25 Live

25 Live (also known as the 25th-Anniversary Tour) was a concert tour by English singer/songwriter George Michael. The tour was the most commercially successful tour of 2006-2007 in Europe, grossing over $200 million, with positive reviews from music critics. The 106 tour shows were performed in 41 countries and seen by 1.3 million fans across the globe.[2]

25 Live
World tour by George Michael
25 Live tour poster
LocationEurope, North America, Middle East
Associated albumTwentyFive
Start date23 September 2006
End date1 December 2008
Legs3
No. of shows106
Attendance1.3 million[1]
George Michael concert chronology

History

It was Michael's first tour in over 15 years. The tour, running for 50 dates, began in Barcelona on 23 September and was intended to end at Wembley Arena in London in December, but—due to great feedback from fans—continued into 2007 providing more gigs throughout Europe, concluding in Belfast. The tour is described as "a celebration of his 25-year career in music", and was accompanied by a Greatest Hits album, released in late 2006. The news of the tour came amid increased media speculation about Michael's personal life, in particular, his drug use and sex life. After the success of the autumn leg, new shows were added for summer 2007, in large arenas and stadiums. Pop star Sophie Ellis-Bextor was announced as the supporting act for six of the eight UK shows. She did not open the show at Wembley Stadium as Michael was the first artist ever to play in the new stadium.

On 25 March 2008, a third Leg of the 25 LIVE Tour was announced for North America. This leg included 21 dates in the United States and Canada. This was Michael's first tour of North America in 17 years. The tour coincided with the release of his new Greatest Hits album on 1 April 2008.

The tour ended with two concerts at Earls Court in London named "The Final Two". Wham! fans would recognize the reference to Wham!'s last gig at Wembley Stadium in London in 1986, The Final. Another final concert was later announced. The concert was held in Copenhagen, Denmark, on 30 August and called The Final One. Australian dates were added in November 2009, involving stops in Perth, Sydney, and later Melbourne in February/March 2010.

Ticket sales

Ticket sales in the UK and Europe were brisk. Within two hours of initial sales, 240,000 tickets were snatched up by eager fans. First to sell out were UK shows in London's Wembley Arena and Earls Court as well as Birmingham's NEC Arena and Manchester MEN Arena. The Manchester show sold out within minutes, and the two 25 Live dates added to the venue were sold out by lunchtime. To meet demand, 14 gigs were added to the tour, including three additional shows in London alone. Michael's dates around Europe were met with equally extraordinary enthusiasm. In Norway, the Oslo show at the Oslo Spektrum sold out in an hour and a half. In Copenhagen, 49,000 tickets sold out at the Parken Stadium in just three hours. The first Rotterdam concert at Rotterdam Ahoy arena sold out in a mere six minutes, and the second saw tickets vanish in 16 minutes. In fact, a third Rotterdam show was added by popular demand that also sold out in 16 minutes. This unprecedented response has stood out as the fastest sell of tickets ever experienced by Barrie Marshall, whose London-based promotion firm, Marshall Arts Limited, has been promoting shows for 30 years.

The 25 Live tour broke several ticket sales records, most notably in Copenhagen. Michael's concert at Parken Stadium sold over 50,000 tickets in the matter of minutes, shattering the previous ticket sales record at the venue, formerly held by U2.

In North America, although ticket sales weren't fast as they were in Europe, every venue was sold out in time for the concert. For a period of 25 hours during the week leading up to the Los Angeles show on 25 June 2008, tickets were sold for a promotional price of $25 (down from $95) in celebration of George Michael's birthday, 25 June 1963.

All the tickets for the Final Two shows in London and the Finale One show in Denmark where sold out in 2 hours.

Ticket sales for the Australian leg were also brisk, the concerts in Perth at the 25,000 seat Burswood Dome and the 42,000 seat Sydney Football Stadium both being sellouts.

The Finals

On 11 June 2008, two dates were added, titled "The Final Two", taking place in Earls Court, London on 24 and 25 August 2008. These concerts were filmed for a 25 LIVE DVD release entitled "Live in London".

On 30 June 2008, Michael announced one more last show in Copenhagen at Copenhagen's Parken Stadium on 30 August. This special performance, entitled "The Final One", allowed Michael to say "thank you" to his loyal fans, not only in Scandinavia, but also across Europe.

On 1 November 2008, Michael announced another last concert. This time it was held at the Mohammed Bin Zayed Stadium on 1 December 2008, in Abu Dhabi, UAE. It was the first event to be held at the new stadium and was billed as the biggest concert ever held in the UAE. It was also his first concert in the Middle East. The event also helped to launch National Day celebrations and an outdoor extravaganza of fireworks and lasers gave fans a spectacular and unforgettable experience.

Set list

Personnel

The band
  • George Michael – vocals
  • Chris Cameron – musical director/arranger
  • Lea Mullen – percussion
  • Phil Palmer – guitars
  • Andy Hamilton – sax, keyboards, Ewi
  • Steve Walters – bass
  • Mike Brown – guitars
  • Carlos Hercules – drums
  • Graham Kearns – guitars
  • Luke Smith – keyboards
  • Shirley Lewis – backing vocals
  • Jay Henry – backing vocals
  • Lincoln Jean-Marie – backing vocals
  • Lori Perry – backing vocals
  • Sharon Perry – backing vocals
  • Lucy Jules – backing vocals

Management and production
  • Michael Lippman – artist manager
  • Andy Stephens – artist manager
  • Ken Watts – tour director
  • Lisa Johnson – assistant tour director
  • Looloo Murphy – GM tour manager
  • Sharon Ashley – band tour manager
  • Ronnie Franklin – security consultant
  • Mark Spring – production manager
  • Di Eichorst – production coordinator
  • Scott Chase – stage manager
  • James Kelly – show manager
  • Willie Williams – video staging designer and director
  • Vince Foster – set and lighting design and operator
  • Gary Bradshaw – front of house sound
  • Andy Bramley – video director
  • Simeon Niel-Asher – Osteopath
  • Barrie Marshall and Doris Dixon – agents

Promoters
  • Belgium – Live Nation
  • Denmark – DKB & Motor
  • France – Interconcerts
  • Germany – Peter Rieger Konzertagentur
  • Greece – Cosmote
  • Netherlands – MOJO Concerts
  • Hungary – Live Nation Hungary (previously Multimedia Concerts)
  • Ireland – Aiken Promotions
  • Italy – D'Alessandro E Galli
  • Norway – Gunnar Eide
  • Spain – Sagliocco Group
  • Sweden – EMA Telstar
  • Switzerland – Good News
  • UK – Marshall Arts
  • USA – Live Nation
  • Australia – Paul Dainty

Tour dates
Date City Country Venue Tickets sold / available Gross revenue
Europe
23 September 2006 Barcelona Spain Palau Sant Jordi 19,836 / 19,836 $2,062,948
26 September 2006 Madrid Wizink Center 14,590 / 14,590 $1,517,364
29 September 2006 Toulouse France Zénith de Toulouse 6,192 / 6,192 $643,692
30 September 2006 Toulon Zénith Oméga 6,487 / 6,487 $674,638
2 October 2006 Lyon Halle Tony Garnier 8,082 / 8,082 $840,531
5 October 2006 Milan Italy Mediolanum Forum 22,936 / 22,936 $2,385,346
6 October 2006
9 October 2006 Paris France AccorHotels Arena 30,106 / 30,106 $3,522,408
10 October 2006
13 October 2006 Metz Galaxie Amnéville 12,659 / 12,659 $1,569,174
14 October 2006 Stuttgart Germany Hanns-Martin-Schleyer-Halle 9,124 / 9,124 $1,040,136
16 October 2006 Leipzig Arena Leipzig 11,047 / 11,047 $1,358,788
17 October 2006 Oberhausen König Pilsener Arena 14,000 / 14,000 $1,453,036
20 October 2006 Gothenburg Sweden Scandinavium 13,825 / 13,825 $1,492,102
21 October 2006 Oslo Norway Oslo Spektrum 12,264 / 12,264 $1,287,726
22 October 2006 Stockholm Sweden Ericsson Globe 16,511 / 16,511 $1,717,142
25 October 2006 Frankfurt Germany Festhalle Frankfurt 12,275 / 13,034 $1,264,359
26 October 2006 Zürich Switzerland Hallenstadion 13,000 / 13,000 $1,376,050
29 October 2006 Munich Germany Olympiahalle 29,472 / 29,472 $3,166,412
30 October 2006
1 November 2006 Rotterdam Netherlands Rotterdam Ahoy 59,412 / 59,412 $6,416,499
2 November 2006
4 November 2006
6 November 2006 Berlin Germany Velodrom 7,026 / 7,026 $955,530
7 November 2006 Hamburg Barclaycard Arena Hamburg 9,275 / 9,275 $1,317,053
9 November 2006 Mannheim SAP Arena 9,673 / 9,673 $1,102,726
11 November 2006 Copenhagen Denmark Telia Parken 46,918 / 46,918 $6,052,422
13 November 2006 Cologne Germany Lanxess Arena 12,124 / 12,124 $1,757,920
14 November 2006 Antwerp Belgium Sportpaleis 15,030 / 15,030 $1,337,672
17 November 2006 Manchester England Manchester Arena 65,292 / 65,292 $9,271,547
18 November 2006
21 November 2006
22 November 2006 Glasgow Scotland SECC Arena 26,145 / 26,145 $3,294,273
25 November 2006 London England Earls Court 36,228 / 36,228 $3,840,169
26 November 2006
28 November 2006
2 December 2006 Birmingham NEC Arena 50,523 / 50,523 $6,669,042
3 December 2006
4 December 2006
7 December 2006 Dublin Ireland The Point 7,368 / 7,368 $1,369,025
8 December 2006
11 December 2006 London England Wembley Arena 41,180 / 41,180 $5,806,283
12 December 2006
14 December 2006
15 December 2006
17 December 2006
12 May 2007 Coimbra Portugal Estádio Cidade de Coimbra 39,639 / 39,639 $4,439,568
18 May 2007 Aarhus Denmark Atletion 44,966 / 44,966 $2,080,026
19 May 2007
23 May 2007 Budapest Hungary Ferenc Puskás Stadium 52,047 / 52,047 $2,133,947
25 May 2007 Bratislava Slovakia Inter Football Stadium 6,875 / 15,801 $855,295
28 May 2007 Sofia Bulgaria Lokomotiv Stadium 25,003 / 25,003 $1,125,184
31 May 2007 Bucharest Romania Lia Manoliu Stadium 13,902 / 13,902 $2,432,846
2 June 2007 Prague Czech Republic Strahov Stadium - cancelled
6 June 2007 Dublin Ireland RDS Arena 64,154/ 64,154 $7,698,459
9 June 2007 London England Wembley Stadium 172,458 / 172,458 $24,490,995
10 June 2007
12 June 2007 Norwich Carrow Road 54,275 / 54,275 $7,869,385
15 June 2007 Manchester City of Manchester Stadium 60,195 / 60,195 $8,728,294
17 June 2007 Glasgow Scotland Hampden Park 53,024 / 53,024 $7,751,504
19 June 2007 Plymouth England Home Park 38,402 / 38,402 $5,491,886
22 June 2007 Paris France Stade de France 63,583 / 63,583 $9,473,837
23 June 2007 Antwerp Belgium Sportpaleis 14,230 / 14,230 $2,020,550
26 June 2007 Amsterdam Netherlands Amsterdam Arena 55,384 / 55,384 $8,085,064
29 June 2007 Stockholm Sweden Ericsson Globe
1 July 2007 Helsinki Finland Hartwall Arena
5 July 2007 Moscow Russia Olympisky Stadium
6 July 2007
9 July 2007 Kiev Ukraine Olympic Stadium
11 July 2007 Warsaw Poland Służewiec 35,000
13 July 2007 Vienna Austria Wiener Stadthalle
15 July 2007 Nuremberg Germany Grundig-Stadion – Cancelled
17 July 2007 Padua Italy Stadio Plebiscito
19 July 2007 Lucca Stadio Porta Elisa
21 July 2007 Rome Stadio Olimpico
26 July 2007 Athens Greece OAKA Olympic Stadium
1 August 2007 Dublin Ireland The Point
2 August 2007
4 August 2007 Belfast Northern Ireland SSE Arena
North America [3]
17 June 2008 San Diego United States Valley View Casino Center
19 June 2008 San Jose SAP Center
21 June 2008 Las Vegas MGM Grand Garden Arena
22 June 2008 Phoenix Talking Stick Resort Arena
25 June 2008 Inglewood The Forum
27 June 2008 Anaheim Honda Center
2 July 2008 Seattle KeyArena
4 July 2008 Vancouver Canada Rogers Arena 12,000 / 15,000
7 July 2008 Saint Paul United States Xcel Energy Center 7,504 / 12,999
9 July 2008 Chicago United Center 10,061 / 13,500 $1,375,690
13 July 2008 Dallas American Airlines Center
14 July 2008 Houston Toyota Center
17 July 2008 Toronto Canada Air Canada Centre 14,802 / 14,802 $2,115,255
18 July 2008 Montreal Bell Centre 9,865 / 9,865 $1,454,257
21 July 2008 New York City United States Madison Square Garden
23 July 2008
26 July 2008 Philadelphia Wells Fargo Center
27 July 2008 Boston TD Garden 10,325 / 14,000
29 July 2008 Washington, D.C. Verizon Center 8,331 / 13,000 $1,055,827
31 July 2008 Atlanta Philips Arena
2 August 2008 Tampa Amalie Arena
3 August 2008 Fort Lauderdale BB&T Center
The Finals
24 August 2008 London England Earls Court
25 August 2008
30 August 2008 Copenhagen Denmark Telia Parken
1 December 2008 Abu Dhabi United Arab Emirates Zayed Sports City Stadium

Cancellations

2007 shows faced some rescheduling, cancellations and other changes:

  • Prague show was cancelled due to an accident of a lorry with equipment on the road from Bucharest to Prague[4]
  • Caused by stage lorry accident the second show in Dublin's RDS was rescheduled for August 1st and 2nd of the same year, and the venue changed to The Point
  • Düsseldorf show was cancelled due to logistical reasons (first it was moved to Nürnberg and then eventually cancelled without providing reasons)
  • Shows in Helsinki, Stockholm, Belgium, and Vienna were moved to smaller venues due to low ticket sales, instead the show in Moscow received the second date due to high demand

Critical reception

The tour received positive reviews, with praise for the set list and overall production of the show.

Features
  • 25 Live Tour features the first time a 3000 piece LED screen has been used.
  • 25 Live Tour features a three dimensional video wall. The video screen isn't just a backdrop to the stage, it also lies on the stage surface. Paul McCartney used a similar concept in his 2005 US Tour.
  • 25 Live tour features the first time that motion tracking comes from the artist to video.
  • 25 Live Tour features the first time 490 frequency channels are transmitted to the audio mixing board, producing dynamic, richer sound for the performance
  • 25 Live Tour features the first time that on-screen visuals respond to the musicians performing.

Trivia
  • On 20 December 2006 George Michael made special free concert for NHS nurses in the Roundhouse, North London. George claimed he wanted to thank the nurses who had cared for his late mother.
  • On 31 December 2006 George Michael was paid $3 million for a 75-minute private concert in Moscow, Russia, which made him the highest paid entertainer in Russian history.[5]
  • George Michael became the first music artist to perform at the new Wembley Stadium when he played two shows at the venue on 9 June 2007 and 10 June 2007 during his 25 Live tour.[6]
  • During his concert in Sofia, Bulgaria George Michael devoted to the Bulgarian nurses prosecuted in the HIV trial in Libya.[7]
  • On 17 June 2008 George Michael launched the NA leg of his final world tour by congratulating lawmakers for legalising gay marriage in California.[8]
  • On 25 June 2008, during the L.A. concert, George celebrated his 45th birthday. The band played "Happy Birthday", while Bo Derek walked on stage with a huge birthday cake.
  • On 27 July 2008, George Michael's concert at TD Banknorth Garden in Boston was delayed 1½ hours due to weather conditions and flight delays. He later apologized for the delay and despite the holdup, played a full 3-hour set.
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References

Notes
  1. George Michael plays "final" major shows - Monday 25 August 2008
  2. George Michael plays "final" major shows - Monday 25 August 2008
  3. Xcel Energy Center
  4. "Accident forces George Michael to cancel Prague gig". Reuters UK. Retrieved 25 December 2019.
  5. George Michael – Michael 'Highest Paid Performer In Russian History'
  6. "Wembley Stadium – Press Releases". Archived from the original on 8 January 2009. Retrieved 30 June 2008.
  7. Bulgaria: George Michael: Free Bulgaria's Nurses in Libya!
  8. George Michael – Michael Thrilled About Same-Sex Marriages
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