25 Live

2006–08 concert tour by George Michael

25 Live was a concert tour by English singer songwriter George Michael. The tour was the most commercially successful tour of 2006–2007 in Europe, grossing over $200 million, with positive reviews from music critics. The 106 tour shows were performed in 41 countries and seen by 1.3 million fans across the globe. |
! scope="row" style="text align:center;"| 17 November
| rowspan="3"|Manchester
| rowspan="3"|England
| rowspan="3"|Manchester Evening News Arena
| rowspan="3"|65,292 / 65,292
| rowspan="3"|$9,271,547
|
! scope="row" style="text align:center;"| 18 November
|
! scope="row" style="text align:center;"| 21 November
|
! scope="row" style="text align:center;"| 22 November
| Glasgow
| Scotland
| SECC Arena
| 26,145 / 26,145
| $3,294,273
|
! scope="row" style="text align:center;"| 25 November
| rowspan="3"|London
| rowspan="6"|England
| rowspan="3"|Earls Court
| rowspan="3"|36,228 / 36,228
| rowspan="3"|$3,840,169
|
! scope="row" style="text align:center;"| 26 November
|
! scope="row" style="text align:center;"| 28 November
|
! scope="row" style="text align:center;"| 2 December
| rowspan="3"|Birmingham
| rowspan="3"|NEC Arena
| rowspan="3"|50,523 / 50,523
| rowspan="3"|$6,669,042
|
! scope="row" style="text align:center;"| 3 December
|
! scope="row" style="text align:center;"| 4 December
|
! scope="row" style="text align:center;"| 7 December
| rowspan="2"|Dublin
| rowspan="2"|Ireland
| rowspan="2"|Point Theatre
| rowspan="2"|25,020 / 25,020
| rowspan="2"|$3,123,926
|
! scope="row" style="text align:center;"| 8 December
|
! scope="row" style="text align:center;"| 11 December
| rowspan="5"|London
| rowspan="5"|England
| rowspan="5"|Wembley Arena
| rowspan="5"|41,180 / 41,180
| rowspan="5"|$5,806,283
|
! scope="row" style="text align:center;"| 12 December
|
! scope="row" style="text align:center;"| 14 December
|
! scope="row" style="text align:center;"| 15 December
|
! scope="row" style="text align:center;"| 17 December
|}

+ List of European concerts Date(2007) City Country Venue Opening act Attendance (Tickets sold / available) Revenue 12 May Coimbra Portugal Estádio Cidade de Coimbra 39,639 / 39,639 $4,439,568 18 May AarhusDenmarkAtletion44,966 / 44,966$2,080,026 19 May 23 May Budapest Hungary Ferenc Puskás Stadium 52,047 / 52,047 $2,133,947 25 May Bratislava Slovakia Inter Football Stadium 6,875 / 15,801 $855,295 28 May Sofia Bulgaria Lokomotiv Stadium 25,003 / 25,003 $1,125,184 31 May Bucharest Romania Lia Manoliu Stadium 13,902 / 13,902 $2,432,846 6 June Dublin Ireland RDS Arena Sophie Ellis Bextor 64,154 / 64,154 $7,698,459 9 June LondonEnglandWembley Stadium 172,458 / 172,458$24,490,995 10 June 12 June Norwich Carrow Road Sophie Ellis Bextor 54,275 / 54,275 $7,869,385 15 June Manchester City of Manchester Stadium 60,195 / 60,195 $8,728,294 17 June Glasgow Scotland Hampden Park 53,024 / 53,024 $7,751,504 19 June Plymouth England Home Park 38,402 / 38,402 $5,491,886 22 June Saint Denis France Stade de France 63,583 / 63,583 $9,473,837 23 June Antwerp Belgium Sportpaleis 14,230 / 14,230 $2,020,550 26 June Amsterdam Netherlands Amsterdam Arena 55,384 / 55,384 $8,085,064 29 June Stockholm Sweden Stockholm Globe Arena 1 July Helsinki Finland Hartwall Arena 5 July MoscowRussiaOlympisky 6 July 9 July Kyiv Ukraine Olympic Stadium 11 July Warsaw Poland Służewiec 35,000 13 July Vienna Austria Wiener Stadthalle 17 July PaduaItaly Stadio Plebiscito 19 July Lucca Stadio Porta Elisa 21 July Rome Stadio Olimpico 26 July Athens Greece OAKA Olympic Stadium40,0005,340,316 1 August DublinIrelandPoint Theatre 2 August 4 August Belfast Northern Ireland Odyssey Arena

+ List of North American concerts Date(2008) City Country Venue Opening act Attendance (Tickets sold / available) Revenue 17 June San DiegoUnited States San Diego Sports Arena 19 June San Jose HP Pavilion 21 June Las Vegas MGM Grand Garden Arena 22 June Phoenix US Airways Center 25 June Inglewood The Forum 27 June Anaheim Honda Center 2 July Seattle KeyArena 4 July Vancouver Canada General Motors Place 12,000 / 15,000 7 July Saint PaulUnited States Xcel Energy Center 7,504 / 12,999 9 July Chicago United Center 10,061 / 13,500 $1,375,690 13 July Dallas American Airlines Center 14 July Houston Toyota Center 17 July TorontoCanada Air Canada Centre 14,802 / 14,802 $2,115,255 18 July Montreal Bell Centre 9,865 / 9,865 $1,454,257 21 July New York City United StatesMadison Square Garden 23 July 26 July Philadelphia Wachovia Center 27 July Boston TD Banknorth Garden 10,325 / 14,000 29 July Washington, D. C. Verizon Center 8,331 / 13,000 $1,055,827 31 July Atlanta Philips Arena 2 August Tampa St. Pete Times Forum 3 August Sunrise Bank Atlantic Center

+ List of European and Middle Eastern concerts Date(2008) City Country Venue Opening act Attendance (Tickets sold / available) Revenue 24 August LondonEnglandEarls Court 25 August 30 August Copenhagen Denmark Telia Parken 1 December Abu Dhabi United Arab Emirates Zayed Sports City Stadium

The tour received positive reviews, with praise for the set list and overall production of the show.

The 25 Live tour marked the first time a 3000 piece LED screen has been used. The 25 Live tour featured a three dimensional video wall. The video screen was not just a backdrop to the stage, it also laid on the stage surface. Paul McCartney used a similar concept for his 2005 US Tour. The 25 Live tour marked the first time motion tracking came from the artist to video. The 25 Live tour marked the first time 490 frequency channels were transmitted to the audio mixing board, producing dynamic, richer sound for the performance. The 25 Live tour marked the first time on screen visuals responded to the musicians performing.

On 20 December 2006, Michael made special free concert for NHS nurses in the Roundhouse, North London. Michael claimed he wanted to thank the nurses who had cared for his late mother. On 31 December 2006, Michael was paid $3 million for a 75 minute private concert in Moscow, Russia, which made him the highest paid entertainer in Russian history. Michael became the first music artist to perform at the new Wembley Stadium when he played two shows at the venue on 9 June 2007 and 10 June 2007 during the tour. During his concert in Sofia, Bulgaria, Michael devoted to the Bulgarian nurses prosecuted in the HIV trial in Libya. On 17 June 2008, Michael launched the North American leg of his final world tour by congratulating lawmakers for legalising gay marriage in California. On 25 June 2008, during the L. A. concert, Michael celebrated his 45th birthday. The band played "Happy Birthday", while Bo Derek walked on stage with a huge birthday cake. On 27 July 2008, Michael's concert at TD Banknorth Garden in Boston was delayed 1½ hours due to weather conditions and flight delays. He later apologized for the delay and despite the holdup, played a full 3 hour set.