Following massive success in the United States and Canada, Jay-Z & Kanye West announced the European leg of the tour on February 21, 2012, which featured 23 performances, bringing the number of shows to 57 at the time.

[8] On July 25, 2011, Jay-Z and West announced the release of their collaborative studio album Watch the Throne and an accompanying tour.

The album was set for release on August 8, with tickets simultaneously being made available for the Watch the Throne Tour's North American leg from September 22 to November 3, 2011.

[11] On March 5, 2012, Jay-Z and West added dates in Birmingham, Sheffield, and Cologne after a strong response to their announcement of the tour's European leg, running up until June 22.

[14] Afterwards, West left the stage, and Jay-Z performed songs like "Where I'm From" and "Empire State of Mind", encouraging the audience to sing along.

[14][15] Kanye returned to the stage afterwards, performing his own songs like "Power", "Touch the Sky", and "Gold Digger", with the two of them eventually performing songs like "Run This Town", "Monster" and the remix of "Diamonds from Sierra Leone" together, where Jay-Z repeatedly told the crowd to "put your diamonds up", the sign for Roc Nation.

[16] Following other Watch the Throne tracks like "No Church in the Wild" and "Lift Off", the show ended with "Encore" and an rendition of "Made in America", complete with images of Martin Luther King Jr. and "sweet brother" Malcolm X flashing on the big screen.

"[15] Rap-Up mused "it was a crowning moment for Jay-Z and Kanye West as they kicked off the Watch the Throne tour to a packed house at Philips Arena in Atlanta on Friday night.