Dream Within a Dream Tour

Dream Within a Dream Tour
Tour by Britney Spears
Image of a blond woman. She is wearing a one shoulder black top with lined sequins, with a long white sleeve in her right arm. Underneath the top, she is wearing a black short tie. She is also wearing black pants with sequins in a similar fashion to the top. Her belly button is pierced. The woman is looking directly into the camera and her mouth is open in a sexual way. Her hands are resting in her hips. The background is composed of small grey rectangular figures, separated by lines in orange and dark blue. In her left, there is a purple vertical line. The word "BRITNEY" is written over it in white capital letters. In a smaller size, the words "2002" and "DREAM WITHIN A DREAM TOUR" are written in purple handwriting.
Promotional poster for the tour
Location
  • Asia
  • North America
Associated albumBritney
Start dateNovember 1, 2001 (2001-11-01)
End dateJuly 28, 2002 (2002-07-28)
Legs4
No. of shows69
Supporting acts
Attendance946,169
Box office$53.3 million ($90.29 in 2023 dollars)[1]
Britney Spears concert chronology

The Dream Within a Dream Tour was the fourth concert tour by American entertainer Britney Spears. It was launched in support of her third studio album, Britney (2001). The tour was promoted by Concerts West, marking the first time Spears did not tour with Clear Channel Entertainment. On September 21, 2001, a North American tour was announced that kicked off in November after various dates were postponed. In February 2002, Spears announced a second leg of the tour. It was directed and choreographed by Wade Robson, who explained the main theme of the show was Spears's coming of age and newfound independence. The stage was designed by Steve Cohen and Rob Brenner and was composed of a main stage and a B-stage, united by a runway. Inspired by Cleopatra's barge, a flying device was developed so Spears could travel over the audience to the B-stage. The setlist was mostly composed by songs from the supporting album, as Spears felt they were more reflective of her personality. Songs from her previous two studio albums were also included in remixed form by Robson.

The show was divided into seven segments with the last one being the encore. Spears opened the show hanging from a gyrating wheel; it continued with Spears performing a medley of older hits, jumping in bungee cords from the flying device onto the stage and dancing in a jungle setting. Most of the performances were accompanied by extravagant special effects, including confetti, pyrotechnics, laser lights, and artificial fog and snow. In the encore, there was a water screen that pumped two tons of water into the stage; this was considered one of the signature performances of the tour. During the 2002 leg, some changes were made; several songs were remixed, and Spears premiered various unreleased songs which included "Mystic Man". The show received acclaim from critics, who praised the show for being innovative and entertaining, while some dismissed it for taking the attention away from the music.

According to Billboard, the 2001–02 dates in North America had an average of $803,683 in gross and 14,344 in attendance. Pollstar stated that it had a total gross of $53.3 million and 946,169 tickets sold in 66 of 69 shows.[2][3] On April 25, 2002, Spears performed at a Japanese sold-out show at Tokyo Dome in Tokyo for 62,011 fans, grossing $2,921,302.[4][5] On July 27, 2002, Spears performed for 51,261 fans at Foro Sol stadium in Mexico City. The show grossed $2,251,379 and was the 37th on Pollstar's Top 200 Concert Grosses in North America.[6] During the second show in Mexico, Spears left the stage after the sixth song due to a lightning storm; the show was canceled and angered the audience. The tour was broadcast live on an HBO special on November 18, 2001, and went on to win an Emmy for Outstanding Technical Direction on the 2002 ceremony. A DVD titled Britney Spears Live from Las Vegas was released in January 2002. In Spears' 2023 memoir The Woman in Me, she names the Dream Within a Dream Tour as her favorite tour of her entire career.

  1. ^ 1634–1699: McCusker, J. J. (1997). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States: Addenda et Corrigenda (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1700–1799: McCusker, J. J. (1992). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1800–present: Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. "Consumer Price Index (estimate) 1800–". Retrieved February 29, 2024.
  2. ^ Pollstar (November 26, 2020). "Her tour continued in 2002 before wrapping with $53.3 million in sales from 946,169 tickets at 66 shows". Facebook. Retrieved September 24, 2024.
  3. ^ "Meeting The Beatles" (PDF). Billboard.
  4. ^ "Top 25 Tours". Billboard. December 28, 2002. Retrieved September 9, 2023.
  5. ^ "Meeting The Beatles" (PDF). Billboard.
  6. ^ "Top 200 Concert Grosses" (PDF). Pollstar. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 24, 2015. Retrieved July 9, 2017.