The Dangerous World Tour was the second world concert tour by American singer Michael Jackson and was staged to promote his eighth studio album Dangerous. The tour was sponsored by Pepsi-Cola. All profits were donated to various charities including Jackson's own "Heal the World Foundation". It began in Munich, Germany, on June 27, 1992, and concluded in Mexico City, Mexico, on November 11, 1993, playing 69 concerts in Europe, Asia and Latin America. Jackson performed in stadiums across the world with all being sold out in countries in Asia, Latin America, and Europe. At the tour's end, it grossed over $100 million and was attended by 3,500,000 people.^[3]

The October 1, 1992, concert in Bucharest, Romania was filmed for broadcast on the HBO network on October 10. Jackson sold the film rights for the concert for $20 million, then the highest amount for a concert performer to appear on television.^[4] The special, Live in Bucharest: The Dangerous Tour, earned Jackson the second of two CableACE Awards of his career, this one for Outstanding Performance Musical Special.^[5]

On January 27, 1989^{[verification needed]}, Jackson finished his Bad tour, his first as a solo artist, which had grossed over $125 million. Initially he planned not to tour again and concentrate on making albums and films. Following the release of his eighth studio album Dangerous in November 1991, a press conference was held on February 3, 1992 at Radio City Music Hall in New York City to announce the Dangerous World Tour.^[6][7] The event, attended by 200 people, was organized by Jackson's sponsor Pepsi with the artist also present. Jackson explained his sole reason for touring once more was to raise funds for his newly-formed Heal the World Foundation to aid children and the environment. He aimed to raise $100 million for the charity by Christmas 1993.^[7] It was revealed that Jackson planned to perform across Europe, Asia, Latin America, and Australia, with no dates in the United States or Canada.^[6] Jackson commented: "I am looking forward to this tour because it will allow me to devote time to visiting children all around the world, as well as spread the message of global love, in the hope that others will be moved to do their share to help heal the world".^[8]

In June 1992, a Russian Antonov AN-124 cargo jet, then the world's largest operating airplane, was booked to transport the equipment and stage set from Los Angeles to London for the opening European leg.^[9] However, problems regarding its civilian aircraft certification led to Jackson using a Federal Express Boeing 747 instead.^[10] Upon arrival, the equipment was transported across Europe by 65 lorries.^[9] The cargo included 1,000 lights, 10 miles of electrical cable, 9 video screens, and 168 speakers.^[11] Around 2 tons of clothing was transported. The outfits were designed by Michael Bush and Dennis Tompkins, who worked with Jackson to gain an idea on what he wanted, and aimed to "bring his ideas to life".^[12] Two outfits were 9 feet tall, 7 feet wide, and weighed 40 lbs each, with fibre optic lights controlled by a computerised laser. One jacket was fitted with a battery belt generating 3,000 volts to light the 36 strobe lights on it. Another had hidden flaps to conceal explosive effects.^[12] 1,000 yards of fabric from Europe was used to make the costumes, including a black and gold outfit for Jackson which included 18-karat gold.^[12] The costumes alone cost $2 million.^[13]

The show incorporated various stage illusions. Among them was the "toaster" effect where Jackson entered the stage on a rapidly rising catapult from underneath, sending off pyrotechnics at the same time. His sister Janet Jackson said: "That opening was kick-ass. I'm sitting in the sound tower and all the kids are everywhere. And when he jumped out of whatever the hell that thing was [...] the kids in front of me were looking back and I didn't even know it."^[14] Most of the 1992 shows included a stage trick during the transition from "Thriller" to "Billie Jean", whereby Jackson walks into two pillars and is secretly switched with a werewolf-masked backup dancer disguised as himself while he changes outfits for "Billie Jean". The masked "Jackson" is placed into a coffin which disappears when dancers posing as the skeletons and zombies drape a cloth over the coffin and pull it out. Jackson then appears on an upper stage level and sings "Billie Jean". When the full trick was not performed, it featured a sequence with the Jackson impersonator and the backup dancers performing dances from "Thriller". In some concerts, the Jackson impersonator would go back stage after singing the main chorus of the song, instead of doing a reprise of the "Thriller" dance, and the Zombie backup-dancers would do a reprise of the dance by themselves. Another such illusion was used to transition to "Beat It" from "Working Day and Night".

This was the first tour to have Jackson doing "the lean" during "Smooth Criminal"; the song was part of his Bad tour set list, but its choreography did not match the music video (which only premiered on TV during the second American leg of the tour).

All concerts were professionally filmed by Nocturne Productions Inc., which filmed all of Jackson's tours and private affairs. During the 1992 European leg of the tour, MTV was given permission to film backstage reports, interview the cast and film live performance. The mini-show was hosted by Sonya Saul and had six, 15-minute mini-episodes of concerts in Munich, Werchter, Dublin, Stockholm, Hamburg, Cardiff, London, Leeds, Berlin, Oviedo, and Madrid. Performances include "Billie Jean", "Black or White", "Jam", "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'", and "Will You Be There". The concert in Bucharest on October 1, 1992, was filmed and broadcast on television all across the world, giving HBO the highest rating garnered in cable TV History, with an alternate version airing on the BBC. The concert film titled Live in Bucharest: The Dangerous Tour was officially released on DVD on July 25, 2005.^[16] Full concerts at Oslo (July 15, 1992) and Copenhagen (July 20, 1992) were fundraised for online by the fans & purchased from private owners of those respective concerts, and performances at Bremen (August 8, 1992), Buenos Aires (October 12, 1993) and several scattered amateur recordings have been shared online and can be found on YouTube.

• Kris Kross (1992 European dates)
• Rozalla (Tokyo)
• TLC (Latin America)
• D'Influence (England and Scotland)
• Snap! (Bucharest)
• Culture Beat (1993 European dates)