The HIStory World Tour was the third and final worldwide solo concert tour by American artistMichael Jackson, covering Europe, Africa, Asia, Oceania and North America. The tour included a total of 83 concerts spanning the globe with stops in 57 cities, 35 countries on 5 continents. The tour was done to promote the 1995 album, with hit singles like Scream, They Don't Care About Us, Earth Song and You Are Not Alone appearing in the new setlist. The second leg also promoted the remix album . The tour was attended by approximately 4.5 million fans, beating his previous Bad World Tour with 4.4 million. A recording of the concert from Seoul Olympic Stadium was released on VHS in South Korea. A performance in Munich in July 1997 was recorded for DVD release, but the plans were later cancelled.
Overview
The tour was announced on May 29, 1996, and marked Jackson's first concert tour since his Dangerous World Tour ended in late 1993. Jackson's debut concert for the tour, performed at Letna Park in Prague, was one of the largest single attended concerts in his career, with over 125,000 people. On October 7, 1996, he performed for the first time ever in the Arab world and Africa as a solo artist in Tunis in front of 60,000 fans. During the tour's stopover in Sydney, Australia, 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". From January 3–4, 1997, 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., During the break period, Jackson worked and released his album. The second leg started on May 31, 1997, at the Weserstadion in Bremen, Germany. Set list changes included the addition of "Blood on the Dance Floor" and later on the removal of the "Off the Wall" Medley and "The Way You Make Me Feel". "Blood on the Dance Floor" was taken off the set list after the concert in Oslo on August 19, 1997. 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, 1997, but was postponed to September 3 following Diana, Princess of Wales's death. Michael performed in Helsinki, Finland on Aug 24 and 26, 1997 at the Olympic Stadium.
Show Performance
Michael Jackson's HIStory tour was one of his most high tech concert shows and revealed new features to its 83 shows from September 1996 to October 1997. The show's opening featured a video segment where Michael piloted a spacecraft through multiple points in history before emerging from underneath the stage at the end. The stage featured two statues of Michael on either side of it and was large enough to use an entire curtain for the opening segment of "Smooth Criminal". The cherry picker used for "Beat It" and "Earth Song" extended out from the center of the stage and partially acted as a ramp when it was not in use.
LaVelle Smith, Travis Payne, Shawnette Heard, Damon Navandi, Courtney Miller, Anthony Talauega, Richmond Talauega, Lori Werner, Jason Yribar, Cris Judd
