In 1994, the U.S. hosted the men’s FIFA World Cup, and 3.5 million fans gathered to watch the tournament. The games marked the most-attended FIFA World Cup ever, and this year the U.S. will become one of five nations to host a World Cup for a second time, with 2026 co-host Mexico holding its third.
For the duration of the games, stadiums across North America are forced to go dark from 20 days before the first games through to the end of the World Cup on July 19. That means many stadiums in major markets, including Toronto, Mexico City, Atlanta, Boston, Los Angeles, New York City and San Francisco, are unable to host concerts for two months in the summer — normally prime outdoor concert time.
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“Initially, when the World Cup was announced a couple years ago and we started thinking about this summer, there was some trepidation,” UTA’s Jbeau Lewis, who books Bad Bunny and Karol G, tells Billboard. “The reality is that it’s become one of the biggest — if not the biggest — stadium tour summers ever.”
This year, Bruno Mars, Karol G, Noah Kahan, Morgan Wallen and Ed Sheeran are among those performing in stadiums across North America. Kahan’s tour utilizes baseball stadiums, with dates at Fenway Park, Wrigley Field and Citi Field. Wallen’s stadium tour is hitting college football stadiums, with two dates at Michigan Stadium (a venue only utilized for a concert once before, when Zach Bryan performed there along with special guest John Mayer last September) and Clemson Memorial Stadium.
