The HIStory World Tour was the third and final world concert tour by Michael Jackson as a solo artist, covering Europe, Africa, Asia, Australia and Hawaii from September 7, 1996 to October 15, 1997. The tour, which grossed a total of $163.5 million, included a total of 82 concerts with a record-breaking attendance of 4,500,000 fans.

Overview

Royal concert in Brunei

Prior to the tour, Jackson performed a free concert at the Jerudong Park Amphitheatre in Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei on 16 July, 1996, attended by 60,000 throughout the park. The concert was in celebration of the 50th birthday of Hassanal Bolkiah, the Sultan of Brunei and was attended by the Brunei royal family, though the Sultan himself did not attend.

Much of the concert resembled Jackson's Dangerous World Tour, including his outfit and the set list, keeping the details of the upcoming HIStory Tour a close secret. The concert also marked the debut live performance of "You Are Not Alone" and "Earth Song" as well as the last performances of "Jam", "Human Nature", "I Just Can't Stop Loving You" and "She's out of My Life" at a Jackson concert (Although all, except the latter were rehearsed for This Is It). "Heal the World" was present on the setlists of both the Dangerous and HIStory Tours, it was not on the setlist of the Royal Concert.

A high quality soundboard bootleg recording of the concert was leaked on the Internet. However it has been edited and is a different sound dub. A poor quality VHS copy has also been leaked.

The following is the set list for the royal concert.

1. "Brace Yourself" Video Introduction
2. "Jam"
3. "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'"
4. "Human Nature"
5. "Smooth Criminal"
6. "I Just Can't Stop Loving You"
7. "She's out of My Life"
8. Jackson 5 Medley: "I Want You Back" / "The Love You Save" / "I'll Be There"
9. "Thriller"
10. "Billie Jean"
11. Black or White "Panther" Video Interlude
12. "The Way You Make Me Feel"
13. "Beat It"
14. "You Are Not Alone"
15. "Dangerous"
16. "Black or White"
17. "Man in the Mirror"
18. "Earth Song"

Tour announcement and stage

Unlike Jackson's past two solo world tours, the HIStory Tour would not be sponsored by Pepsi-Cola.

The birth of Kingdom International, a joint venture between Jackson and HRH Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal, the nephew of the Fahd bin Abdul Aziz, the King of Saudi Arabia from 1982 to 2005, was announced at a press conference held at the Palais des Congres in Paris, France on 19 March, 1995. Kingdom International allowed opportunities to be created and developed in the entertainment industry. In this conference Jackson said "Kingdom International is a dream come true." It was then announced that Jackson would embark on his third solo world tour.

1996/1997: First leg (Europe, Africa, Asia, Australia and United States)

Jackson started the tour off with a concert at Letna Park in Prague with a 125,000 strong attendance, one of Jackson's largest single attended concerts in his career. On January 3 and 4th 1997 Jackson only performed two concerts in America. He did not perform in the USA mainland, but rather in Honolulu, Hawaii at the Aloha Stadium to a crowd of 35,000 each.

1997: Second leg (Europe and Africa)

The second leg started off 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. It was only during the first concert in Bremen that Jackson donned a red jacket for Blood on The Dance Floor, which was later replaced with a blue uniform. Blood on the Dance Floor was taken off the set list after the concert in Oslo, Norway on August 19, 1997. On August 29, 1997 Jackson performed at the Parken Stadium in Copenhagen, Denmark on his 39th birthday with 50,000 fans. He was presented with a surprise birthday cake, marching band, and fireworks on stage before the Jackson 5 Medley. A concert was supposed to take place on August 7 in Ljubljana, Slovenia, but was cancelled due to poor ticket sales, the only concert that was cancelled during the tour. The concert at Hippodrome Wellington of Oostende, Belgium was supposed to be held on August 31, 1997, but was postponed to September 3 following Diana's death. During the September 3 concert audiences were required to be put into "cages." Starting with this concert, several of the final concerts had begun with Jackson's cover of Charlie Chaplin's Smile being played back, and an image of Diana on the jumbotron for some parts of the concert.

Televised Concerts

All concerts were professionally filmed by Nocturne Productions, Inc. which filmed all of Jackson's tours and private affairs. Just one concert, from Seoul on October 11, 1996 was commercially released on VHS in Korea. The DVD release of the Munich concerts held on July 4 and 6, 1997 planned for Christmas but was subsequently cancelled as Jackson was not satisfied with the performance.

A number of full, or near-full concerts were broadcast on television. Small parts of other certain concerts (typically the opening medley of Scream/They Don't Care About Us/In the Closet) were also shown on news reports around the world.

The following is a list of full or near-full concerts broadcast on Television, or otherwise noted:

First Leg 1996:

• 14/09/1996 Lia Manoliu Stadium - Bucharest, Romania

The first full televised concert and also the third concert of the tour. The Great Gate of Kiev introduction was filmed off-screen onto the JumboTron, not a direct feed like the other concerts. The crowd noises are the same as the ones from the Dangerous Tour in Bucharest, but the true origin of these sounds is unknown, as the Bucharest DVD contained footage from Wembley, Madrid and several other concerts. Also, it is worth noting that during his performances of "Thriller" and "Come Together/D.S.", he wore a red jacket, whereas he would usually wear a white jacket for "Thriller" and a blue jacket for "Come Together/D.S.".

• 13/10/1996 Olympic Stadium - Seoul, South Korea

During the performance of "Earth Song", Jackson, (who was up on a crane) was accosted by a male Korean fan who climbed up the crane just to meet Jackson. Michael held on to the man because he had a risk of falling. The man was then taken away by security after the crane was lowered. This concert was commercially released on VHS in Korea. Before the release of the 1992 Dangerous Tour Concert in Bucharest this was the only commercially released concert.

• 27/10/1996 Merdeka Stadium - Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

The released songs only goes up to Dangerous on the first concert, missing the last 2 songs; "Off the Wall Medley" and "Come Together/D.S." were not performed. Parts from several other songs from the October 29 concert were also released during a news report on TV1000. Because crotch grabbing is considered impure in Islam (Jackson had been banned from the United Arab Emirates for this during the Dangerous Tour), Jackson altered his crotch-grabbing move in this concert. Televised by ntv7.

• 09/11/1996 Ericsson Stadium - Auckland, New Zealand

Last known professionally filmed concert with the "Off the Wall Medley" and last performance of "Come Together/D.S.". Also the only known performance of "Billie Jean" with a repeated chorus near the end of the dance sequence.

• 16/11/1996 Sydney Cricket Ground - Sydney, Australia

Only a few songs were broadcast (on Nine Network) from this concert, as well as parts from the concert on November 14. Just a few hours after the latter performance, Jackson married Debbie Rowe in a civil ceremony in his presidential suite at the Sheraton on the Park Hotel. Both of the concerts are believed to exist in full in the hands of TV stations, but have not been aired as such.

• 08/12/1996 Asia World City - Parañaque, Metro Manila, Philippines

Televised initially by GMA Network. Often referred to as "HIStory Tour Manila." This was also broadcast on Singapore's MediaCorp Channel 5 around October 2006. The Channel 5 version fades after each song (there is no intro to Billie Jean), but is in higher quality than the GMA version, to which the audio sounds different. "The Way You Make Me Feel" and "Off the Wall Medley" were not performed at this concert.

• 31/12/1996 Jerudong Park Amphitheatre - Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei

Never televised, but known to exist as with the preceding Royal Concert in July. Along with the latter performance, it is one of the rarest known concerts to exist. Private collectors have obtained the concert on VHS in high quality but have never released full concert footage; these fans have remained controversial for refusing to share this and the Royal Concert with the fan community among other issues. In October 2008 a poor-quality VCD copy (also additionally compressed and watermarked) was uploaded onto the internet by a fan in Brunei who obtained the concert from a stage crew. Video quality was fair and the sound was badly encoded with a low rumbling appearing when low sounds were played. Starting from February 2009, the uncompressed and unwatermarked files from the same VCD source had been uploaded, though the sound quality is still the same. Like Malaysia, most people in Brunei are Muslim, so crotch-grabbing was also removed in this concert and is also obscured by camera angles that are different from most other concerts. This concert is also noted for the first verse of "Scream" being sung live. The curtain used in "Smooth Criminal" was not present during this concert (though it was during the Royal Concert), and the crane for "Beat It" and "Earth Song" is not used. "The Way You Make Me Feel" was performed at this concert, but "Off the Wall Medley" was not.

Second Leg 1997:

• 04 & 06/07/1997 Olympic Stadium - Munich Germany

Jackson planned upon filming this concert for a DVD release by Christmas time, so more camera angles (including individual crowd shots) were used, and the audio was later remastered heavily to emphasize the percussion and audience sounds. This concert was also an early experiment by Jackson with High Definition cameras. The release was ultimately cancelled; due to Jackson's dissatisfaction of the behind-the-scenes filming . However, the performance was televised extensively in many different countries, making it one of the most readily available concerts. The most common version is the one aired by Sat.1 and most other channels, but other versions, such as the one that aired in South Africa (with a small segment from a concert at Johannesburg), and a Japanese version also exist. Most versions have also been edited with a segment from the concert on August 3, 1997 at Leipzig before the Jackson 5 Medley about an insect on the stage. An unedited version of the Concert from July 4 has the original camera angles seen on the jumbotrons and original sound. Two amateur videos from July 6 (one of which contained footage of both concerts) also exist. Following Jackson's death, the Sat.1 version of this concert was re-televised by RTL 5, who had previously televised it on their Veronica channel.

This was also televised in Singapore's MediaCorp Channel 5 in 2009.

• 14/08/1997 Parken Stadium - Copenhagen, Denmark

Broadcast by TV1000 and Channel 3. Most VHS rips of this version that have appeared seem to suffer from a greenish video noise. This concert, along with the 1996 concert in Seoul, were televised on Korean Television in July 2009; the songs "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'," "Stranger in Moscow" and "Blood on the Dance Floor" were edited off in this new televised version of this concert. However, only a version with poor sound quality was recorded by a fan.

• 16/08/1997 Ullevi Stadium - Gothenburg, Sweden

Also broadcast by TV1000 and Channel 3. This concert is very similar to the Copenhagen concert; also the last professionally filmed performance of Blood on the Dance Floor (though the concert in Oslo on August 19 was the last performance of this song). During the beginning of Scream, the playback did not work properly for the first minute, but the concert carried on.

• 24/08/1997 Olympic Stadium - Helsinki, Finland

Also broadcast by TV1000. Most versions that have appeared suffer from audio noise and the video quality is fair. This is the last known full performance to exist on video.

Set list

1. Gates of Kiev
2. "Scream" / "They Don't Care About Us" / "In the Closet" (Features elements of HIStory and She Drives Me Wild)
3. "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'"
4. "Stranger in Moscow"
5. "Smooth Criminal"
6. "The Wind" Video Interlude
7. "You Are Not Alone"
8. "The Way You Make Me Feel" (Only on certain concerts from September 7, 1996 to June 15, 1997)
9. Jackson 5 Medley: "I Want You Back" / "The Love You Save"
10. Jackson 5 Medley: "I'll Be There"
11. Off the Wall Medley: "Rock with You" / "Off the Wall" / "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough" (Only on certain concerts, last performed on June 10, 1997)
12. "Remember the Time" Video Montage Interlude
13. "Billie Jean"
14. "Thriller"
15. "Beat It"
16. "Come Together" / "D.S." (Only on certain concerts from September 7, 1996 to November 11, 1996)
17. "Blood on the Dance Floor" (May 31, 1997 to August 19, 1997)
18. Black or White "Panther" Video Interlude
19. "Dangerous" (Features elements of Smooth Criminal and Interlude:Lets Dance by Janet Jackson)
20. "Black or White"
21. "Earth Song" (Used as the closing song from beginning of 1997 concerts)
22. "We Are the World" Video Interlude
23. "Heal the World"
24. "They Don't Care About Us (instrumental)
25. "HIStory" (with a video interlude of HIStory Teaser Trailer)

Tour dates

Date	City	Country	Venue
Europe
September 7, 1996	Prague	Czech Republic	Letna Park
September 10, 1996	Budapest	Hungary	Népstadion
September 14, 1996	Bucharest	Romania	Lia Manoliu Stadium
September 17, 1996	Moscow	Russia	Dynamo Stadium
September 20, 1996	Warsaw	Poland	Bemowo Airport
September 24, 1996	Zaragoza	Spain	La Romareda Stadium
September 28, 1996	Amsterdam	Netherlands	Amsterdam Arena
September 30, 1996
October 2, 1996
Africa
October 7, 1996	Tunisia	Tunis	El Menzah Stadium
Asia
October 11, 1996	Seoul	South Korea	Olympic Stadium
October 13, 1996
October 18, 1996	Taipei	Taiwan	Chungshan Soccer Stadium
October 20, 1996	Kaohsiung		Chungcheng Stadium
October 22, 1996	Taipei		Chungshan Soccer Stadium
October 25, 1996	Singapore	Singapore	National Stadium
October 27, 1996	Kuala Lumpur	Malaysia	Merdeka Stadium
October 29, 1996
November 1, 1996	Mumbai	India	Andheri Sports Complex
November 5, 1996	Bangkok	Thailand	IMPACT Muang Thong Thani
Oceania
November 9, 1996	Auckland	New Zealand	Ericsson Stadium
November 11, 1996
November 14, 1996	Sydney	Australia	Sydney Cricket Ground
November 16, 1996
November 19, 1996	Brisbane		ANZ Stadium
November 22, 1996	Melbourne		Melbourne Cricket Ground
November 24, 1996
November 26, 1996	Adelaide		Adelaide Oval
November 30, 1996	Perth		Burswood Dome
December 2, 1996
December 4, 1996
Asia
December 8, 1996	Parañaque	Philippines	Asia World City
December 10, 1996
December 12, 1996	Tokyo	Japan	Tokyo Dome
December 15, 1996
December 17, 1996
December 20, 1996
December 26, 1996	Fukuoka		Fukuoka Dome
December 28, 1996
December 31, 1996	Bandar Seri Begawan	Brunei	Jerudong Park Amphitheatre
North America
January 3, 1997	Honolulu	United States	Aloha Stadium
January 4, 1997

Second Leg

Date	City	Venue	Attendance
May 31, 1997	Bremen, Germany	Weserstadion	35,000
June 3, 1997	Cologne, Germany	Müngersdorfer Stadion	60,000
June 6, 1997	Bremen, Germany	Weserstadion	35,000
June 8, 1997	Amsterdam, Netherlands	Amsterdam ArenA	50,000
June 10, 1997	Amsterdam, Netherlands	Amsterdam ArenA	50,000
June 13, 1997	Kiel, Germany	Nordmarksportfield	55,000
June 15, 1997	Gelsenkirchen, Germany	Parkstadion	50,000
June 18, 1997	Milan, Italy	San Siro	45,000
June 20, 1997	Lausanne, Switzerland	La Pontaise Olympic Stadium	35,000
June 22, 1997	Bettembourg, Luxembourg	Krakelshaff	45,000
June 25, 1997	Lyon, France	Stade de Gerland	25,000
June 27, 1997	Paris, France	Parc des Princes	50,000
June 29, 1997	Paris, France	Parc des Princes	45,000
July 2, 1997	Vienna, Austria	Ernst Happel Stadium	50,000
July 4, 1997	Munich, Germany	Olympic Stadium	70,000
July 6, 1997	Munich, Germany	Olympic Stadium	70,000
July 9, 1997	Sheffield, United Kingdom	Don Valley Stadium	45,000
July 12, 1997	London, United Kingdom	Wembley Stadium	72,000
July 15, 1997	London, United Kingdom	Wembley Stadium	72,000
July 17, 1997	London, United Kingdom	Wembley Stadium	72,000
July 19, 1997	Dublin, Ireland	Royal Dublin Society	40,000
July 25, 1997	Basel, Switzerland	St. Jakob Park	55,000
July 27, 1997	Nice, France	Stade Charles-Ehrmann	35,000
August 1, 1997	Berlin, Germany	Olympic Stadium	88,000
August 3, 1997	Leipzig, Germany	Festwiese	60,000
August 10, 1997	Hockenheim, Germany	Hockenheimring	85,000
August 14, 1997	Copenhagen, Denmark	Parken Stadium	45,000
August 16, 1997	Gothenburg, Sweden	Ullevi	47,000
August 19, 1997	Oslo, Norway	Valle Hovin	34,000
August 22, 1997	Tallinn, Estonia	Song Festival Grounds	75,000
August 24, 1997	Helsinki, Finland	Olympic Stadium	50,000
August 26, 1997	Helsinki, Finland	Olympic Stadium	50,000
August 29, 1997	Copenhagen, Denmark	Parken Stadium	45,000
September 3, 1997	Ostend, Belgium	Hippodrome Wellington	55,000
September 6, 1997	Valladolid, Spain	José Zorrilla Stadium	45,000
October 4, 1997	Cape Town, South Africa	Greenpoint Stadium	35,000
October 6, 1997	Cape Town, South Africa	Greenpoint Stadium	35,000
October 10, 1997	Johannesburg, South Africa	Johannesburg Stadium	57,000
October 12, 1997	Johannesburg, South Africa	Johannesburg Stadium	57,000
October 15, 1997	Durban, South Africa	Kings Park Stadium	50,000

Trivia

The average attendance for each concert on the tour 48,638, with an average income of just under $2 million.Jackson was the first in history to sell out the Aloha Stadium in Honolulu, Hawaii. He performed two sold out concerts there on January 3 and 4, 1997.In a similar way to the performance from She's out of My Life during the Dangerous Tour, a female audience member would be randomly picked to meet Jackson on stage for performances of You Are Not Alone.A concert was scheduled for Ljubljana Hippodrome of Ljubljana, Slovenia but was cancelled due to poor ticket sales.The concert tour video introduction features the Hymn to Red October, composed by Basil Poledouris, (for the titular film The Hunt for Red October) representing the marching troops following Jackson.

Performers

Lead performer

• Vocals, Dance, Choreographer: Michael Jackson

Dancers

First Leg

• LaVelle Smith, Shawnette Heard, Damon Navandi, Courtney Miller, Anthony Talauega, Richmond Talauega, Loru Werner, Jason Yribar

Second Leg

• LaVelle Smith, Cristan Judd, Stacy Walker, Anthony Talauega, Richmond Talauega, Faune Chambers

Band members

• Music Director: Brad Buxer
• Assistant Musical Director: Kevin Dorsey
• Keyboards: Brad Buxer, Isaiah Sanders
• Drums: Jonathan Moffett
• Lead Guitar: Jennifer Batten and Greg Howe
• Rhythm Guitar: David Williams
• Bass: Freddie Washington
• Vocal Director: Kevin Dorsey
• Vocals: Kevin Dorsey, Darryl Phinnessee, Dorian Holley, Fred White (second leg), Marva Hicks (only in first leg and early second leg)

Credits

• Executive Director: MJJ Productions
• Artistic Director: Michael Jackson
• Assistant Director: Peggy Holmes
• Choreographed by: Michael Jackson & LaVelle Smith
• Staged & Designed by: Kenny Ortega
• Set Designed by: Michael Cotton & John McGraw
• Lightning Designer: Peter Morse
• Director of Security: Bill Bray
• Costumes Designed by: Dennis Tompkins & Michael Bush
• Hair & Make-up: Karen Faye
• Stylist: Tommy Simms
• Artist Manager: Tarak Ben Amar
• Personal Management: Gallin Morey Associates

References

• All information acquired from Michael Jackson Trader