Good enough to be true: Beyoncé tour paid $100,000 so D.C. fans could catch a late train home

Washington, D.C.-area concertgoers flocking to FedEx Field for Beyoncé’s Aug. 6 Renaissance World Tour concert suffered a wet, miserable start because of a lightning storm. But their perseverance paid off; the singer gave them a two-hour show chock full of hits.

And, according to a social media post that had amassed over 300,000 likes by Aug. 8, Bey’s team rewarded fans who stuck it out by coordinating transportation home.

"Beyonce paid $100K for Maryland Metro to run later following weather delays for her concert," an Aug. 7 Instagram post with a photo of Beyoncé claimed.

We checked and it’s true, according to the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, also known as the Metro.

"Hold Up #Beyhive, Metro & Renaissance Tour will extend the last train by an extra hour to weather the storm," Metro announced Aug. 6 in a post on X, formerly Twitter, about 8:30 p.m.. Beyoncé’s tour would cover the extra $100,000 cost to run the trains and keep 98 stations open so concertgoers could get home, it said. 

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A storm approached the stadium in Landover, Maryland, a little more than an hour before Beyoncé’s 8 p.m. show was scheduled to start.

FedEx Field officials ordered a shelter-in-place order because of lightning in the area, asking fans inside the stadium to shelter under covered concourse areas and ramps, and for fans outside of gates to return to their cars, according to a 6:40 p.m. post on X.

FedEx Field announced at 8:25 p.m. that it was safe for concertgoers to return to their seats.

Fans on social media complained of heat, crowded concourses and chaotic conditions. In all, the concert was delayed about two hours before Beyoncé took the stage and played through the rain, according to news reports.

The Metro had already announced a 30-minute extension for the last train to leave its Morgan Boulevard station, the closest station to FedEx Field. Beyoncé’s funding of an extra hour of service meant the last train would leave the station at 1:04 a.m. local time, instead of the normal 11:34 p.m. last ride, the Metro said in a press release.

The agency said 98 stations would stay open for customers to exit, and that Metro would make late trains available at transfer stations so fans could get home.

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Sherri Ly, Metro’s media relations manager, said the "tour/event organizers reached out to Metro" about extending service.

"Metro has a standard policy for extended service — early openings or late closings — for special events," Ly told PolitiFact.

The policy was enacted in 2003. Event organizers are asked to pay $100,000 per hour of extra service. Metro will reimburse event organizers from transit fares collected up to the amount they prepaid.

"In some cases, the event organizers pay for the extended service, such as the Marine Corps Marathon to open early, Washington Commanders for Sunday Night Football or the tour this weekend," Ly said. "Other times, there are sponsors that come forward to fund the additional service, such as Pepco (Potomac Electric Power Co.) during the Washington Nationals World Series run or Mastercard for the (Major League Baseball) All-Star Game in DC."

It’s unclear whether the venue required securing later transit service to allow the late concert start. We reached out to FedEx Field and Parkwood Entertainment, producers of the tour, but received no response. 

The Beyoncé tour did pay $100,000 to keep Metro trains running an hour later so fans can get home. We rate this claim Good Enough to be True!

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