Beyoncé has announced a 43-city world tour in support of her critically acclaimed Renaissance album, which will include five UK dates.
The concerts begin on May 10 in Stockholm, Sweden, and conclude a week later at Cardiff’s Principality Stadium.
Additional UK dates will be held in Edinburgh, Sunderland, and London.
The singer gave her first headlining performance in four years last week at the opening of a luxury hotel in Dubai, but she didn’t perform any new material.
She was reportedly paid $24 million (£19.4 million) for the one-time performance, but she was chastised for doing so in a country where homosexuality and gender reassignment are illegal.
Critics argued that this contradicted her latest album’s message, which explicitly celebrates black and queer dance culture.
During the pandemic, Beyoncé envisioned the album as “a place to dream and find escape,” layering her songs with multiple samples and references to club music, ranging from Nile Rodgers’ Studio 54 disco grooves and Grace Jones’ imperious soul to less-celebrated movements like bounce and dancehall.
It was described as “the sound of a once-in-a-generation superstar performing at her peak” by Exclaim magazine, and as “a breath-taking, maximalist tour de force” by the Guardian.
Beyoncé has avoided making music videos for the album, so the Renaissance tour will be the first opportunity for fans to see her visual interpretations of songs like Break My Soul, Alien Superstar, and Cuff It.
This, combined with the fact that this is her first solo tour since 2016, means that tickets will be in high demand.
Lawmakers in the United States, who are already investigating Ticketmaster for the botched sale of Taylor Swift’s Eras tour, will be watching how systems handle Beyoncé’s concerts.