Mylo Xyloto Tour

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Lore & Background

Before the main tour began, Coldplay engaged in a series of promotional and festival performances including Austin City Limits, Glastonbury, Lollapalooza, and Rock in Rio, alongside concerts in Cape Town and Johannesburg. The band announced initial dates for the UK, France, Germany, and Belgium on Twitter in September 2011, later adding rehearsal concerts in October and November for radio festivals and fan-exclusive gigs. In November, extra stadium dates were scheduled across the UK for June 2012; shows at Coventry's Ricoh Arena, Manchester's Etihad Stadium, Sunderland's Stadium of Light, and London's Emirates Stadium sold out within two hours. The tour officially kicked off with a live-streamed concert in Madrid on 26 October 2011, where the band performed songs from Mylo Xyloto alongside previous hits.

In Their Own Story

The Madrid launch was a pivotal moment, streamed live on YouTube as part of the Unstaged series and broadcast to New York City's Times Square. Directed by Anton Corbijn and presented by American Express, the webcast allowed internet users to select camera views ranging from 'front of stage' to 'aerial,' while viewing exclusive pre-show interviews and soundcheck footage; it reportedly reached 20 million people. The tour also featured a historic broadcast on Absolute Radio titled Coldplay: Live at the Emirates, where DJ Geoff Lloyd hosted a special before airing the full 1 June concert from London's Emirates Stadium live and uninterrupted. This specific venue became a record-setter for the band, as they became the first act to perform there three times on a single tour, earning $14.4 million from 173,596 tickets sold.

Reader's Guide

The Mylo Xyloto Tour is noted for its technological innovation; Coldplay became the first musicians to make use of LED wristbands at shows, popularizing them in the live music industry. Financially, the tour was a massive success: according to Pollstar, it grossed over $181.3 million from 2.1 million tickets sold across 75 reported dates. More than $170 million came specifically from performances in 2012, ranking the band number four among the most successful tours of that year. The financial success was shared widely, with each member receiving £10.2 million after tax from the total £118.4 million made. While a Latin American leg was originally set for 2013, it was cancelled, leaving the official run to conclude in New York at the end of 2012.

Did You Know?

• Coldplay became the first musicians to use LED wristbands at shows, a move that popularized them in the live music industry.
• The band earned $14.4 million from three sold-out shows at London's Emirates Stadium alone, making it their most successful boxscore engagement at the time.
• A promotional concert in Madrid was streamed to 20 million people and featured interactive camera views ranging from 'front of stage' to 'aerial'.
• Each band member received £10.2 million after tax from the tour's total earnings of £118.4 million.
• The tour concluded on New Year's Eve, 31 December 2012, at New York City's Barclays Center.