Last month, American superstar entertainer Beyoncé announced dates for her 2023 "Renaissance" World Tour. Immediately, the "Beyhive" began to break into their savings account – and their 401(k)s – in order to grab tickets for the much-anticipated show.
Fans around the world went online looking to secure tickets to Queen Bey’s tour, with the extremely high ticket prices once again being a huge discussion among ticket-buyers. But some fans may have no other choice than to swallow their pride and pay the huge costs if they want to see her show.
While some concertgoers have already secured their North American tour tickets, some fans have opted for a cheaper option by flying to Europe instead.
Fans on TikTok have been letting others into the genius process of buying international tickets, which unlocks large potential savings for consumers.
Mercedes Arielle, a social media content creator, is no stranger to this saving strategy. In 2018, Arielle secured floor seats for Beyoncé and Jay-Z's "On the Run II Tour" in Paris for just $92 apiece. In her hometown of Dallas, the going rate for the same floor seat was a whopping $900 higher.
"Beyoncé is gonna sweat on me," she said. "That’s how close I am."
Entertainment ticket costs
Tickets to top shows continue to rise in cost, with presale corporate preferences, quick sellouts and exorbitant fees. Here are few of the reasons why users are met with a familiar, dreadful feeling when going to ticketing sites.
For the tour, Arielle paid less for her international flight, her hotel stay and the floor seat tickets in Stockholm than her friends in Dallas paid to see the same show.
"It's really important to me to make people aware that living within your means does not mean that your lifestyle cannot be fabulous or that it can’t have these glowing moments that will be forever memories," she said. "To me, the savings are priceless."
Other fans also agreed that buying tickets for the European stops is a better economic choice than tickets in their hometowns.
Feeling out of the loop? We'll catch you up on the Chicago news you need to know. Sign up for the weekly> Chicago Catch-Up newsletter.
Kylyn Schnelle took a look at floor seat tickets for the “Renaissance” tour in her hometown of Louisville, Kentucky, and they topped $800 dollars.
"When I looked in London, it was 167 pounds [about $200], and the flight was, like, $660," Schnelle said. "I was like this is genuinely the same cost."
"If you’re going to spend $800, why would you not milk it as much as possible?"
Fans opted to take the European route not only to save some coins, but they were also looking for ways around Ticketmaster's sale process and unnecessary fees.
Ticketmaster tried to prevent possible web crashes (like the November sale of Taylor Swift’s "Eras Tour") with the demand for Beyoncé's "Renaissance" tour exceeding available tickets by more than 800%.
The ticketing site rolled out a new approach of dividing the tour cities into three groups with staggered registration deadlines and presale dates, but the goal to minimize site overload still remained disastrous for actual fans.
"I don’t think that what Ticketmaster has done in the United States post-pandemic is sustainable for their business because they’ve made a lot of people upset," Schnelle said.
Despite tips on how to save money for tour tickets, some fans still have chosen the North American route – even purchasing tickets for thousands of dollars.
"If you still have a chance to get tickets, this is how much you need to be prepared to spend," says one fan.
“We had no choice. But I have to say I’ve been preparing for this moment ever since the Renaissance album came out.”
For those still deciding on which route to take, here’s some info on the upcoming tour:
The first leg will begin in Stockholm, with the opening show on May 10, and continue across Europe until the June 27 performance in Warsaw.
The North American leg of the tour will begin on July 8 in Toronto, before coming to the US, where she will continue shows through Sept. 27 for the final stop in New Orleans. Stops on the U.S. tour will also include Chicago, New York, and Los Angeles, as well as Beyoncé’s hometown of Houston.
