Greatest Hits Tour (Westlife)

The Greatest Hits Tour (also known as The Farewell Tour)[1] was the twelfth concert tour by Irish boy band, Westlife. The tour, visited the Europe and Asia and supported the group's compilation album, Greatest Hits. After the tour finished, the group disbanded after performing for 14 years until their reformation in 2018.[2]

Greatest Hits (Farewell) Tour
Tour by Westlife
Promotional poster for tour
Associated albumGreatest Hits
Start date22 February 2012 (2012-02-22)
End date23 June 2012 (2012-06-23)
Legs2
No. of shows33 in Europe
8 in Asia
41 Total
Box office€27 million
(US $35.2 million)
Westlife concert chronology

The last show, on 23 June 2012 was aired live via satellite from Croke Park, Dublin to cinemas all across Europe, Ireland, Belgium, the Czech Republic, South Africa, Estonia, Indonesia and Denmark.[3] Delayed screenings will be shown in cinemas in Indonesia, Australia, and South Africa in July and August 2012.[3] The encore was also shown again in select cinemas across UK on 26 June 2012.[3] The band was the 34th top-grossing tour act of the year and 12th in the midyear list with earnings of $35.2 million (€27 million). The farewell tour consisted of 8 dates in China and 33 in the UK and Ireland culminating in 2 nights at Croke Park in June. In total the band sold 489,694 tickets at an average price of $71.85 (€55) each.[4] The final nights at the said stadium were officially the 11th largest attendance at an outdoor stadium worldwide.[5]

They released a DVD in 2012 from the tour which went to number 1 in the UK and Irish charts, staying for 30 weeks in the charts. BBC later produced a live album from this tour titled "The Farewell Tour: Live in Croke Park" which was released in 2014.

Background

In October 2011, the group revealed plans for the release of a compilation album, spanning their entire career.[6] Many media outlets speculated the band would tour the album. An official announcement was made on 18 October 2011, a mere week after ending their previous tour in Southeast Asia.[7] On the statement released on the group's website, it reported they would perform all 14 of their number one hits along with other favourites. After announcing the tour, tabloids rumoured the band would break-up after their tour was done.[8] On 20 October 2011, the members of the band made an official announcement of their disbanding.[9]

Opening acts

  • Lilygreen & Maguire (Europe, select dates)[10]
  • Glenn Cal (Europe, select dates)[10]
  • Vanquish (Europe, select dates)
  • Wy Mac (Wynona Leigh McCullough) "Wy Mac". (Belfast, select dates)
  • Jedward (Dublin)[11]
  • The Wanted (Dublin)[12]
  • Lawson (Dublin)[13]

Set list

Tour dates

DateCityCountryVenue
Asia[14][15]
22 February 2012BeijingChinaMasterCard Center
24 February 2012HangzhouYellow Dragon Gymnasium
25 February 2012ShanghaiShanghai Indoor Stadium
26 February 2012ShenzhenShenzhen Bay Sports Centre
28 February 2012WuhanHongshan Gymnasium
1 March 2012ChengduSichuan Provincial Gymnasium
2 March 2012GuangzhouGuangzhou Gymnasium
3 March 2012Hong KongVIVA
Europe[16]
10 May 2012CardiffWalesMotorpoint Arena
12 May 2012LondonEnglandThe O2 Arena
13 May 2012SheffieldMotorpoint Arena
14 May 2012NewcastleMetro Radio Arena
15 May 2012LiverpoolEcho Arena
17 May 2012CardiffWalesMotorpoint Arena
18 May 2012
19 May 2012SheffieldEnglandMotorpoint Arena
20 May 2012BirminghamLG Arena
22 May 2012NottinghamCapital FM Arena
23 May 2012LondonThe O2 Arena
24 May 2012
26 May 2012ManchesterManchester Arena
27 May 2012GlasgowScotlandSECC Concert Hall 4
29 May 2012BelfastNorthern IrelandOdyssey Arena
30 May 2012
1 June 2012
2 June 2012
4 June 2012BirminghamEnglandLG Arena
5 June 2012NottinghamCapital FM Arena
7 June 2012LondonThe O2 Arena
8 June 2012BirminghamLG Arena
9 June 2012ManchesterManchester Arena
11 June 2012CardiffWalesMotorpoint Arena
12 June 2012SheffieldEnglandMotorpoint Arena
13 June 2012LiverpoolEcho Arena
15 June 2012NewcastleMetro Radio Arena
16 June 2012AberdeenScotlandPress & Journal Arena
17 June 2012
19 June 2012GlasgowSECC Concert Hall 4
20 June 2012BelfastNorthern IrelandOdyssey Arena
22 June 2012DublinIrelandCroke Park
23 June 2012

Box office score data

VenueCityTickets sold / AvailableGross revenue
The O2 ArenaLondon59,626 / 63,021 (95%)$3,939,530[17][18]
Manchester ArenaManchester13,960 / 14,435 (97%)$907,287[19]

Personnel

Vocals

Crew

Live Concert Music DVD

Chart performance

ChartPeak
position
Ireland1
UK Music Video Albums1
UK Blu-Ray Albums (OCC)[20]
44
UK DVD Albums (OCC)[20]
14
UK Video Albums (OCC)[20]
16

Certifications and sales

RegionCertificationCertified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[21]4× Platinum200,000*

* Sales figures based on certification alone.

References