HIStory World Tour


The HIStory World Tour was the third and final worldwide solo concert tour by American singer and songwriter Michael Jackson, covering Europe, Asia, Oceania, Africa and North America. The tour included a total of 82 concerts spanning the globe with stops in 57 cities, 35 countries on five continents.
The tour promoted Jackson's 1995 album HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book I. The second leg also promoted the remix album Blood on the Dance Floor: HIStory in the Mix.
The tour was attended by over 4.5 million fans and grossed over US$165 million making it the highest-grossing tour of the 1990s by a solo artist.

Overview

The tour was announced on May 29, 1996, and marked Jackson's first concert tour since the Dangerous World Tour ended in November 1993.

Europe, Africa, Asia and Oceania (1996)

Jackson's debut concert for the tour, performed at Letná Park in Prague, was one of the largest single attended concerts in his career, with over 125,000 people. On October 7, he performed for the first time ever in the Arab world and Africa as a solo artist in Tunis. During the tour's stopover in Sydney, he married Debbie Rowe in a private and impromptu ceremony. He was interviewed by Molly Meldrum in Brisbane and danced with two women during "You Are Not Alone".

North America (1997)

From January 3–4, Jackson performed his only two concerts on this tour in the US, in Honolulu, Hawaii, at the Aloha Stadium, to a crowd of 35,000 each; making him the first artist in history to sell out the stadium.

Europe and Africa (1997)

During the break period, Jackson worked and released his Blood on the Dance Floor: HIStory in the Mix album. The second leg started on May 31, at the Weserstadion in Bremen, Germany.
Jackson performed at the Parken Stadium in Copenhagen, Denmark on his 39th birthday with 60,000 fans. He was presented with a surprise birthday cake, marching band, and fireworks on stage after "You Are Not Alone". The concert at Hippodrome Wellington of Ostend, Belgium, was originally scheduled for August 31, but was postponed to September 3 following the death of Diana, Princess of Wales.

Latin America cancellations (1997–98)

There were some initial plans to take the tour, in February 1997, to such Brazilian cities as São Paulo, Curitiba, Rio de Janeiro, and Brasília; but these plans were suspended due to promotional issues. Jackson tried to visit Brazil again in February 1998, as well as Argentina, but these too were scrapped so that he could work on MJ & Friends.

Recordings

Throughout the tour, many concerts were professionally filmed by Nocturne Productions, but none were ever officially released worldwide. One of the Seoul dates was also recorded and released exclusively in South Korea under the title 마이클 잭슨 내한공연. The two concerts in Munich, Germany, were recorded and later broadcast by many television channels.

Set list

;1996–1997 set list
  1. "Great Gates of Kiev"
  2. "Scream" / "They Don't Care About Us" / "In the Closet"
  3. "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'"
  4. "Stranger in Moscow"
  5. "Smooth Criminal"
  6. "The Wind"
  7. "You Are Not Alone"
  8. "The Way You Make Me Feel"
  9. The Jackson 5 Medley: "I Want You Back" / "The Love You Save" / "I'll Be There"
  10. Off the Wall Medley: "Rock with You" / "Off the Wall" / "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough"
  11. "Remember the Time"
  12. "Billie Jean"
  13. "Thriller"
  14. "Beat It"
  15. "Come Together" / "D.S." / "Blood on the Dance Floor"
  16. "Black Panther"
  17. "Dangerous"
  18. "Black or White"
  19. "Earth Song"
  20. "We Are the World"
  21. "Heal the World"
  22. "HIStory"
Alterations
  • Songs originally considered for the first leg of the tour included "Man in the Mirror", "She's Out of My Life", "Jam", "Childhood", "Will You Be There", "Dirty Diana", "State of Shock" and "2 Bad". "Morphine" was also rehearsed twice for the 1997 leg but was also removed.
  • The medley of "Come Together" and "D.S." was removed after the Adelaide concert on November 26, 1996. "Blood on the Dance Floor" replaced them for most of the 1997 leg before being removed after August 19. Prior to this, it was omitted from the Vienna concert on July 2.
  • "Rock with You", "Off the Wall" and "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough" were performed on select dates, before being permanently removed from the set list after June 13, 1997.
  • "The Way You Make Me Feel" was performed on select dates until after June 15, 1997.
  • Starting on September 3, 1997, the instrumental of "Gates of Kiev" was replaced with "Smile", in memory of Princess Diana.
  • On August 22, 1997, "Ben" was played at the beginning of the Tallinn concert.

Personnel

Lead performer

Dancers

1996 leg

1997 leg

Band members

Vocals

Credits

Sponsor

  • Kingdom Entertainment