The Beyoncé concert map of Toronto
With the Renaissance World Tour hitting town, we rounded up every Toronto Beyoncé concert we could find.
It feels neither fair nor accurate to say Beyoncé is in the news “again.” It’s more like “still.”
Earlier this year, the acclaimed, beloved singer broke the record for most Grammy wins of all time. Around the same time, tickets for her Renaissance World Tour — which has two stops in Toronto on July 8 and 9 — went on sale, throwing the internet into a frenzy.
And just this week it was announced that the city is getting a “Renaissance Flagship” pop-up at Holt Renfrew, starting on Wednesday.
Of course, the Renaissance tour is hardly Beyoncé’s first stop in Toronto. She’s played multiple venues in the city over many years since debuting with Destiny’s Child in the late ’90s.
But just how many concerts are we talking about? Ahead of the new tour stops, we rounded up every show we could find. Read on or check the map accompanying this article for what we discovered.
1. July 7, 1998
Venue: Molson Amphitheatre (now Budweiser Stage), w/Destiny’s Child
Beyoncé’s first Toronto concert. She and the rest of Destiny’s Child — at the time, Kelly Rowland, LaTavia Roberson, and LeToya Luckett — opened for Boyz II Men, along with Next, Mya, and Uncle Sam.
The group’s first album, Destiny’s Child, had been released just five months earlier, and it had already spent 19 weeks on the Billboard 200 as of the date of the concert.
2. Nov. 19, 1999
Venue: Roy Thomson Hall, w/Destiny’s Child
Fresh off the release of their second album, The Writing’s on the Wall, the fast-rising group played the hallowed venue that is now home to the Toronto Symphony Orchestra.
There’s little info on the internet about this concert, but we can trust the hall itself:
20 years ago today these queens graced the Roy Thomson Hall stage! pic.twitter.com/U7pks6O5Hk
— Roy Thomson Hall (@roythomsonhall) November 19, 2019
3. July 22, 2000
Venue: Paramount Canada’s Wonderland, w/Destiny’s Child
For Beyoncé’s only Greater Toronto Area show not in Toronto itself, Destiny’s Child played the Kiss 92.5 Wham Bam Thank You Jam one-day festival at Paramount Canada’s Wonderland.
The rest of the lineup included the likes of Rascalz, Choclair, Jully Black, Vitamin C, and b4-4.
4. Sept. 21, 2000
Venue: MuchMusic Video Awards, w/Destiny’s Child
By this point, Destiny’s Child had become megastars (and a trio, with Beyoncé, Rowland, and Michelle Williams). The Writing’s on the Wall had produced multiple No. 1 hits and reached No. 5 on the Billboard 200, which made the group a big get for MuchMusic’s then-annual video awards.
The awards stage jutted out of the MuchMusic building and faced Queen St. W., and that’s where Destiny’s Child played their hit “Say My Name”:
5. June 7, 2001
Venue: MuchMusic Intimate and Interactive, w/Destiny’s Child
Oh, for the days when you could walk to the corner of Queen St. W. and John St., and see an artist like Destiny’s Child … for free … seemingly all the time.
For the second year in a row, Beyoncé and the rest of the group visited MuchMusic headquarters. This time, though, they sang a pretty full set list of songs in amongst being interviewed by host Rick Campanelli, including “Survivor,” “Bootylicious,” and “Independent Women.”
Here’s video of the event (apologies for the Polish dubbing):
6. Aug. 13, 2001
Venue: Air Canada Centre (now Scotiabank Arena), w/Destiny’s Child
Back so soon? The group returned to the city just two months after the Intimate and Interactive performance, this time as part of MTV’s Total Request Live Tour.
Beyoncé and Co. headlined, and were joined by Nelly, Eve, and others. It was a family affair as Solange — Beyoncé’s sister — emceed the festivities.
7. Aug. 10, 2005
Venue: Air Canada Centre, w/Destiny’s Child
Finally: The first standard headlining tour date for Destiny’s Child in Toronto. Only, it was for the Destiny Fulfilled... and Lovin’ It tour — which would end being the group’s last.
The set list featured a Destiny’s Child greatest-hits package, and also solo songs for each of the group’s three members.
8. Sept. 15, 2006
Venue: Yonge-Dundas Square
Another free show! This one — her first solo concert in Toronto, as far as we can tell — was in conjunction with the opening of a then-new Best Buy nearby.
According to setlist.fm, Beyoncé opened with “Déjà Vu,” closed with “Crazy in Love,” and included a Destiny’s Child medley in the middle.
9. Aug. 15, 2007
Venue: Air Canada Centre
The next time Beyoncé returned to T.O. was for the Beyoncé Experience tour. Supported by Canadian R&B singer Robin Thicke, the former Destiny Child’s member was a solo powerhouse by this point, and one of the biggest draws in music.
As Ashante Infantry wrote in the Toronto Star after the concert:
As she shook and shimmied her way through the set in the highest of heels and with the biggest of smiles, the comparisons that came to mind were Prince (for versatility and musicianship) and Tina Turner (for sass and sheer power).
10. July 20, 2009
Venue: Molson Amphitheatre
Who wants to play the Air Canada Centre every time they come to the city? For the I Am … World Tour, Beyoncé spent some time outside on a clear, sunny 25ºC day at the Molson Amphitheatre near Toronto’s waterfront.
But do you want to get real jealous?
According to an old NOW magazine concert calendar, tickets for the show ranged from $34.75 to $150.75.
11. July 21, 2013
Venue: Air Canada Centre
And we’re back at the ACC. This time, Beyoncé was in T.O. for the Mrs. Carter Show World Tour supporting her self-titled album, Beyoncé.
Exclaim’s Sarah Murphy called it a “fantastic blockbuster concert.” In her review, she wrote:
The girl power theme stuck throughout the night, as Beyoncé was backed by an all-female band and gaggle of dancers…. In a set that ran like a greatest hits, Bey delivered with phenomenal vocals, powerful dancing and a genuine charm that almost seemed surprising coming from one of the world’s most famous women.
12. Dec. 16, 2013
Venue: Air Canada Centre
Twice in the same tour? Yup. After leaving Toronto in July, Beyoncé did nine more North American dates, then hit Europe, Latin America, and Oceania before returning to North America for 10 more dates.
Then Toronto. Again. (“Hard working”? Doesn’t really cut it.)
For another sold-out ACC show, Béyonce performed a similar but modified version of the set from earlier in the year.
13. July 9, 2014
Venue: Rogers Centre, w/Jay-Z
Time off? Ha. Both fresh off their own tours, Beyoncé and husband Jay-Z hit the road together for On the Run, a mammoth tour that demanded Toronto’s biggest indoor venue. Of course, the pair sold out every seat. (In fact, the entire tour sold out.)
But how did the pairing work, with both on stage at the same time?
Pretty darn well, by all accounts. Star reporter Graham Slaughter wrote afterwards, “If you weren’t at the Rogers Centre Wednesday for Beyoncé and Jay Z’s tandem concert, you missed out.”
He went on to say:
The powerhouse hip-hop couple graced Canada with their two-and-a-half-hour On The Run show, which tells their complicated love story through a jaw-dropping 42-song setlist, iconic dance moves (the “Single Ladies” wrist pivot! The dutty wine in “Baby Boy!” The “Crazy in Love” thumb-to-chest lick!) and video montages. It’s the first time the couple has officially toured together. Hopefully it’s not the last.
As it turns out, it wasn’t. The pair reunited for On the Run II, though there was no Toronto date.
14. May 25, 2016
Venue: Rogers Centre
Beyoncé’s most recent Toronto tour date, and her first solo headlining show at the Rogers Centre, where she’ll get comfortable for two consecutive shows this summer.
This time, the singer was in town as part of The Formation World Tour in support of Lemonade.
"I love my divas." - @Beyonce #FormationWorldTour #Toronto pic.twitter.com/z0Xg32aaJD
— Lauren O'Neil (@laurenonline) May 26, 2016
CBC reporter Lauren O’Neil was in the audience that night, and took special note of the singer’s cross-generational appeal, as evidenced by the Toronto crowd:
Women, men and children from backgrounds as varied as those that make up the city itself went nuts when the first image of Queen Bey popped up on a 60-foot-tall, rotating LED box and continued to do so for the full two-hour show.
No doubt that scene will recur during the Renaissance tour dates — and whenever Beyoncé returns to Toronto in the future.
Beyonce icon by Icons8
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