Japan and Australia (1987)

The tour began with a 14-date leg across Japan, marking Jackson's first performances in the country since 1973 as part of the Jackson 5.^[12] Nine shows were originally announced but they sold out within hours, so five more were added due to the high demand.^[13] The shows cost the sponsors $8.6 million to stage.^[14] Jackson arrived at Tokyo's Narita International Airport on September 9, where over 300 reporters and photographers greeted him upon his arrival. The staging, lighting, and musical equipment for the 1987 dates weighed 110,000 lbs. Jackson assisted in the stage design, which consisted of 700 lights, 100 speakers, 40 lasers, three mirrors, and two 24-by-18 foot screens. Performers wore 70 costumes, four of which were attached with fiber optic lights.^[15]

While in Osaka, Jackson received the key to the city by the mayor.^[16] In Tokyo, Jackson donated $20,000 to the parents of Yoshiaki Hagiwara, a five-year-old boy who was kidnapped and murdered, after he watched a news report about the tragedy.^[17] Attendance figures for the first 14 dates in Japan totaled a record-breaking 450,000.^[13] Crowds of 200,000 were what past performers could manage to draw for a single tour.^[18] Some shows were filmed by Nippon TV and the September 26 show in Yokohama was broadcast on Japanese television.^[14] Jackson wrapped the Japanese leg by donating several personalised items for a charity auction, including clothes and glasses worn during the tour.^[19]

Jackson left Japan for a rest period in Hong Kong and China before the Australian leg.^[20][21] On October 30, a planned New Zealand leg was cancelled as local promoters were unable to meet demands that the audience be seated,^[22] although dates there and Australia were also cancelled due to low ticket sales.^[23] Between November 13 and 28, Jackson performed five concerts in Melbourne, Sydney, and Brisbane. The loud and enthusiastic crowds were a contrast to the Japanese audience, who were instructed to remain quiet and make little noise, and made it difficult for the group to hear the count-ins at the beginning of a number.^[8] The November 28 show in Brisbane was recorded and broadcast. During the concert, Jackson brought Stevie Wonder on stage to sing "Bad" with him.^[8]

North America (1988)

Following the 1987 dates Jackson wanted to revamp the production with a larger stage set-up, the addition of new numbers including "Smooth Criminal" and "Man in the Mirror", and new musical arrangements. Kaplan revisited the studio recordings and prepared tapes for each band member to follow. During this time Phillinganes took over as musical director and Kaplan became technical director.^[10] Rehearsals for the new set-up took place at the Pensacola Civic Center in Florida from January 22 to February 18, 1988.^[24] Vincent Paterson, who had worked with Jackson on several videos, was brought in to choreograph and co-direct the tour. On the final day, Jackson allowed 420 school pupils to watch him perform a full dress rehearsal after the children made him a rap music video in his honor.^[25] The band rehearsed "Speed Demon" from Bad prior to Jackson's arrival two weeks in, and he liked the performance, but it was dropped from the set as he had no choreography to accompany the song.^[8] Siegfried and Roy were brought in to advise on some stage illusions.^[8]

The first performances were to begin in Atlanta, but Pepsi officials objected the plan as it was home to Coca-Cola.^[26] For both Atlanta shows, Jackson gave 100 tickets to the Children's Wish Foundation for terminally ill children to attend.^[27] The first of three concerts at Madison Square Garden in New York City in March served as a benefit to raise $500,000 to the United Negro College Fund.^[28] Jackson presented a check of $600,000 to the fund.^[29]

Europe (1988)

The European leg began in Rome on May 23, where police and security guards rescued hundreds of fans from being crushed in the crowd of 35,000.^[30] Police reported 130 women had fainted at the concert in Vienna.^[31] While in Switzerland, Jackson went to Vevey to meet Oona O'Neill, the widow of actor Charlie Chaplin.^[32] On June 19, Jackson performed in West Berlin close to the Berlin Wall in front of the Reichstag Building. After Jackson's death it was revealed that the Stasi had kept a file on him, making extensive preparations to prevent East German fans to gather at the Brandenburg Gate to listen to the concert. The plan also involved broadcasting the concert in a stadium in East Berlin with a two-minute delay, so the East Germans could replace the live performance with a videotape of a previous performance in case Jackson made any undesirable political comments.^[33]

The most successful of the European dates were those in London at Wembley Stadium, where demand for the five July dates exceeded 1.5 million, enough to fill the 72,000-capacity venue 20 times.^[34] Jackson went on to perform seven sold-out shows at Wembley for a total of 504,000 people which entered him into the Guinness World Records, the first of three times from the tour alone.^[35] The record surpassed the previous attendance record shared by Madonna, Bruce Springsteen, and Genesis. More shows could have been added, but the venue had reached its quota for live performances.^[34] The third concert was attended by Diana, Princess of Wales and Prince Charles, and subsequently released as Live at Wembley July 16, 1988.^[36] On July 30, NBC aired Michael Jackson Around the World, a 90-minute special documenting the singer on tour.^[37] On August 29, after a birthday performance in Leeds, Jackson donated $130,000 to Give for Life.^[35] The final European show was held in Liverpool at Aintree Racecourse, where 1,550 fans were reported injured among the crowd of 125,000, the largest show of the tour.^[35][38]

North America and Japan (1988–1989)

Jackson toured the United States for a second time between September 1988 and January 1989, with a return to Tokyo for nine shows in December which included a concert on Christmas Day. This would be the last time he toured his native country, aside from two shows in Hawaii in 1997 and a handful of one-off appearances in 2001 and 2002. On October 23, 1988, he donated $125,000, the net proceeds of the first show in Auburn Hills, to the city's Motown Museum.^[39] This second American tour alone grossed a total of $20.3 million, the sixth largest of the year.^[2] The tour was planned to end in Tokyo, but Jackson suffered from swollen vocal cords after the first of six concerts in Los Angeles in November, and the remaining five were rescheduled for January 1989. Due to this rescheduling, Phillinganes had to disembark from the tour in early January, having already made commitments to tour with Eric Clapton. Studio musician John Barnes was hired to take Phillinganes' place.^[40]

During the run of shows in Tokyo, nine-year-old Ayana Takada was selected to receive a certificate by Jackson to commemorate the four millionth person to attend the tour.^[41]

Five performances in Los Angeles were held to conclude the tour on January 27, 1989. Currell remembered a minor earthquake shook the stage as the band were taking their final bow at the end of the final show.^[8] In 16 months, Jackson performed 123 concerts in 15 countries to an audience of 4.5 million for a total gross of $125 million.^[2][42] The American tour alone grossed a total of $20.3 million, the sixth largest of the year.^[2] Guinness World Records recognized the tour as the largest grossing in history and the tour to play to the most people ever.^[2] In April 1989, the tour was nominated for "Tour of the Year 1988" at the inaugural International Rock Awards. It lost to Amnesty International.^[43]