Ohio Stadium in Columbus is known for hosting football games, but things changed in 1988 when Pink Floyd held their first concert there. It was also the largest show in Columbus, with almost 64,000 people in the audience.
Biggest Live Concerts At Ohio Stadium
Pink Floyd returned to Ohio Stadium in 1994 to perform in front of 70,000 people. Nevertheless, their 1988 concert opened the door for concert events at Ohio Stadium, and there have been many impressive performances since.
If you want to witness the greatest concerts of today, now is the best time to buy concert tickets in Ohio 2023,2024 and enjoy the best live performances in the Birthplace of Aviation. Before you do so, let’s take a trip into the past and see Ohio Stadium’s top six biggest concerts.
1. The Rolling Stones – September 1997
According to many, The Rolling Stones are the greatest rock and roll band in the world, so it’s unsurprising that rock fans look for the best sites to buy concert tickets each time the Stones announce a concert.
It was the same in 1997 when the British legends were about to play at Ohio Stadium. However, this concert didn’t reach the sense of delirium everyone expected when Keith, Mick, Ronnie, and Charlie hit the stage.
Even though there were 60,000 people in the audience, and the Stones undoubtedly gave their all, the response by the audience was oddly moderate. It was one of the quietest gatherings at Ohio Stadium, but it’s still one of the biggest live shows in Columbus.
2. Metallica – July 2003
The Summer Sanatorium Tour by the metal Gods Metallica had 20 shows during the summer of 2000 and another 21 in 2003. One of the biggest concerts was held at the Ohio Stadium in Columbus in July 2003.
What made this concert even more unique is that other bands, such as the Deftones, Limp Bizkit, Linkin Park, and Mudvayne, hit the stage along with Metallica. Metallica had a two-hour set and played in front of 41,458 fans.
The event was packed with a punk attitude, speedy yet taut multi-dimensional tracks, and many complex musical twists and turns. Metallica is known for its energetic live performances, no matter where they play, and it was the same at Ohio Stadium in 2003.
3. Taylor Swift – July 2018
Concerts in Ohio aren’t just about rock music since many other artists entertain Ohioans. One of the biggest live shows at Ohio Stadium by a pop icon was Taylor Swift’s concert in July 2018.
Swift performed before a packed stadium, displaying her razor-sharp emotions and poetic quality through love tracks. One of her biggest hits, Look What You Made Me Do, was accompanied by a costume change, and the bitter lines were delivered over a hip-hop groove.
Swift played in front of 62,897 people, which isn’t surprising considering her enormous popularity.
She is practically used to singing in front of massive crowds, and it was the same in July 2018 when she was entertaining her fans at Ohio Stadium.
4. Beyonce, Jay-Z, DJ Khaled, Chloe x Halle – August 2018
Queen Bey and Jay-Z didn’t have to fill the enormous Ohio Stadium to prove their musical success, but they did, and once again entertained thousands of their fans. There were 35,083 fans in the audience who barely waited for the couple to hit the stage, but first, they enjoyed the performances of opening acts Chloe x Halle and DJ Khaled.
Beyonce gave a fantastic performance for 2.5 hours without looking tired for a single moment, making the concert even more unique. Of course, Jay-Z was phenomenal, too, as always. While Drunk in Love provided some playful hair whipping, Resentment was the highlight of the concert, with a catwalk stretching into the audience.
Jay-Z and Beyonce are powerful couples in music and live performances, and they were no less in August 2018 when they hit the stage of Ohio Stadium in front of many fans.
5. Buckeye Country Superfest 2022
The Buckeye Country Superfest always brings the biggest live shows to Columbus at Ohio Stadium, but the 2022 edition was the most recent and had the largest audience.
Over 63,000 country music fans enjoyed the live performances of Luke Combs, Kameron Marlowe, Morgan Wade, Cody Jinks, and Zach Bryan last year. This event was even more unique because fans were ready to return and have a fantastic time after a two-year hiatus due to the global COVID-19 pandemic.
The headliner of the 2022 Buckeye Country Superfest was two-time Grammy Awards nominee Luke Combs, who was escorted by the Ohio State University Marching Band. All the other performers were excellent, too, and this event went down as one of the biggest and greatest live shows in the history of Ohio Stadium in Columbus.
6. U2 – May 1997
The legendary PopMart Tour by U2 had 93 shows, and likely for the Ohio fans of the Irish band, one was at the Ohio Stadium in Columbus.
Fun Lovin’ Criminals were the opening act, and U2 played in front of 43,813 fans on their feet during the entire show. The audience was adoring, and so was the band since Bono and the rest of U2 hit the stage with enormous energy and enthusiasm as they brought the crows to ‘nirvana’ for the next two hours of the concert the moment they began performing.
Of course, no one expected anything less from the legendary Irish rock band, and they delivered what was expected of them at Ohio Stadium.
There you have it, the top six biggest live concerts at Ohio Stadium in Columbus. If you want to attend upcoming legendary live shows at Ohio Stadium, now is the time to buy concert tickets!
