Women have embarked on the highest-grossing concert tours, as solo performers or music groups. Many reported figures are taken from Billboard and Pollstar, two major publications that regularly provide the official figures of concerts' gross revenue worldwide. However, there are many incomplete data in the early reporting of both publications, especially for the pre-2000s tours, hence a few claims are based on other non-specialist sources. This list excludes tours headlined by mixed-gender groups (such as On with the Show by Fleetwood Mac) or co-headlined with other male artists (such as Grand National Tour by Kendrick Lamar and SZA).
Madonna and Tina Turner were pioneers for women in touring since the 1980s, becoming the only women with multiple top-ten tours until the 2000s. Madonna's Who's That Girl World Tour (1987) was the first world tour held primarily in stadiums by a woman, while Turner was the first female performer to pass $100 million in a single tour, with the Wildest Dreams Tour (1996âÂÂ1997). Madonna continued the success into the 2010s, along with the next generation of women such as Pink, Taylor Swift, and Beyoncé, all of whom have multiple top-ten entries in the respective decade. With the Formation World Tour (2016), Beyoncé became the first woman to headline a tour with entirely stadium shows. She is also currently the only woman to appear twice in the top ten of the 2020s.
The Eras Tour (2023âÂÂ2024) by Taylor Swift became the first tour to pass $1 billion and $2 billion. Madonna's Sticky & Sweet Tour (2008âÂÂ2009) remained the highest-grossing tour by a woman for 15 years (2008âÂÂ2023), longer than any other record-holder. Between 2012 and 2018, she also occupied the top-two highest-grossing tours by a woman, with the MDNA Tour as the runner-up. The only groups on this list are the Spice Girls in the pre-2000s and Blackpink in the 2020s, with the latter's Born Pink World Tour remaining the highest-grossing tour by a female group of all time. Other significant milestones include I Am Gloria World Tour by Hong Kong singer G.E.M. as the highest-grossing tour by a non-American woman, as well as Shakira's Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran World Tour as the highest-grossing tour by a Latin woman. Madonna has achieved the highest-grossing women's tour of the year seven times, more than any other artists.