-Benz Stadium Aug. 16, 2023 – Tampa, FL – Raymond James Stadium Aug. 18, 2023 – Miami, FL – Hard Rock Stadium Aug. 21, 2023 – St. Louis, MO – Dome at America’s Center Aug. 24, 2023 – Phoenix, AZ – State Farm Stadium Aug. 26, 2023 – Las Vegas, NV – Allegiant Stadium Aug. 30, 2023 – San Francisco, CA – Levi’s Stadium

Sept. 02, 2023 – Inglewood, CA – SoFi Stadium Sept. 11, 2023 – Vancouver, BC – BC Place Sept. 13, 2023 – Seattle, WA – Lumen Field Sept. 18, 2023 – Kansas City, MO – Arrowhead Stadium Sept. 21, 2023 – Dallas, TX – AT&T Stadium Sept. 23, 2023 – Houston, TX – NRG Stadium Sept. 27, 2023 – New Orleans, LA – Caesars Superdome

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Beyoncé Returns To The Global Stage For Renaissance World Tour

WELCOME TO THE RENAISSANCE

40 shows across north america and europe, verified fan registration open for north american dates now at   beyonce.livenation.com, citi cardmembers, verizon up and beyhive members will have additional access to presales.

Following the wildly successful release of BEYONCÉ’s seventh studio album,  RENAISSANCE , the global superstar has announced RENAISSANCE WORLD TOUR  today, her first solo tour in over six years. The North American leg of the tour is leveraging Ticketmaster’s Verified Fan technology to ensure more tickets get into the hands of concertgoers. Fans can register now   HERE . Ticketing will begin Monday, February 6, 2023, starting with an exclusive presale to BeyHive members.

The 2023 tour, produced by Parkwood Entertainment, and promoted by Live Nation, kicks off on May 10, 2023, at Friends Arena in Stockholm, SE, making stops throughout Europe in Cardiff, Edinburgh, Sunderland, Paris, London, Marseille, Amsterdam, Warsaw and more. The tour then continues across North America with shows in Toronto, Chicago, East Rutherford, Atlanta, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Houston and more.

RENAISSANCE WORLD TOUR  will also visit Brussels, Barcelona, Cologne, Frankfurt, Hamburg, and more in Europe in May & June. Additional North American cities include Boston, Charlotte, Dallas, Detroit, Kansas City, Louisville, Miami, Minneapolis, Nashville, New Orleans, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, San Francisco, St. Louis, Tampa, Vancouver and more.

As with previous tours, Beyoncé will make her mark offstage, too, with BeyGOOD, the initiative she founded in 2013 to support people and programs around the world.  BeyGOOD will continue its legacy of philanthropy, building out this focus on economic equity by supporting organizations that serve marginalized and underserved communities with access to scholarships, opportunities for internships that lead to job placement, and resources to support entrepreneurship.

In various cities throughout the tour, BeyGOOD will support entrepreneurs through Black Parade Route luncheons, celebrating small business owners, with grant opportunities being awarded and a foray of services with global partners to promote business sustainability. One thousand small businesses will be supported with a commitment totaling one million dollars.

BeyGOOD will also support students through scholarship funds that will be given to colleges and universities in ten different cities along the tour. Each school will be given one hundred thousand dollars and will select the student recipients. BeyGOOD’s total scholarship commitment during RENAISSANCE WORLD TOUR will be one million dollars.

Working with Beyoncé and the BeyGOOD Foundation, Citi and Verizon will purchase 100 tickets combined in each market across the U.S. touring leg for distribution to local community initiatives.

A noted partner with Beyoncé, Tiffany & Co. is the official jeweler of  RENAISSANCE WORLD TOUR.  Tiffany & Co. has a longstanding commitment to conducting itself responsibly, sustaining the natural environment, prioritizing diversity and inclusion, and positively impacting the communities in which it operates.

TICKETING DETAILS :

On sale dates:

• North American Dates:  Verified Fan Registration is open now and closes at different times based on city. Visit  beyonce.livenation.com  for the exact details as ticketing on sale timelines vary by city. 
• Europe an  Dates:  Check your local event listings for complete ticket information regarding European dates of the tour.

Pre sale dates:

• Citi Presale powered by Verified Fan:  Citi is the official credit card of  RENAISSANCE WORLD TOUR . After the Verified Fan process, Citi cardmembers may have the opportunity to access the special Citi Presale powered by Verified Fan for tour dates in the United States. For those who are not existing Citi cardmembers, consumers can apply for the Citi Custom Cash Card online. If approved, new cardmembers may request instant access to their card for the Citi Presale powered by Verified Fan.* For complete presale details visit  www.citientertainment.com  and for details on Custom Cash instant access visit  www.citientertainment.com/faq . 
• Verizon Up Presale:  Verizon Up customers can access this presale by visiting   Verizon Up . Verizon will offer an exclusive presale for  RENAISSANCE WORLD TOUR  in the U.S through the customer loyalty program Verizon Up. Customers will have access to purchase presale tickets for select shows.

RENAISSANCE WORLD TOUR DATES:

May 10, 2023 – Stockholm, SE – Friends Arena

May 14, 2023 – Brussels, BE – King Baudouin Stadium

May 17, 2023 – Cardiff, UK – Cardiff Principality Stadium

May 20, 2023 – Edinburgh, UK – BT Murray Field Stadium

May 23, 2023 – Sunderland, UK – Stadium of Light

May 26, 2023 – Paris, FR – Stade de France

May 29, 2023 – London, UK – Tottenham Hotspur Stadium

May 30, 2023 – London, UK – Tottenham Hotspur Stadium

June 08, 2023 – Barcelona, ES – Olympic Stadium

June 11, 2023 – Marseille, FR – Orange Velodrome

June 15, 2023 – Cologne, DE – Rhein Energie Stadion

June 17, 2023 – Amsterdam, NL – Johan Crujff Arena

June 21, 2023 – Hamburg, DE – Volksparkstadion

June 24, 2023 – Frankfurt, DE – Deutsche Bank Park

June 27, 2023 – Warsaw, PL – PGE Narodowy

NORTH AMERICA

July 8, 2023 – Toronto, ON – Rogers Centre

July 12, 2023 – Philadelphia, PA – Lincoln Financial Field

July 15, 2023 – Nashville, TN – Nissan Stadium

July 17, 2023 – Louisville, KY – L&N Federal Credit Union Stadium

July 20, 2023 – Minneapolis, MN – Huntington Bank Stadium

July 22, 2023 – Chicago, IL – Soldier Field Stadium

July 26, 2023 – Detroit, MI – Ford Field

July 29, 2023 – East Rutherford, NJ – MetLife Stadium

Aug. 01, 2023 – Boston, MA – Gillette Stadium

Aug. 03, 2023 – Pittsburgh, PA – Acrisure Stadium

Aug. 05, 2023 – Washington, DC – FedEx Field

Aug. 09, 2023 – Charlotte, SC – Bank of America Stadium

Aug. 11, 2023 – Atlanta, GA – Mercedes-Benz Stadium

Aug. 16, 2023 – Tampa, FL – Raymond James Stadium

Aug. 18, 2023 – Miami, FL – Hard Rock Stadium

Aug. 21, 2023 – St. Louis, MO – Dome at America’s Center

Aug. 24, 2023 – Phoenix, AZ – State Farm Stadium

Aug. 26, 2023 – Las Vegas, NV – Allegiant Stadium

Aug. 30, 2023 – San Francisco, CA – Levi’s Stadium

Sept. 02, 2023 – Inglewood, CA – SoFi Stadium

Sept. 11, 2023 – Vancouver, BC – BC Place

Sept. 13, 2023 – Seattle, WA – Lumen Field

Sept. 18, 2023 – Kansas City, MO – Arrowhead Stadium

Sept. 21, 2023 – Dallas, TX – AT&T Stadium

Sept. 23, 2023 – Houston, TX – NRG Stadium

Sept. 27, 2023 – New Orleans, LA – Caesars Superdome

For complete ticketing and additional information visit  beyonce.livenation.com  and  tour.beyonce.com .

*Citi Instant Access Process:  *If approved for the card after applying online, new Citi Custom Cash cardmembers must write down their temporary account information to have ready when they go to try to make a purchase during the presale. They will not have access to their information again until the physical card arrives in the mail, which may take 7-10 days. 

About Parkwood Entertainment

Parkwood Entertainment is a film and production company, record label and management firm founded by entertainer and entrepreneur, Beyoncé Knowles-Carter in 2010.  With offices in Los Angeles and New York City, the company houses departments in music, film, video, live performances and concert production, management, business development, marketing, technology, creative, philanthropy, and publicity.  Under its original name, Parkwood Pictures, the company released the film Cadillac Records (2008), in which Beyoncé starred and co-produced. The company has also released the films Obsessed (2009), with Beyoncé as star and executive producer, the winner of the Peabody Award for Entertainment, Lemonade (2017), the Emmy®-nominated Homecoming: A Film By Beyoncé (2019), which documents Beyoncé’s history-making performance at the Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival in 2018, and the Emmy®-winning Black Is King (2020). Parkwood Entertainment produced The Mrs. Carter Show World Tour (2013-2014), The Formation World Tour (2016), and the aforementioned “Homecoming” performances at Coachella (2018) and co-produced the ON THE RUN Tour (2014) and ON THE RUN II (2018).

About Live Nation Entertainment

Live Nation Entertainment (NYSE: LYV) is the world’s leading live entertainment company comprised of global market leaders: Ticketmaster, Live Nation Concerts, and Live Nation Sponsorship. For additional information, visit   www.livenationentertainment.com .

MEDIA CONTACTS:

Parkwood Entertainment

Yvette Noel-Schure, Parkwood Entertainment  |  [email protected]

Live Nation Concerts

Monique Sowinski |  [email protected]

Maya Sarin |  [email protected]

Valeska Thomas |  [email protected]

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Accessibility Links

Beyoncé: Renaissance tour review — epic, overblown, captivating

A Beyoncé show was always going to be a big deal. Just how big it was took some getting used to, with enough dancers to form an unusually glamorous army, a screen that occupied a good chunk of Cardiff, and a megawatt performance from the woman herself that struck the right balance between high-octane dazzle and down-home charm.

The Renaissance tour is connected to Beyoncé’s 2022 album of the same name, a clubby celebration of black and gay dance culture. This three-hour show took those themes and expanded them into the equivalent of a Busby Berkeley musical: epic, overblown, captivating.

Beyoncé emerged from the floor amid a cloud of ice, so dwarfed by the vast stage that she looked like a tiny songstress in

Related articles

What Cardiff looked like when Beyoncé kicked off UK Renaissance tour

Queen Bey is back in the Welsh capital

• Updated 09:25, 18 MAY 2023

Beyoncé returned to Cardiff today, Wednesday May 17, kicking off the UK run of her Renaissance tour. The much-anticipated tour hit the Principality Stadium for one night as tens of thousands of fans flocked to the Welsh capital. The Cardiff date is the first of eight UK shows for the superstar. Around ten hours before stadium doors opened dozens of fans started to queue. The Crazy in Love star last performed in the Welsh capital in 2018 with her husband Jay-Z opening their combined world tour On The Run II, bringing the city to a standstill. She also visited as part of her Formation tour in 2016.

Over the course of more than three hours, the global pop star flew, quite literally, over the crowd, came out in a tank/car and danced to every single beat. The staging was simply insane. It was a full production, almost like watching a film being shot, with many different backgrounds, props and lighting.

To get our full review from the Principality Stadium, click here.

For our Beyonce updates on the queues, crowds and general atmosphere as Queen Bey takes over Cardiff follow below:

And home time for many

Or off out for an after party, your choice. Either way, it looks like it's been a great night.

Now that's one huge clean up operation

What. A. Performance.

They jury is in. Our reporter has given her verdict on tonight's performance - which you can read in full here. If she had to sum it up in one word I imagine it would be "insane".

And we need to talk about that car

Immense. Imagine belting out one of your anthems as a huge car/tank drives around the stage.

Queen Bey literally flying

Just when you think she can do no more, first she came out on a silver fake horse. Then the horse flew up across the arena with Beyoncé still on it as she sang SUMMER RENAISSANCE. Then the horse landed in the middle and Beyoncé proceeded to fly above the crowd herself, without the horse and amongst silver confetti, as she look down and waved at all her fans. Mental.

Fans go crazy for Crazy in Love

And there's a giant disco ball above the stage.

That stage though!

Giant horse and fireworks. What more could you need?

A closer look at Beyoncé

Doesn't she look incredible?

What's she wearing?

Beyoncé, as always, looks amazing in a sparkly golden dress as she performs.

Autocue at the Stadium with song lyrics

As if you didn't know them already...

Beyoncé has arrived on stage!

The crowd go wild as Queen Bey rises from the floor. Look super closely and you'll be able to see her.

The Queen is coming

Welsh newsreader Lucy Owen teases that Beyoncé is coming. Doesn't that stage look amazing?

#beyonceiscoming #cardiff #beyonce pic.twitter.com/lS40JRYQHo — Lucy Owen (@lucyowenwales) May 17, 2023

Very Important People

The VIP section even has its own bar - see above for drink prices!

First look inside the Stadium

Drink prices at the Stadium are...

£3 - Soft Drinks

£2.20 - Water

£2.70 - Tea

£2.70 - Cappuccino

£2.70 - Hot Chocolate

£7 - Heineken Silver Pint

£6.50 - Ffresh Pale Ale

£6.50 - Strongbow/Strongbow Dark Fruits

£7 - Wine

Heavy M4 traffic

The concert is causing heavy traffic on the M4. Travel time is 40 minutes on the M4 Westbound at J26 A4051 ( Malpas Road), with congestion to J23 (M48 interchange).

Fans continue to gather for the concert

And they're looking amazing!

Is Beyoncé in town?

You'd have never been able to tell...

Town centre is heaving

Current scenes from Church Street where people will no doubt be getting Drunk (in Love) later this evening...

Queue's outside the Stadium

The Countdown is on for these people waiting. 10, 9, 8... You know the rest!

Check out Beyoncé's pin

Say her name, say her name - music royalty is in the capital!

Queen Bey stops by Kelly's Records in Cardiff Market... Maybe

Or are they just Beautiful Liars?

Bey always has to pop into her favorite record shop when she's in Cardiff. #Beyonce #beyoncecardiff pic.twitter.com/WHbEBkQvYi — Kellys Records (@KellysRecords) May 17, 2023

We want to hear from you!

Are you at the Beyoncé concert? Let us know in the comments section below.

Time for more drinks!

We suspect there's something stronger than Lemonade in that glass...

All this lady is missing is a Halo

Who run the world?

Girls... Specifically, these two!

The drinks are flowing in town centre

Terri raises a toast (or a melon) to Beyoncé.

Looking great, Lucy!

So when you’re in your fifties, and you have a crisis about what wear to a #Beyonce concert, what do you do? Raid your teenage son’s wardrobe of course, and look ridiculous! He hasn’t seen me yet, expecting major embarrassment and mild fury #beyoncecardiff #beyonceiscoming pic.twitter.com/jhKTeJigZe — Lucy Owen (@lucyowenwales) May 17, 2023

More fans have arrived

Cardiff is getting busier ahead of the concert.

Queen Bey doesn't need a support act

Elsewhere fans couldn't believe that Beyonce will not have a support act. "The fact there's no support act [is incredible]," one person said. "It's just three hours of music."

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• May 17, 2023 Setlist

Beyoncé Setlist at Principality Stadium, Cardiff, Wales

• Edit setlist songs
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Tour: Renaissance World Tour Tour statistics Add setlist

• Opening Act
• Song played from tape The Signboard ( video introduction ) Play Video
• Dangerously in Love ( Destiny’s Child  song) Play Video
• Flaws and All ( contains elements of "Adventures in the Land of Music" by Dynasty ) Play Video
• 1+1 Play Video
• I'm Going Down ( Rose Royce  cover) Play Video
• I Care Play Video
• RENAISSANCE
• Song played from tape RENAISSANCE ( video introduction — contains elements of "CUFF IT", "ENERGY" and "BREAK MY SOUL" ) Play Video
• I'M THAT GIRL ( contains elements of "APESHIT" — extended spoken intro ) Play Video
• COZY Play Video
• ALIEN SUPERSTAR ( contains elements of "Sweet Dreams" ) Play Video
• Lift Off ( JAY Z & Kanye West  cover) ( shortened ) Play Video
• Song played from tape 7/11 ( dancers interlude ) Play Video
• MOTHERBOARD
• Song played from tape MOTHERBOARD ( video interlude — contains interpolation of "Can You Feel It" by Mr. Fingers ) Play Video
• CUFF IT ( contains elements of "CUFF IT - WETTER REMIX" ) Play Video
• ENERGY ( contains elements of "CUFF IT - WETTER REMIX" and "End of Time" ) Play Video
• BREAK MY SOUL ( contains elements of "THE QUEENS REMIX" and "Shake Your Body" by The Jacksons ) Play Video
• Song played from tape OPULENCE ( video interlude — contains elements of "No Angel", "PURE/HONEY" and "Ghost" ) Play Video
• Formation ( shortened — intro with vocals from Kevin JZ Prodigy ) Play Video
• Diva ( shortened — contains elements of "Countdown" and "Just Wanna Rock" by Lil Uzi Vert ) Play Video
• Run the World (Girls) ( shortened ) Play Video
• MY POWER ( shortened ) Play Video
• BLACK PARADE ( contains elements of "Formation" and "Alright" by Kendrick Lamar ) Play Video
• Savage ( Megan Thee Stallion  cover) ( Remix ) Play Video
• Partition ( shortened ) Play Video
• Song played from tape ANOINTED ( video interlude — contains elements of "Yoncé" and "Family Feud" ) Play Video
• CHURCH GIRL ( contains elements of “Ego” ) Play Video
• Get Me Bodied ( shortened ) Play Video
• Before I Let Go ( Maze featuring Frankie Beverly  cover) ( contains elements of ”Freakum Dress” ) Play Video
• Rather Die Young Play Video
• Love on Top ( contains elements of "I Want You Back" by The Jackson 5 ) Play Video
• Crazy in Love Play Video
• Song played from tape Freedom ( band jam interlude performed live — contains elements of "Green Light" ) Play Video
• ANOINTED - PT. 2
• Song played from tape Love Hangover ( Diana Ross  song) ( sung live by the choir ) Play Video
• PLASTIC OFF THE SOFA Play Video
• VIRGO'S GROOVE Play Video
• Naughty Girl Play Video
• MOVE ( contains elements of "Move Ya Body" by Nina Sky ) Play Video
• HEATED Play Video
• Song played from tape HEATED / ALREADY ( dancers interlude ) Play Video
• MIND CONTROL
• Song played from tape MIND CONTROL ( video Interlude - contains elements of "Ghost", "Bootylicious" & "Single Ladies" ) Play Video
• AMERICA HAS A PROBLEM Play Video
• PURE/HONEY ( contains elements of "Blow" and vocals from Kevin JZ Prodigy; extended voguing outro ) Play Video
• SUMMER RENAISSANCE ( extended intro ) Play Video

Edits and Comments

23 activities (last edit by sicko , 15 Jan 2024, 23:37 Etc/UTC )

Songs on Albums

• ALIEN SUPERSTAR
• AMERICA HAS A PROBLEM
• BREAK MY SOUL
• CHURCH GIRL
• I'M THAT GIRL
• PLASTIC OFF THE SOFA
• SUMMER RENAISSANCE
• VIRGO'S GROOVE
• Love on Top
• Rather Die Young
• Run the World (Girls)
• Before I Let Go by Maze featuring Frankie Beverly
• Dangerously in Love by Destiny’s Child
• I'm Going Down by Rose Royce
• Lift Off by JAY Z & Kanye West
• Savage by Megan Thee Stallion
• Flaws and All
• Get Me Bodied
• Crazy in Love
• Naughty Girl
• BLACK PARADE

Complete Album stats

More from this Artist

• More Setlists
• Artist Statistics
• Add setlist

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Beyoncé gig timeline.

• May 11 2023 Friends Arena Solna, Sweden Start time: 8:50 PM 8:50 PM
• May 14 2023 Koning Boudewijnstadium / Stade Roi Baudouin Laken / Laeken, Belgium Start time: 8:15 PM 8:15 PM
• May 17 2023 Principality Stadium This Setlist Cardiff, Wales Start time: 7:55 PM 7:55 PM
• May 20 2023 Murrayfield Stadium Edinburgh, Scotland Start time: 7:50 PM 7:50 PM
• May 23 2023 Stadium of Light Sunderland, England Start time: 8:20 PM 8:20 PM

39 people were there

• adenbarwick
• Bethanlouise72
• BigBadMonkey73
• freyalines_27
• griffin_daly_
• hannahclayton
• Jacobsansom
• JacquesLachetta
• jamiemannnn
• prfectplaces
• rillyboberts
• seanpockets00
• TomByrneMusic

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<div style="text-align: center;" class="setlistImage"><a href="https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/beyonce/2023/principality-stadium-cardiff-wales-1bb9d9d4.html" title="Beyoncé Setlist Principality Stadium, Cardiff, Wales 2023, Renaissance World Tour" target="_blank"><img src="https://www.setlist.fm/widgets/setlist-image-v1?id=1bb9d9d4" alt="Beyoncé Setlist Principality Stadium, Cardiff, Wales 2023, Renaissance World Tour" style="border: 0;" /></a> <div><a href="https://www.setlist.fm/edit?setlist=1bb9d9d4&amp;step=song">Edit this setlist</a> | <a href="https://www.setlist.fm/setlists/beyonce-33d69c3d.html">More Beyoncé setlists</a></div></div>

Last.fm Event Review

[url=https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/beyonce/2023/principality-stadium-cardiff-wales-1bb9d9d4.html][img]https://www.setlist.fm/widgets/setlist-image-v1?id=1bb9d9d4[/img][/url] [url=https://www.setlist.fm/edit?setlist=1bb9d9d4&amp;step=song]Edit this setlist[/url] | [url=https://www.setlist.fm/setlists/beyonce-33d69c3d.html]More Beyoncé setlists[/url]

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Beyoncé’s Renaissance Tour in Cardiff, review: First night in the UK turned the pop goddess human

In the first uk show of her renaissance tour, beyoncé lacked some of her usual physicality - but her vocal, and the spectacle, was as flawless as ever.

It is a known fact that Beyoncé is, in the cultural imagination, less a pop star than a god. She bestows; sparkles; moves in mysterious ways. In stark contrast to many of her contemporaries, she never gives interviews and posts on social media very rarely, always via her team. Her live shows, too, are often akin to a religious experience. Her very presence in the room leaves thousands of people hysterical, reaching for the smelling salts, unable to cope with the energy radiating off her. The word “icon” is thrown around a lot these days, but for Beyoncé, it still means something.

In Cardiff on 17 May, too – Beyoncé’s third show of her Renaissance tour and first in the UK – there was a feeling of pilgrimage. The roads in the city centre were closed to allow the 60,000-odd fans to descend (many of whom were clad in some combination of silver, mesh and cowboy hats, which comprises the Renaissance aesthetic). Beyoncé opened the show against a screen of blue sky, dotted with clouds, in head-to-toe iridescent silver. As she rose through the stage to screams of joy and awe, it seemed we were about to see the light.

Yet somehow she wasn’t quite at the top of her game. Since her show in Dubai in January, rumours have circulated online that she is recovering from surgery on her foot – a problematic prospect for such an intensely physical performer. There has been no official confirmation that that’s true, but she did seem relatively static during the show, often still as her dancers moved round her, and keeping close to the ground when she joined in with the choreo. While her shows have long involved monumental spectacle, the fundamental thrill of Beyoncé is that she is, on an individual level, our greatest living performer, and one of the greatest ever to have lived. She may be a creative genius, too – but mainly she is the best, really just the best, at singing and dancing.

Fortunately, despite something about the performance feeling ever-so-slightly off, even the fair-to-middling of Beyoncé’s game is still leagues above the top of everyone else’s. The advantage of her comparatively restrained dancing meant she could show off her ludicrously good vocal, which is still as honeyed and controlled as it was in the Destiny’s Child days. She switched easily between brassy riffs of 2011’s “Love on Top” to the house refrains of Renaissance – though this itself is a vocally diverse album, with falsetto runs, husky raps and disco choruses, and she hit every note with sickening ease.

Alison Balsom at the Barbican was an astonishing feat of stamina

The show, too, was phenomenal as a spectacle and musical event, a three-hour marathon that included Renaissance in full, plus past highlights, including hits like “Partition”, “Crazy in Love”, “Run the World (Girls)” and “Formation” (the famous choreography Renaissance -d up with chrome hats). There were frequent interludes for costume changes filled with impressive displays from her dancers, along with huge-scale graphics and video footage, often involving Beyoncé’s face or body displayed fifty feet tall on the screen.

Yet for all this iconography, it’s when she moves in real life that she’s electrifying. She opened with the ballad “Dangerously in Love” and followed with a few more downtempo songs that she sang standing, or sitting, still, creating a slightly strange atmosphere – but the moment that she simply walked across the stage in “I Care”, the whole thing came alive. She flicked her hips in “Break My Soul” and the crowd melted in her hand. In “Cuff It”, the Les Twins – a pair of dancers who tour with her frequently – formed a kind of human seat at the line “can I sit on top of you”, and she shared a genuine moment of laughter with them as she took a perch, arching an eyebrow. Her physicality, her presence, her flesh and blood, is what is truly special.

Of course, physicality is what Renaissance is all about. A continuous mix of disco and house using ’90s samples, the album celebrates hedonism, the intimacy of the dancefloor and the communal closeness of queer culture. Its image is the glitter ball, but it’s about the sex, sweat and dancing that happen underneath it – all evocations that have made Beyoncé’s past shows some of the greatest ever. Here, there is footage of the club and of Black communities inhabiting their spaces, and high-camp staging – such as the two songs she sings from within a giant, iridescent clam shell, and the disco-ball horse from the album cover. But again, as much as this imagery was powerful and impressive, it was moments such as the penultimate sequence – in which she emerged in a bee costume replete with bug-eye glasses, and fooled around with “Heated”, her “favourite song to sing”, and “Pure/Honey” – when you got a glimmer of the divine. We just wanted more of them.

As the show closed with “Summer Renaissance”, which samples heavily from Donna Summer’s “I Feel Love”, she was, once again, clad in silver – ultimately flown over the crowd and carried into the heavens. Perhaps that’s where she belongs – or perhaps she’s at her best when she’s human.

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Beyoncé review, Cardiff: Full-throttle dance moves or not, Bey rides her disco horse into megastardom

Beyoncé brings the party of ‘renaissance’ to life in extraordinary and unexpected fashion with deep cuts galore, article bookmarked.

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Beyoncé is back. Queen Bey has returned to the UK, proving once again that she can dazzle a British audience as effortlessly as she did when she first performed here as the 18-year-old Houston-born diva of Destiny’s Child in 2000. Her last run of solo shows, 2016’s Formation World Tour, sold out in the UK within 30 minutes. On their release in February, tickets for the London dates of Beyoncé’s Renaissance World Tour saw virtual queues of over 250,000 as the Beyhive swarmed for a shot at seeing their Queen in action.

With her unmatched, melismatic vocals and physical athleticism, Beyoncé, now 41, has long established herself as a peerless performer. Last July, Renaissance marked yet another reinvention for the pop behemoth, as she combined house grooves and pulsating disco beats for her saucy, celebratory seventh album. It was universally acclaimed. Everyone agreed – Beyoncé had done it again. So what is there left to do when the fans, the critics and the artist herself are well aware of her unrivalled star power? The Renaissance World Tour’s answer is simple: just bask in it, baby.

Over two-and-a-half hours, Beyoncé shows this Cardiff crowd that she is as sizzling as ever – only this time, she no longer has to go above and beyond to prove it. But first, a surprise: bucking a near-20-year trend, Beyoncé opens with “Dangerously in Love”, the title track from her 2003 debut instead of long-time opener “Crazy In Love”, her booty-shaking classic from the same record. Tonight, she glides swan-like to the front of the stage, looking bridal in a white, sparkle-encrusted Valentino gown, for some good ol’ fashioned crooning. Growling and fierce then buttery and seductive, her voice wraps around the song’s runs with complete ease. Beyoncé in her forties is doing some of the best singing of her life.

When she follows up with “Flaws and All”,  a B’Day bonus track from 2006, it becomes clear that this is not a Beyoncé show like any other. Chart-topping anthems like “Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)” and “Halo” are out. Deep cuts are in – whether the casual fans “get it” or not. Most of them aren’t too fussed. They’re a little bewildered, sure, by the presence of lesser-known tracks like “Rather Die Young” and “My Power” but overall, they’re just giddy to be there and happy to be carried by the high-energy of the Beyhive’s most devoted members.

“I feel the lyrics of this song more and more as I mature,” she purrs over the track’s tinkling guitar. Embracing imperfection is a prevailing theme throughout the night. Later, when her mic briefly goes silent mid-line, she continues singing until she’s audible again: no big deal . It’s a far cry from the Beyoncé who famously yelled “somebody’s getting fired!” over a failed lighting cue at a 2009 show.

• Beyoncé review, Renaissance: Politics gives way to post-pandemic pleasure
• Lizzo review, O2 Arena: Pop powerhouse proves she’s a musician for the ages
• Sam Smith review, O2 Arena: Years of self-discovery culminate in this sultry, sparkly show

“1+1” and “I Care” complete Beyoncé’s opening act – and now, with the crowd suitably tingling from her vocal display, the Renaissance begins. “My house of chrome, where I am reborn,” Beyoncé’s voice bellows off-stage. The colour scheme blinks out of a warm golden sunrise and into the dark of the disco club.

A glitterball overhead sends shards of light across the stadium as the electronic screen flashes a pair of metallic robot legs, cheekily spread wide open. She emerges from between them donning a skin-tight chrome leotard. It’s a rebirth of sorts, as Beyoncé bids farewell to the sweet balladeer who opened her show. Now, it’s time to party.

On Renaissance , the songs slip easily into one another. It’s only fitting then, that much of the show follows the order of the album as “I’m That Girl” flows satisfyingly into “Cozy”. The music lends itself to a smoother, groovier style of dance. Less high-kicking and hard stomping; more writhing and sensual. As early as January, there have been rumours that the star is recovering from a foot injury. Though she’s not confirmed any ailment, it’s a possible explanation for her decision to tone down her dancing tonight, most often opting for upper-body choreography only.

At times, it is impossible to ignore the absence of full-out, sweat-dripping moves from a performer who built her name on them. Elsewhere, though, her dance team more than help to pick up the slack. From the return of her long-time collaborators, French breakdancing duo Les Twins, to stars of the Ballroom scene such as Honey Balenciaga, the people on stage with Beyoncé are as at the top of their game as she is. They shake and bounce their “asses and tig ol’ bitties” at Beyoncé’s command through “Church Girl”, strut fiercely down a runway during “Move” and slink their way across the stage as Beyoncé hits the hypnotic light notes of “Virgo’s Groove”.

Audience interaction this evening is limited beyond a few perfunctory quips – and yet the intimacy is palpable. When the crowd joins in with a lyric in “Heated” that name-checks her late dress-making Uncle Jonny, Beyoncé visibly beams with pride. A gay man who dies of an Aids-related illness when Beyoncé was a teen, Johnny was a key inspiration for the sound of Renaissance .

The show ends as the album does, with the Donna Summer-infused tonic “Summer Renaissance”. Suspended by ropes, Beyoncé literally rides her disco horse into the distance, leaving in her wake the thousands left marvelling at her musical and visual voyage they’ve been a part of. It’s hardly a surprise; on “Alien Superstar”, Beyoncé already reminded us that she’s one of one, and number one. After tonight, who are we to tell her any different?

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Beyonce Announces 2023 Renaissance World Tour

The 41-show global outing kicks off in Stockholm in May.

By Carl Lamarre

Carl Lamarre

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Taylor Swift Debuts 'Guilty as Sin?' Live on Guitar in Stockholm: 'One of My Favorite Songs' From…

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The announcement photo may look familiar to fans, as she donned the same glittery attire on the cover of her seventh studio album. Bey also added “Renaissance World Tour” on her Instagram bio, further accenting the news. Last week, Beyonce performed a full concert for the first time in four years at a luxury resort in Dubai in front of influencers and journalists. The 19-song set included a collaboration with her oldest daughter Blue Ivy as the two performed “Brown Skin Girl,” which earned them a Grammy two years ago for best music video.

Crowned a triumphant win by music lovers, Renaissance stormed to No. 1 on the Billboard 200 last year and rattled off two Hot 100 top 10 hits, including her chart-topper “Break My Soul.” The dance-centric album also notched nine Grammy nominations, the most for any nominee for this year’s ceremony. Bey is looking to rack up more trophy wins, as she currently sits at a staggering 28 wins. Nominated for album of the year, song, and record of the year, Bey is facing some stout competition , especially in the former. The R&B juggernaut will tango against Adele, Harry Styles, Kendrick Lamar, Bad Bunny, and more for album of the year. A win in this category would serve as Beyonce’s first. The 65th Grammy Awards will occur Sunday night in Los Angeles at 8 pm EST.

Check out Beyonce’s Instagram post and 2023 Renaissance dates below.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Beyoncé (@beyonce)

2023 Renaissance European dates :

May 10 — Stockholm, SE @ Friends Arena

May 14 — Brussels, BE @ King Baudouin Stadium

May 17 — Cardiff, UK @ Cardiff Principality Stadium

May 20 — Edinburgh, UK @ BT Murrayfield Stadium

May 23 — Sunderland, UK @ Stadium of Light

May 26 — Paris, FR @ Stade de France

May 29 — London, UK @ Tottenham Hotspur Stadium

May 30 — London, UK @ Tottenham Hotspur Stadium

June 8 — Barcelona, ES @ Olympic Stadium

June 11 — Marseille, FR @ Orange Velodrome

June 15 — Cologne, DE @ Rhein Energie Stadion

June 17 — Amsterdam, NL @ Johan Cruijff Arena

June 21 — Hamburg, DE @ Volksparkstadion

June 24 — Frankfurt, DE @ Deutsche Bank Park

June 27 — Warsaw, PL @ PGE Narodowy

2023 Renaissance North American dates :

July 8 — Toronto, CA @ Rogers Centre

July 12 — Philadelphia, PA @ Lincoln Financial Field

July 15 — Nashville, TN @ Nissan Stadium

July 17 — Louisville, KY @ Cardinal Stadium

July 20 — Minneapolis, MN @ Huntington Bank Stadium

July 22 — Chicago, IL @ Soldier Field

July 26 — Detroit, MI @ Ford Field

July 29 — East Rutherford, NJ @ Metlife Stadium

August 1 — Boston, MA @ Gillete Stadium

August 3 — Pittsburgh, PA @ Heinz Field

August 5 — Washington, DC @ Fedex Field

August 9 — Charlotte, NC @ Bank Of America Stadium

August 11 — Atlanta, GA @ Mercedes Benz Stadium

August 16 — Tampa, FL @ Raymond James Stadium

August 18 — Miami, FL @ Hard Rock Stadium

August 21 — St. Louis, MI @ Dome at America’s Center

August 26 — Las Vegas, NV @ Allegiant Stadium

August 30 — San Francisco, CA @ Levi’s Stadium

Sept. 2 — Inglewood, CA @ Sofi Stadium

Sept. 11 — Vancouver, BC @ BC Place

Sept. 13 — Seattle, WA @ Lumen Field

Sept. 18 — Kansas City, KS @ Arrowhead Stadium

Sept. 21 — Dallas, TX @ AT&T Stadium

Sept. 23 — Houston, TX @ NRG Stadium

Sept. 27 — New Orleans, LA @ Caesars Superdome

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Beyoncé Announces Her Renaissance World Tour 2023: All We Know

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Beyoncé kicked off Black History Month with the announcement the world has been waiting months for: Her Renaissance World Tour is happening, this year. Bey unveiled the news with a simple Instagram post: “RENAISSANCE WORLD TOUR 2023.” She did not immediately provide more information, but more is obviously coming.

So, what is known so far about her tour? What can the world expect? Here, we've gathered everything released so far.

When is the Renaissance World Tour happening?

• May 10: Stockholm, Sweden @ Friends Arena
• May 14: Brussels, Belgium @ King Baudouin Stadium
• May 17: Cardiff, Wales, U.K. @ Cardiff Principality Stadium
• May 20: Edinburgh, Scotland, U.K. @ BT Murrayfield Stadium
• May 23: Sunderland, U.K. @ Stadium of Light
• May 26: Paris, France @ Stade de France
• May 29: London, U.K. @ Tottenham Hotspur Stadium
• May 30: London, U.K. @ Tottenham Hotspur Stadium
• June 8: Barcelona, Spain @ Olympic Stadium
• June 11: Marseille, France @ Orange Vélodrome
• June 15: Cologne, Germany @ Rhein Energie Stadion
• June 17: Amsterdam, Netherlands @ Johan Cruijff Arena
• June 21: Hamburg, Germany @ Volksparkstadion
• June 24: Frankfurt, Germany @ Deutsche Bank Park
• June 27: Warsaw, Poland @ PGE Narodowy
• July 8: Toronto, Canada @ Rogers Centre
• July 12: Philadelphia, PA @ Lincoln Financial Field
• July 15: Nashville, TN @ Nissan Stadium
• July 17: Louisville, KY @ L&N Federal Credit Union Stadium
• July 20: Minneapolis, MN @ Huntington Bank Stadium
• July 22: Chicago, IL @ Soldier Field Stadium
• July 26: Detroit, MI @ Ford Field
• July 29: East Rutherford, NJ @ MetLife Stadium
• August 1: Boston, MA @ Gillette Stadium
• August 3: Pittsburgh, PA @ Acrisure Stadium
• August 5: Washington, DC @ FedEx Field
• August 9: Charlotte, NC @ Bank of America Stadium
• August 11: Atlanta, GA @ Mercedes-Benz Stadium
• August 16: Tampa, FL @ Raymond James Stadium
• August 18: Miami, FL @ Hard Rock Stadium
• August 21: St. Louis, MO @ Dome at America's Center
• August 24: Phoenix, AZ @ State Farm Stadium
• August 26: Las Vegas, NV @ Allegiant Stadium
• August 30, San Francisco, CA @ Levi’s Stadium
• September 2: Inglewood, CA @ SoFi Stadium
• September 11: Vancouver, BC @ BC Place
• September 13: Seattle, WA @ Lumen Field
• September 18: Kansas City, MO @ Arrowhead Stadium
• September 21: Dallas, TX @ AT&T Stadium
• September 23: Houston, TX @ NRG Stadium
• September 27: New Orleans, LA @ Caesars Superdome

Where can you get tickets?

Tickets for the North American leg of the tour will be available through Ticketmaster's Verified Fan program. Tickets will go on sale Monday, Feb 6, with an exclusive presale to BeyHive members, according to a Live Nation press release.

Verified Fan registration is now open. Once you register, you'll be placed in a lottery system that determines which fans get invited to purchase tickets. Registration alone doesn't guarantee tickets. If you're selected, you'll get an access code the day before tickets go on sale. Everyone else will be placed on a waitlist. According to Live Nation, this process is intended to help Ticketmaster weed out the resellers and verify your account so that actual fans get priority to buy tickets.

Citi cardmembers will have a special Citi Presale after the Verified Fan process. Get more details here . Verizon will also offer an exclusive presale through their customer loyalty program Verizon Up .

Will Beyoncé be using Ticketmaster like Taylor Swift to sell tickets?

Yes, but given what happened with Taylor Swift's Eras tour (and the fact it led to Congressional hearings about Ticketmaster ’s practices), it seems very likely both Beyoncé and Ticketmaster would want to avoid repeating that mess. That most likely explains the usage of the Verified Fan system.

Where will Beyoncé be playing?

The Renaissance World Tour will hit 40 cities in North America and across Europe. Stops include Paris, London, Amsterdam, Toronto, Chicago, East Rutherford, Atlanta, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Houston, and many more.

What has Beyoncé said about the Renaissance World Tour?

She just announced it was happening with a post on February 1. Her website didn't immediately contain any more details. But during the Wearable Art Gala in October 2022, she appeared to confirm it would start this summer, as a backstage tour with her mother Tina Lawson was up for auction at the event.

Will Beyoncé be performing at the Grammys (on February 5) and sharing more tour details there?

Not clear yet, but she is the most nominated artist at the ceremony . On January 21, Variety reported that “ talks with show producers are ongoing for a possible onstage appearance ” by Beyoncé.

What can we expect from the tour on stage?

Beyoncé hasn't shared that yet either, but given the artistry she put into her recent Dubai show , it's fair to say we can expect no less than excellence, elaborate costumes, and an incredible experience.

This post will be updated the moment more detail is released.

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Beyoncé: Renaissance World Tour review – a dizzying three-hour spectacular

Friends Arena, Stockholm Queen Bey’s first solo headline tour in seven years is a lavish leap forward for live entertainment, dripping with sci-fi disco decadence, sex and Black pride

E ven without Taylor Swift’s Ticketmaster-melting Eras Tour nipping at her heels, it wouldn’t do for a star as compulsively ambitious as Beyoncé to merely protect her status as the greatest pop show on Earth. Not when her first solo headline tour since 2016 could instead push 21st-century live entertainment another lavish leap forward.

Titled after the Texan’s disco glitter bomb post-pandemic party album of the same name , Renaissance is a monster blockbuster concert experience on a different plane. Fifty-seven stadium dates globally, starting in Stockholm, are projected to gross as much as £1.9bn ($2.4bn) by the time the tour ends in New Orleans late September. Dripping with sci-fi disco decadence, sex, body positivity and feminine Black pride, the near three-hour spectacular plays out in front, behind and, at times, inside a football-pitch-wide high-definition video screen designed to assault the senses at dizzying scale.

The BeyHive, as Beyoncé’s fans collectively style themselves, are buzzing pre-show as they flood into the venue from around the world for their first chance proper to see their queen live since 2018’s On the Run II co-headliner with Mr B, Jay-Z. Dressed head to toe in official tour merch, including a cap and hoodie both emblazoned with the word “THIQUE”, Mykwain Gainey has been to 20 Beyoncé shows over the past two decades and has spent nearly £2,000 to fly here from New York. “To see her transcend, and become what she has become, especially as a Black woman, is exciting,” he enthuses.

Brazilian Yhes Bezerra wears a spangly cowboy hat like the one sported by Beyoncé in the tour poster, except theirs is homemade; sticking on the thousands of tiny mirror panels took nine hours. They were determined to come to the opening night to avoid social media spoilers about what to expect. “I want everything to be a surprise,” Bezerra smiles.

Beyoncé appears first in a video cut scene, laid out luxuriously across the giant screen semi-naked in dimensions big enough to be visible from space. And yet, once she emerges in the flesh – all sequins, shoulder pads and that megawatt smile, drinking in the crowd’s screams – she begins disarmingly with a slew of her rawest soul songs. By the second, Flaws and All, she already appears to be fighting back tears, whether of release or gratitude or both. It’s an opening that seems designed to strip away artifice, if only to provide some sharp contrast for the heavily technologically augmented spectacle about to follow.

Harking back to early house and techno and the ecstatic utopia of the dancefloor, a segment dedicated to the Renaissance album ensues with Beyoncé done up something akin to the Maschinenmensch in Metropolis. She grinds with a dozen backing dancers to the jittery reggaeton of her boss bitch mission statement I’m That Girl, then dances with some actual robots (a pair of mechanical arms) during Cosy. Were all that not semi-hallucinogenic enough, Alien Superstar interpolates narcissistic anthem I’m Too Sexy by 90s dance-pop twosome Right Said Fred.

With many of the setlist’s whopping 36 songs abridged, the tempo is relentless. Blink and you’ll miss dancers popping out of the stage like champagne corks, or Beyoncé’s powerhouse band getting wheeled into occasional view on a tall stepped riser (shades of Beychella), such as during Chic-style feelgood funk workout Cuff It. “Y’all having a good time, Stockholm?” our host inquires, wiping an imperceptible bead of sweat from her brow. “Me too.”

Black Parade finds Beyoncé cruising the stage atop what looks like a kind of lunar rover. Somewhat comically, it exits up the gusset of a pair of massive splayed legs. Later she sings Plastic Off the Sofa stretched out in a clamshell. Come Crazy in Love, the show finally gets the enormous disco ball it seems to have long craved, dangled from the rafters for only a bit longer than the time it takes for the crew to get it up there and back down.

Bass-quaking, envelope-pushing Black power anthem Formation is a powerful political statement in any setting. Performed in a kind of virtual cathedral, horny southern rap and gospel cocktail Church Girl (sample lyric: “drop it like a thottie, drop it like a thottie”) might just be intended to provoke. But by Beyoncé’s own standards, it’s hard not to read Renaissance as a show much lighter on overt socio-political messaging than it is sheer, unfettered, mildly chaotic indulgence. And who could blame her?

In a final, unsubtle, retro-futuristic fanfare, Bey summons Bianca Jagger’s iconic Studio 54 moment by gliding through the air on a glitter-encrusted white horse while Summer Renaissance – which samples Donna Summer’s I Feel Love – blares. The disco history references may or may not be landing with the mostly young BeyHive, but that’s not really the point. By rewiring dance music past in a sensory overload of truly stunning ambition and stamina, Beyoncé is writing some history of her own.

The Renaissance World Tour continues until 27 September, see https://tour.beyonce.com/ for dates

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Fans are following Taylor Swift to Europe after finding Eras Tour tickets less costly there

Thousands of Taylor Swift fans are following her across the pond after missing out on her U.S. concert tour last year or being put off by marked-up ticket prices.

Taylor Swift fans drinking at The Black Dog in Vauxhall, south London, said they were there thanks to the track “The Black Dog,” in which the singer describes monitoring an unnamed ex’s visit “into some bar called The Black Dog,” through location share on her phone.

In this image taken from video, fans pose with a life-size image of Taylor Swift at a club that plays only Swift’s music in Gothenburg, Sweden, on Tuesday, April 30th, 2024. Swift is scheduled to kick off the 18-city Europe leg of her record-setting Eras Tour on Thursday, May 9, 2024. There will be three shows in Stockholm. (AP Photo/Chisato Tanaka)

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Taylor Swift fan Brodie MacArthur from east London poses with a friend’s dog next to a sign featuring Taylor Swift lyrics outside The Black Dog pub in Vauxhall, London, Saturday, May 4, 2024. As Taylor Swift prepares to launch the Europe leg of her blockbuster Eras tour, thousands of her fans from the U.S. and Canada are following her across the pond. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)

Drinks are prepared in the Black Dog pub, thought to be mentioned in a Taylor Swift song, in London, Saturday, May 4, 2024. As Taylor Swift prepares to launch the Europe leg of her blockbuster Eras tour, thousands of her fans from the U.S. and Canada are following her across the pond. Some Swifties decided to see Swift in one of the 18 cities on the pop star’s tour after noticing that tighter restrictions on ticket fees and scalping in Europe made seeing Miss Americana perform abroad less of a splurge. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)

FILE - Taylor Swift performs at the Monumental stadium during her Eras Tour concert in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Nov. 9, 2023. Swift is scheduled to kick off the 18-city Europe leg of her record-setting Eras Tour on Thursday, May 9, 2024. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko, File)

In this image taken from video, Friends Arena in Stockholm, Sweden, is shown on Wednesday, April 24th, 2024. Taylor Swift is scheduled to kick off the 18-city Europe leg of her record-setting Eras Tour, with three shows in Stockholm, on Thursday, May 9, 2024. (AP Photo/Chisato Tanaka)

In this image taken from video, Taylor Swift fans sing and dance at a nightclub event called ‘Ready for It’ that only plays Swift’s music in Gothenburg, Sweden, on Tuesday, April 30th, 2024. Swift is scheduled to kick off the 18-city Europe leg of her record-setting Eras Tour on Thursday, May 9, 2024. There will be three shows in Stockholm. (AP Photo/Chisato Tanaka)

LONDON (AP) — Thousands of ride-or-die Taylor Swift fans who missed out on her U.S. concert tour last year or didn’t want to buy exorbitantly priced tickets to see her again found an out-of-the-way solution: Fly to Europe.

The pop star is scheduled to kick off the 18-city Europe leg of her record-setting Eras Tour in Paris on Thursday, and planeloads of Swifties plan to follow Miss Americana across the pond in the coming weeks. The arena where Swift is appearing said Americans bought 20% of the tickets for her four sold-out shows. Stockholm, the tour’s next stop, expects about 10,000 concertgoers from the U.S.

A concert might sound like an odd raison d’etre for visiting a foreign country, especially when fans can watch the Eras Tour from home via the documentary now streaming on Disney+. Yet online travel company Expedia says continent-hopping by Swift’s devotees is part of a larger trend it dubbed “tour tourism” while observing a pattern that emerged during Beyoncé's Renaissance world tour .

Some North American fans who plan to fly overseas for the Eras Tour said they justified the expense after noticing that tighter restrictions on ticket fees and resales in Europe made seeing Swift perform abroad no more costly — and potentially cheaper — than catching her closer to home .

“They said, ’Wait a minute, I can either spend $1,500 to go see my favorite artist in Miami, or I can take that $1,500 and buy a concert ticket, a round-trip plane ticket, and three nights in a hotel room,” Melanie Fish, an Expedia spokesperson and travel expert, said.

That was the experience of Jennifer Warren, 43, who lives in St. Catharines, a city in the Niagara region of Ontario. She and her 11-year-old son love Swift but had no luck scoring what she considered as decently priced tickets in the U.S. Undeterred, Warren and her husband decided to plan a European vacation around wherever she managed to get seats. It turned out to be Hamburg, Germany.

AP AUDIO: Fans are following Taylor Swift to Europe after finding Eras Tour tickets less costly there

AP correspondent Jennifer King reports Taylor Swift is heading to Europe, and her U.S. fans are following.

“You get out, you get to see the world, and you get to see your favorite artist or performer at the same time, so there are a lot of wins to it,” said Warren, who works as the director of research and innovation for a mutual insurance company.

The three VIP tickets she secured close to the stage — “I would call it brute-force dumb luck” — cost 600 euros ($646) each. Swift subsequently announced six November tour dates in Toronto, within driving distance of Warren’s home. “Absolute nose-bleed seats” already are going for 3,000 Canadian dollars ($2,194) on secondary resale sites like Viagogo, Warren said.

TOUR TOURISM: IS IT REALLY A THING?

Hard-core fans trailing their favorite singer or band on tour is not a new phenomenon. “Groupie” emerged in the late 1960s as a somewhat derogatory word for the ardent followers of rock bands. Deadheads took to the road in the 1970s to pursue the Grateful Dead from city to city.

More recently, music festivals like California’s Coachella and England’s Glastonbury, and concert residencies in Las Vegas by the likes of Elton John, Lady Gaga and Adele, have attracted travelers to places they wouldn’t otherwise visit, Fish noted.

Travel and entertainment analysts have also spoken of a pent-up consumer demand for “experiences” over material objects since the coronavirus pandemic. Some think the willingness of music lovers to broaden their fandom horizons is part of the same mass cultural correction.

“It does seem like it’s more than a structural shift, maybe a personality transformation we all went through,” said Natalia Lechmanova, the chief Europe economist for the Mastercard Economics Institute.

As Swift hopscotches across Europe, Lechmanova expects restaurants and hotels to see the same boost that Mastercard observed within a 2.5-mile (4-kilometer) radius of concert venues in the U.S. cities she visited in 2023. The U.S. dollar’s strong value against the euro may also increase retail spending on apparel, memorabilia, beauty products and supplies for the friendship bracelets fans exchange as part of the Eras Tour experience, the economist said.

Former college roommates Lizzy Hale, 34, who lives in Los Angeles, and Mitch Goulding, 33, who lives in Austin, Texas, already had tickets to see the Eras Tour in L.A. last summer when they decided to try to get ones for Paris, London or Edinburgh, Scotland, too. They saw a Europe concert trip as a makeup for travel plans they had in May 2020 to celebrate Goulding’s birthday but had to cancel due to the pandemic.

Goulding managed to secure VIP tickets for one of Swift’s three Stockholm shows. He, Hale and two other friends scheduled a 10-day trip that also includes time in Amsterdam and Copenhagen.

“As people who enjoy traveling and enjoy music, if you can find an opportunity to combine the two, it’s really special,” said Hale, who is pregnant with her first child.

FOR STOCKHOLM, 120,000 SWIFTIES CAN’T BE WRONG

The local economic impact of what the zeitgeist has termed “Swiftonomics” and the “Swift lift” can be considerable . It’s no wonder the exclusive arrangement Singapore’s government made with Swift to make the city-state her only tour stop in Southeast Asia earlier this year aroused regional jealousy .

No European governments have complained of their countries not being among the dozen selected for the Europe leg of the Eras Tour, although some fans have expressed surprise that Gelsenkirchen, a city with a population of about 264,000 is one of the three cities in Germany that made the cut.

Airbnb reported Tuesday that searches on its platform for the U.K. cities where Swift is performing in June and August — Edinburgh, Liverpool, Cardiff and London — increased an average of 337% when tickets went on sale last summer.

Not to be outdone when it comes to trend-spotting, the property rentals company cited the demand as an example of “passion tourism,” or travel “driven by concerts, sports and other cultural events.”

In Stockholm , 120,000 out-of-towners from 130 countries -- among them 10,000 from the U.S. — are expected to swarm Sweden’s capital this month, Stockholm Chamber of Commerce Chief Economist Carl Bergqvist said. Stockholm is the only Scandinavian city on Swift’s tour, and airlines added extra flights from nearby Denmark, Finland and Norway to bring people to the May 17-19 shows, he said.

The city’s 40,000 hotel rooms are sold out even though prices skyrocketed for the tour dates, Bergqvist said. Concert visitors are expected to pump around 500 million Swedish kroner, or over $46 million, into the local economy over the course of their stays, an estimate that does not include what they paid for Swift tickets or to get to Sweden, he said.

“So this is going to be huge for the tourism sector in Sweden and Stockholm in particular,” Bergqvist said.

Nightclubs, restaurants and bars are seizing the opportunity to cater to fans with Taylor Swift-themed events, such as karaoke, quizzes and after-concert dance parties.

Houston resident Caroline Matlock, 29, saw Swift more than a year ago when the Eras Tour came to the Texas city. Now she’s making more friendship bracelets and trying to learn a few words of Swedish as she prepares to see the 3 1/2-hour show in Stockholm. The idea of seeing Swift in Europe was her friend’s, and Matlock needed some persuading at first.

“I was like, ‘I only want to go if it’s a country I haven’t been to. I’ve seen Taylor Swift,’” she said.

Visiting the Scandinavian cities of Oslo and Gothenburg is on their itinerary. The concert is the last night of the trip and Matlock looks forward to interacting with Swifties from other countries: “Americans tend to have a very obsessive culture, especially Taylor Swift-related, so I’m curious if the crowd will be more toned-down.”

WILL TOUR TOURISM ENDURE AFTER ERAS?

It remains to be seen if the music tourism trend has legs as long and strong as Swift’s and Beyoncé's, and if it will carry over to Billie Eilish, Usher and other artists with world tours scheduled next year. Expedia’s Fish thinks other big-name artists in Europe this summer will prove that booking a foreign trip around a concert is catching on.

Kat Morga, a travel consultant based in Nashville, isn’t so sure. Morga saw Swift perform in Nashville last year and helped two clients with school-aged children book European family vacations this summer that include seeing Swift in concert. But she thinks the difficulty of navigating ticket purchases through language barriers, currency conversions, international banking regulations and the risk of cancellations will limit the appeal of regular gig getaways.

“I think this is an anomaly,” Morga said. “People aren’t typically going to build their $20,000 huge family vacation only because Taylor Swift is there. She’s the one-off. She’s special.”

Booking Holdings CEO Glenn Fogel, whose company operates Booking.com, priceline.com, agoda.com, Kayak and OpenTable, is even less enthusiastic about concert tours as a tourism instigator. The Swift Effect causes a “little blip” when the superstar goes to smaller destinations, but for the worldwide travel industry, “one star touring around does not make a difference,” he said.

“It may just shift it a little bit. A person was going to go to the Caribbean for a week vacation. Instead that person (says), ‘Let’s travel to the Taylor Swift thing,’” Fogel said. “It doesn’t increase it. It just moves it from here to there.”

AP journalists Colleen Barry in Milan, Chisato Tanaka in Stockholm, Anne D’Innocenzio in New York, David Koenig in Dallas, Thomas Adamson in Paris and Brian Melley in London contributed reporting.