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 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]

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

Set list

Asia
  1. "When You're Looking Like That"
  2. "World of Our Own"
  3. "What Makes a Man"
  4. "Safe"
  5. "Home"
  6. "My Love"
  7. "Beautiful Tonight"
  8. "Beautiful World"
  9. "Lighthouse"
  10. "If I Let You Go"
  11. "Queen of My Heart"
  12. "Seasons in the Sun"
  13. "You Raise Me Up"
  14. "I'm Already There"
  15. "I Will Reach You"
  16. "Flying Without Wings"
Encore
  2. "What About Now"
  3. "Uptown Girl"
Europe
  1. "What About Now"
  2. "What Makes a Man"
  3. "My Love"
  4. "Safe"
  5. "Uptown Girl"
  6. "If I Let You Go"
  7. "Queen of My Heart"
  8. "Ain't That A Kick In The Head?"
  9. Medley: "I Gotta Feeling" / "Party Rock Anthem" / "Sex on Fire" / "Don't Cha" / "Let Me Entertain You" / "Bohemian Rhapsody"
  10. "When You're Looking Like That"
  11. "Mandy"
  12. "Seasons in the Sun"
  13. "Swear It Again"
  14. "Home"
  15. "You Raise Me Up"
Encore
  2. "World of Our Own"
  3. "Flying Without Wings"
Notes

Tour dates

Date City Country Venue
Asia[14][15]
22 February 2012 Beijing China MasterCard Center
24 February 2012 Hangzhou Yellow Dragon Gymnasium
25 February 2012 Shanghai Shanghai Indoor Stadium
26 February 2012 Shenzhen Shenzhen Bay Sports Centre
28 February 2012 Wuhan Hongshan Gymnasium
1 March 2012 Chengdu Sichuan Provincial Gymnasium
2 March 2012 Guangzhou Guangzhou Gymnasium
3 March 2012 Hong Kong VIVA
Europe[16]
10 May 2012 Cardiff Wales Motorpoint Arena
12 May 2012 London England The O2 Arena
13 May 2012 Sheffield Motorpoint Arena
14 May 2012 Newcastle Metro Radio Arena
15 May 2012 Liverpool Echo Arena
17 May 2012 Cardiff Wales Motorpoint Arena
18 May 2012
19 May 2012 Sheffield England Motorpoint Arena
20 May 2012 Birmingham LG Arena
22 May 2012 Nottingham Capital FM Arena
23 May 2012 London The O2 Arena
24 May 2012
26 May 2012 Manchester Manchester Arena
27 May 2012 Glasgow Scotland SECC Concert Hall 4
29 May 2012 Belfast Northern Ireland Odyssey Arena
30 May 2012
1 June 2012
2 June 2012
4 June 2012 Birmingham England LG Arena
5 June 2012 Nottingham Capital FM Arena
7 June 2012 London The O2 Arena
8 June 2012 Birmingham LG Arena
9 June 2012 Manchester Manchester Arena
11 June 2012 Cardiff Wales Motorpoint Arena
12 June 2012 Sheffield England Motorpoint Arena
13 June 2012 Liverpool Echo Arena
15 June 2012 Newcastle Metro Radio Arena
16 June 2012 Aberdeen Scotland Press & Journal Arena
17 June 2012
19 June 2012 Glasgow SECC Concert Hall 4
20 June 2012 Belfast Northern Ireland Odyssey Arena
22 June 2012 Dublin Ireland Croke Park
23 June 2012

Box office score data

Venue City Tickets sold / Available Gross revenue
The O2 Arena London 59,626 / 63,021 (95%) $3,939,530[17][18]
Manchester Arena Manchester 13,960 / 14,435 (97%) $907,287[19]

Personnel

Vocals

Crew

Live Concert Music DVD

Chart performance

Chart Peak
position
Ireland 1
UK Music Video Albums 1
UK Blu-Ray Albums (OCC)[20]
44
UK DVD Albums (OCC)[20]
14
UK Video Albums (OCC)[20]
16

Certifications and sales

Region Certification Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[21] 4× Platinum 200,000*

* Sales figures based on certification alone.

External links

References

  1. ^ "New Tour Announced!". Westlife Official Website. Simco Limited. 18 October 2011. Archived from the original on 27 October 2011. Retrieved 21 October 2011.
  2. ^ "Westlife finally call it a day". The Independent. 20 October 2011. Archived from the original on 22 October 2011. Retrieved 21 October 2011.
  3. ^ a b c "WESTLIFE – THE FAREWELL CONCERT: Saturday, June 23rd". Retrieved 10 June 2012.
  4. ^ "2012 Pollstar Year End: Top 50 Worldwide Tours" (PDF). Pollstar. January 2013. Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 June 2013. Retrieved 10 February 2019.
  5. ^ Deegan, Gordon (1 February 2013). "MCD records 'strong' profits". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 10 February 2019.
  6. ^ Corner, Lewis (12 October 2011). "Westlife unveil 'Greatest Hits' album artwork, tracklist". Digital Spy. Archived from the original on 24 November 2011. Retrieved 21 October 2011.
  7. ^ "Westlife heading back on tour". Orange. 18 October 2011. Archived from the original on 9 August 2016. Retrieved 21 October 2011.
  8. ^ "Westlife to split after 2012 arena tour". NME. 19 October 2011. Archived from the original on 23 October 2011. Retrieved 21 October 2011.
  9. ^ "Westlife to split up after farewell tour". Western Mail. 20 October 2011. Archived from the original on 20 October 2011. Retrieved 21 October 2011.
  10. ^ a b "Final support acts confirmed!". westlife.com. 21 April 2012. Archived from the original on 6 May 2012. Retrieved 25 April 2012.
  11. ^ Campos, Adelina (17 November 2011). "Jedward join Westlife farewell gig". Evening Herald. Independent News & Media. Archived from the original on 18 November 2011. Retrieved 18 November 2011.
  12. ^ "Westlife Farewell Tour with special guests The Wanted at Croke Park". MCD Productions. 4 November 2011. Archived from the original on 1 April 2012. Retrieved 4 November 2011.
  13. ^ "UK band Lawson to perform with Westlife at Croke Park". MCD Productions. 17 November 2011. Archived from the original on 22 November 2011. Retrieved 21 November 2011.
  14. ^ "Westlife Announce China Shows". Westlife's Official Website. Simco Limited. 31 January 2012. Archived from the original on 6 February 2012. Retrieved 5 February 2012.
  15. ^ "Westlife The Farewell Tour Live in Hong Kong 2012". AsiaWorld-Expo Website. AsiaWorld-Expo Management Limited. Archived from the original on 6 February 2012. Retrieved 5 February 2012.
  16. ^ "Westlife – Concert Schedule (as of 10/21/2011)". Pollstar. 21 October 2011. Archived from the original on 4 April 2012. Retrieved 21 October 2011.
  17. ^ "Billboard Boxscore: Concert Grosses". Billboard. Vol. 124, no. 20. Nashville, Tennessee: Prometheus Global Media. 16 June 2012. ISSN 0006-2510. Archived from the original on 18 June 2012. Retrieved 10 June 2012.
  18. ^ "Billboard Boxscore: Concert Grosses". Billboard. Vol. 124, no. 30. Nashville, Tennessee: Prometheus Global Media. 1 September 2012. ISSN 0006-2510. Archived from the original on 18 June 2012. Retrieved 23 August 2012.
  19. ^ "Billboard Boxscore: Concert Grosses". Billboard. Vol. 124, no. 21. Nashville, Tennessee: Prometheus Global Media. 23 June 2012. ISSN 0006-2510. Archived from the original on 18 June 2012. Retrieved 17 June 2012.
  20. ^ a b c "Official Charts Company". Official Charts.
  21. ^ "British video certifications – Westlife – Farewell Tour: Live in Croke Park". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 27 July 2022.
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