Beyoncé fans are preparing for a rush to purchase tickets for her first solo tour in seven years, as the first pre-sale for her UK dates opens today.
O2 users will have early access beginning at 10:00 GMT, followed by additional pre-sales on Friday and Monday.
On Tuesday, tickets for the pop superstar’s five stadium performances in Cardiff, Edinburgh, Sunderland, and London will go on sale to the general public.
They are participating on a 43-city tour to promote her Renaissance album.
The concerts will begin in Sweden on 10 May, followed by a week at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff.
She will then visit Murrayfield in Edinburgh on 20 May, the Stadium of Light in Sunderland on 23 May, and the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London on 29 and 30 May.
Before ticket pre-sales begin on Monday in North America, customers must register for Ticketmaster’s Verified Fan process, which the corporation claims will weed out touts.
Those who have registered will be entered into a “lottery-like process” if the number of tickets requested exceeds the number of tickets available.
Beyoncé ticket rush predicted as UK tour pre-sale begins
Politicians in the United States, who are currently probing Ticketmaster for the botched sale of Taylor Swift’s Eras tour, will closely monitor how the systems handle Beyoncé’s shows.
Beyoncé gave her first headlining performance in four years at the launch of a luxury hotel in Dubai last week, but she did not perform any of her new music.
She reportedly earned $24m (£19.4m) for the one-off performance but was criticized for appearing in a country where homosexuality and gender transition are illegal.
According to critics, this contradicts the content of her most recent album, which expressly embraces black and queer dance culture.
Beyoncé conceptualized Renaissance as “a place to dream and find escape” during the epidemic, mixing her songs with many samples and references to club music, ranging from Nile Rodgers’ Studio 54 disco grooves and Grace Jones’ imperious soul to less-famous movements such as bounce and dancehall.
Exclaim magazine characterized it as “the sound of a once-in-a-generation superstar playing at the top of her game”.
Beyoncé has eschewed shooting music videos for the album, so the Renaissance tour will be the first opportunity for fans to experience her visual version of songs such as Break My Soul, Alien Superstar, and Cuff It.
At this weekend’s Grammys, where she is up for nine prizes, including album of the year, the ex-Child Destiny star may offer extra information.
In October, when she raffled off concert tickets at the fifth annual Wearable Art Gala, the singer had alluded to intentions for a world tour.
Images from the auction claimed that the “unique” prize, valued at $20,000 (£16,200), comprised first-class airfare, a three-night hotel stay, two concert tickets, and a backstage tour from Beyoncé’s mother.
