| Concert Tour Name: | HIStory World Tour |
| Artist: | Michael Jackson |
| Album: | (from the show on May 31, 1997) |
| Start Date: | September 7, 1996 |
| End Date: | October 15, 1997 |
| Number Of Legs: | 2 |
| Number Of Shows: | 82 |
| Attendance: | 4,500,000[1] [2] [3] |
| Gross: | US $165 million ($ million in 2021 dollars) |
| Last Tour: | Dangerous World Tour (1992–1993) |
| This Tour: | HIStory World Tour (1996–1997) |
| Next Tour: | MJ & Friends (1999) |
The HIStory World Tour was the third and final worldwide solo concert tour by American singer and songwriter Michael Jackson, covering Europe, Asia, Oceania, Africa and North America. The tour included a total of 82 concerts spanning the globe with stops in 57 cities, 35 countries on 5 continents.The tour promoted Jackson's 1995 album . The second leg also promoted the remix album .The tour was attended by over 4.5 million fans.[1] [2] [3]
The tour was announced on May 29, 1996, and marked Jackson's first concert tour since his Dangerous World Tour ended in late 1993.[4]
Jackson's debut concert for the tour, performed at Letná Park in Prague, was one of the largest single attended concerts in his career, with over 125,000 people.[5] On October 7, 1996, he performed for the first time ever in the Arab world and Africa as a solo artist in Tunis.[6] During the tour's stopover in Sydney, Australia, he married Debbie Rowe in a private and impromptu ceremony. He was interviewed by Molly Meldrum In Brisbane and danced with two women during "You Are Not Alone".
From January 3–4, 1997, Jackson performed his only two concerts on this tour in the US, in Honolulu, Hawaii, at the Aloha Stadium, to a crowd of 35,000 each; making him the first artist in history to sell out the stadium.[7]
During the break period, Jackson worked and released his album. The second leg started on May 31, 1997, at the Weserstadion in Bremen, Germany.
Jackson performed at the Parken Stadium in Copenhagen, Denmark on his 39th birthday with 60,000 fans. He was presented with a surprise birthday cake, marching band, and fireworks on stage after "You Are Not Alone". The concert at Hippodrome Wellington of Ostend, Belgium, was originally scheduled for August 31, 1997, but was postponed to September 3 following the death of Diana, Princess of Wales.
There were some initial plans to take the tour, in February 1997, to such Brazilian cities as São Paulo, Curitiba, Rio de Janeiro, and Brasília; but these plans were suspended due to promotional issues. Jackson tried to visit Brazil again in February 1998, as well as Argentina, but these too were scrapped so that he could work on MJ and Friends.
Throughout the tour, many concerts were professionally filmed by Nocturne Productions, but none were ever officially released on DVD. In South Korea, a VHS recording of his show in Seoul was released, only within the bounds of the country. Although the footage is poor in quality and Michael Jackson was suffering a fever at the time, resulting in his vocals being weakened, it made major success in that country. Jackson planned to release a DVD of his performance in Munich, Germany (July 6th). The film was never released due to Jackson being unimpressed by his vocals brought on by laryngitis. In 2010, TV channels such as RTL 5, ZDF, WOWOW, and Veronica TV broadcast the Munich concert in HD, and those broadcasts can be found on YouTube. This broadcast contains footage mostly from the Munich July 6th show, but it has some snippets from the first Munich show (July 4th) and a large snippet of the Leipzig show (August 3rd) during the Jackson 5 Medley speech. In 2022, a 1080p version of Billie Jean from the Munich concert was leaked, this version of the performance wasn't just the July 6th performance as this new 1080p footage contained snippets from the July 4th performance of Billie Jean, along with that, part of the soundboard from the show was also leaked, 54 audio tracks from Billie Jean were leaked along with a live mic feed where Jackson's voice could be heard singing where normally playback would be heard. It was rumoured that the remaster, in addition to some portions of the soundboard audio, were planned to be released alongside a 25th anniversary edition of the HIStory album, but plans were likely halted due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[8]
| Date | City | Country | Venue | Attendance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Europe[12] [13] [14] [15] [16] | |||||
| September 7, 1996 | Prague | Czech Republic | Letná Park | 125,000 / 125,000 | |
| September 10, 1996 | Budapest | Hungary | Népstadion | 50,000 / 50,000 | |
| September 14, 1996 | Bucharest | Romania | Stadionul Național | 70,000 / 70,000 | |
| September 17, 1996 | Moscow | Russia | Dynamo Stadium | 50,000 / 50,000 | |
| September 20, 1996 | Warsaw | Poland | Lotnisko Bemowo | 120,000 / 120,000 | |
| September 23, 1996 | Zaragoza | Spain | Estadio La Romareda | 45,000 / 45,000 | |
| September 28, 1996 | Amsterdam | Netherlands | Amsterdam Arena | 250,000 / 250,000 | |
| September 30, 1996 | |||||
| October 2, 1996 | |||||
| Africa | |||||
| October 7, 1996 | Tunis | Tunisia | Stade El Menzah | 60,000 / 60,000 | |
| Asia[17] [18] [19] [20] [21] [22] [23] | |||||
| October 11, 1996 | Seoul | South Korea | Olympic Stadium | 100,000 / 100,000 | |
| October 13, 1996 | |||||
| October 18, 1996 | Taipei | Taiwan< | -- Do not change to China. --> | Zhongshan Soccer Stadium | 80,000 / 80,000 |
| October 20, 1996 | Kaohsiung | Chungcheng Stadium | 30,000 / 30,000 | ||
| October 22, 1996 | Taipei | Zhongshan Soccer Stadium | — | ||
| October 25, 1996 | Singapore | National Stadium | 26,000 / 35,000 | ||
| October 27, 1996 | Kuala Lumpur | Malaysia | Stadium Merdeka | 80,000 / 80,000 | |
| October 29, 1996 | |||||
| November 1, 1996 | Mumbai | India | Andheri Sports Complex | 70,000 / 70,000 | |
| November 5, 1996 | Bangkok | Thailand | IMPACT Lake Front Concert Grounds | 40,000 / 40,000 | |
| Oceania[24] | |||||
| November 9, 1996 | Auckland | New Zealand | Ericsson Stadium | 86,000 / 86,000 | |
| November 11, 1996 | |||||
| November 14, 1996 | Sydney | Australia | Sydney Cricket Ground | 86,000 / 86,000 | |
| November 16, 1996 | |||||
| November 19, 1996 | Brisbane | ANZ Stadium | 40,000 / 40,000 | ||
| November 22, 1996 | Melbourne | Melbourne Cricket Ground | 130,000 / 130,000 | ||
| November 24, 1996 | |||||
| November 26, 1996 | Adelaide | Adelaide Oval | 30,000 / 30,000 | ||
| November 30, 1996 | Perth | Burswood Dome | 60,000 / 60,000 | ||
| December 2, 1996 | |||||
| December 4, 1996 | |||||
| Asia[25] | |||||
| December 8, 1996 | Manila | Philippines | Asia World City Concert Grounds | 110,000 / 110,000 | |
| December 10, 1996 | |||||
| December 13, 1996 | Tokyo | Japan | Tokyo Dome | 180,000 / 180,000 | |
| December 15, 1996 | |||||
| December 17, 1996 | |||||
| December 20, 1996 | |||||
| December 26, 1996 | Fukuoka | Fukuoka Dome | 80,000 / 80,000 | ||
| December 28, 1996 | |||||
| December 31, 1996 | Bandar Seri Begawan | Brunei | Jerudong Park Amphitheater | 4,000 / 4,000 | |
| North America | |||||
| January 3, 1997 | Honolulu | United States | Aloha Stadium | 70,000 / 70,000 | |
| January 4, 1997 | |||||
| Europe | |||||
| May 31, 1997 | Bremen | Germany | Weserstadion | 85,000 / 85,000 | |
| June 3, 1997 | Cologne | Müngersdorfer Stadion | 60,000 / 60,000 | ||
| June 6, 1997 | Bremen | Weserstadion | — | ||
| June 8, 1997 | Amsterdam | Netherlands | Amsterdam ArenA | — | |
| June 10, 1997 | |||||
| June 13, 1997 | Kiel | Germany | Nordmarksportfeld | 55,000 / 55,000 | |
| June 15, 1997 | Gelsenkirchen | Parkstadion | 50,000 / 50,000 | ||
| June 18, 1997 | Milan | Italy | San Siro | 65,000 / 65,000 | |
| June 20, 1997 | Lausanne | Switzerland | Stade olympique de la Pontaise | 35,000 / 35,000 | |
| June 22, 1997 | Bettembourg | Luxembourg | Krakelshaff | 45,000 / 45,000 | |
| June 25, 1997 | Lyon | France | Stade de Gerland | 25,000 / 25,000 | |
| June 27, 1997 | Paris | Parc des Princes | 95,000 / 100,000 | ||
| June 29, 1997 | |||||
| July 2, 1997 | Vienna | Austria | Ernst-Happel-Stadion | 50,000 / 50,000 | |
| July 4, 1997 | Munich | Germany | Olympiastadion | 150,000 / 150,000 | |
| July 6, 1997 | |||||
| July 9, 1997 | Sheffield | England | Don Valley Stadium | 45,000 / 45,000 | |
| July 12, 1997 | London | Wembley Stadium | 212,601 / 216,000 | ||
| July 15, 1997 | |||||
| July 17, 1997 | |||||
| July 19, 1997 | Dublin | Ireland | RDS Arena | 40,261 / 40,261 | |
| July 25, 1997 | Basel | Switzerland | St. Jakob Stadium | 55,000 / 55,000 | |
| July 27, 1997 | Nice | France | Stade Charles-Ehrmann | 30,003 / 36,260 | |
| August 1, 1997 | Berlin | Germany | Olympiastadion | 77,000 / 77,000 | |
| August 3, 1997 | Leipzig | Festwiese | 54,483 / 55,000 | ||
| August 10, 1997 | Hockenheim | Hockenheimring | 85,000 / 85,000 | ||
| August 14, 1997 | Copenhagen | Denmark | Parken Stadium | 97,563 / 97,563 | |
| August 16, 1997 | Gothenburg | Sweden | Ullevi | 50,000 / 50,000 | |
| August 19, 1997 | Oslo | Norway | Valle Hovin | 45,000 / 50,000 | |
| August 22, 1997 | Tallinn | Estonia | Tallinn Song Festival Grounds | 75,000 / 75,000 | |
| August 24, 1997 | Helsinki | Finland | Helsinki Olympic Stadium | 100,000 / 100,000 | |
| August 26, 1997 | |||||
| August 29, 1997 | Copenhagen | Denmark | Parken Stadium | — | |
| September 3, 1997 | Ostend | Belgium | Hippodrome Wellington | 55,000 / 60,000 | |
| September 6, 1997 | Valladolid | Spain | Estadio José Zorrilla | 20,000 / 26,000 | |
| Africa | |||||
| October 4, 1997 | Cape Town | South Africa | Green Point Stadium | 70,000 / 70,000 | |
| October 6, 1997 | |||||
| October 10, 1997 | Johannesburg | Johannesburg Stadium | 106,495 / 108,000 | ||
| October 12, 1997 | |||||
| October 15, 1997 | Durban | Kings Park Stadium | 50,000 / 50,000 | ||
| Total | 4,420,158 / 4,500,000 (98%) | ||||