Is Beyoncè Too Expensive To Perform in Africa?

The Formation World Tour will kicked off on April 27 in Miami and will extend out in North America until June 14 when it wraps in Detroit. After a short break, Beyonce will take the tour overseas on June 28 where she'll hit a string of European cities until July 31. No African city on the list and I think maybe we just can't afford her. 

US media reports that with many sold out shows, tickets on the secondary market are averaging $353 (thats R5300 for us South Africans and 70 000 Nigerian Nairas) for the tour, a number that clocks in as the most expensive average over the past few tours.

Following the general on-sale on February 16, the most expensive show is set to be her May 18 stop at CenturyLink Field in Seattle where tickets are averaging $741, with the cheapest ticket priced at $74. 

Beyonce's cheapest show is slated for her June 10 performance at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore, where tickets are averaging $257, with the cheapest ticket priced at $71. 

Beyonce's last tour, a 21-date trek called the On the Run Tour with husband Jay Z, launched in 2014 and hit similarly massive stadiums. Tickets for the entirety of that tour averaged $221 on the secondary market, with the highest price point in Chicago at Soldier Field. Beyonce's last solo trek, 

The Mrs. Carter Show World Tour, launched in April 2013 and extended until March of 2014. Tickets for the tour averaged $297, with the highest price points in Boston, where tickets averaged a whopping $898, according to the TiqIQ database.

While it is important to point out that ticket prices are always slightly adjusted to the country, one can not ignore the fact that selling a ticket for under a R1000 in SA for Beyonce will be a drop down. Question then arises as to whether the reason we haven't seen Beyonce perform in concert in Africa is simply because she will be too expensive for our pocket?

Mariah Carey's recent concert in South Africa was billed with ticket prices ranging between R350 and R1500. Nicki Minaj's March tour of South Africa clocked in ticket prices between R490 and R1500. 

With Beyonce you get a lot more than what fans got with both superstars Mariah and Nicki. With Mrs Carter, you get the elaborate stages, the dancers, a full band, state of the art LED screen equipment and the whole shebang that makes Beyonce's concert an experience — and that does not come cheap. So, it is unlikely that a Beyonce concert ticket even in Africa would cost the same as a Mariah's. 

Would you be willing to pay over R2000 to see Beyonce in South Africa?