AUSTRALASIA
by Christie Eliezer
AUSTRALIA
Record Set For Summer Attendances
A report from the TEG-owned ticket agency Ticketek showed 2 million Australians bought 6 million tickets to live events through the 2024/5 summer – the highest sales in nearly a decade.
The analysis by Ticketek’s data science and research division Ovation, published in its FanDX study, covered music, performing arts, comedy, sport, family events and exhibitions.
Music represented the biggest share of tickets sold, with nearly 50%, with sports representing nearly 30%. Comedy and family events hit their highest summer share in a decade.
Over 370,000 were first timers, including for TEG’s Laneway festival, 15% for international cricket, and family friendly productions such as “Tina Turner: The Musical” and “Bluey’s World.”
The summer also saw female attendance rise by 6%, a 48% growth in the 18—24 age group, and a 21% jump in fans of Indian background.
Cameron Hoy, TEG’s COO and head of global ticketing, stated that greater audience numbers
“embracing a wider variety of events, more often, driven by a level of emotional connection few other experiences can match…the future of live events in Australia has never looked more vibrant or promising.”
Fans purchased summer event tickets at an average of 118 days in advance, slightly down from 124 days in the previous summer.
The average ticket was A$242 (US$146.20), just behind the previous summer’s A$261 ($157.68). Gen Z spent the most, averaging A$256 ($154.66), followed by Gen X at A$244 ($147.41) and Millennials at A$238 ($143.79).
NSW Admits Unlawful Strip Search At Festival
The New South Wales government admitted the search of a woman at the 2018 Splendour In The Grass festival was not lawful.
It had been conducted without consent and officers “did not have reasonable grounds to suspect that the strip searches were necessary for the purposes of the search.”
The 30-minute strip search, during which her tampon had to be removed, was by a female officer but a male cop entered the tent mid-search. No drugs or illegal items were found.
The government’s admission was made in an updated defence statement before a Supreme Court action by 3,000 festival-goers brought by law firm Slater and Gordon that goes to trial May 5.
NEW ZEALAND
Stadium Taranaki Upgrade Completed
The reopening of the six year NZ$80 million (US$44.7 million) upgrade of Stadium Taranaki will be marked May 4 with a free “community extravaganza” including concerts, two football matches and family activities.
The venue’s capacity expanded to 23,000 with a new double-sided East Stand for greater viewing; a large hospitality area suitable for trade shows and exhibitions; and new LED floodlights which increased illumination by 50% and reduced power cost by 30%.
ASIA
By Phil Brasor
UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
Katy Perry To Perform At Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
Katy Perry will headline the After-Race Concert at Etihad Park, Abu Dhabi, Dec. 7, as part of the Formula 1 Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix 2025 weekend.
The race and the after-race concerts are promoted by Ethara, which means “thrill” in Arabic. The company was born out of two industry leaders in the Middle East: Flash Entertainment, and Abu Dhabi Motorsports Management (ADMM).
HONG KONG
Special Bus, Train Routes For Coldplay Show
Hong Kong’s Transport Department set up two special bus routes to accommodate fans of Coldplay for the band’s four concerts at the new Kai Tak Stadium on April 8, 9, 10 and 11. According to the Standard, the routes “facilitate cross-border spectators” heading to the Lok Ma Chau and Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge ports. In addition, two rail lines in the city are also running with increased frequency. Special cross-boundary coaches have been made available after the concert for attendees returning to mainland China.
INDIA
Travis Scott Adds Delhi Date
Travis Scott’s “Circus Maximus World Tour” added an extra show at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Delhi on Oct. 19 one hour after tickets for the first show at the same venue sold out in minutes, according to local media. Predictably, tickets are already being sold on secondary platforms at highly inflated prices, despite warnings from the police that black marketers will be severely punished. In some cases, tickets are going for as much as 100 times their face value. Some fans who had lined up for hours online to purchase tickets on April 5 were not able to secure any for either show.
KOREA
New Trend: Interactive Theater
Korea’s JoongAng Daily reports that theatrical productions in Korea, which are extremely popular, have expanded in recent years to accommodate participation from audience members as a means of attracting more people, just as K-pop concerts have. As one critic told the newspaper, these productions refute the “rigid expectation that theatergoers sit still and silent throughout performances.”
Perhaps the most inventive idea in regard is the setup for the Western musical “Once,” about the romantic relationship between two buskers in Ireland based on the movie of the same title. A local production of the show, which will run until April 31 in Seoul, allows the audience to occupy the stage 30 minutes before the actual performance starts. The stage set is a bar where audience members can purchase actual drinks and then remain as the cast members take the stage to perform a “pre-show concert” in the stage bar. This performance then morphs into the drama.
Another musical based on the life of the Korean King Yeongjo is performed in a theater without seats, thus turning it into a kind of rock concert that provides what JoongAng Daily calls a “more dynamic interaction between audience and stage.” And another “open-run” musical allows attendees to freely record the performance, both aurally and visually, and enjoy food and drinks as the performance continues.
Perhaps the most daring experiment is the format of the long-running play “Shear Madness,” a murder mystery whose actual plot is determined in real time through audience input. The outcome of the mystery changes with every performance.
SINGAPORE
Travel Sites Go Gaga
Travel and Tour World reports that immediately after Lady Gaga announced that the only Southeast Asian stop on her upcoming tour would be Singapore, “a flurry of activity was observed in travel-related searches, with fans eager to secure flights and accommodations for this once-in-a-lifetime event.”
According to flight search data, on the day of the announcement, there was a 57% increase in travel inquiries to Singapore from all over the globe. Once the ticket presale period started in March, the surge continued, marking a 41% increase in searches for Singapore flights compared to a year before.
There was a corresponding increase in hotel bookings as well for the period when the Gaga concerts will take place. Hotel search tracking services recorded an increase of 10% for Singapore accommodations compared to the same period last year for overseas visitors.
EUROPE
By Gideon Gottfried
MALTA
Live Nation Acquires 356 Entertainment Group
Live Nation has announced that they are acquiring a stake in 356 Entertainment Group, a leading promoter in Malta’s growing festival and outdoor concert scene and operator of Uno, the country’s largest club, which hosts over 100 events a year.
The deal marks Live Nation’s expansion into Malta and builds on the successful long-standing partnership between the companies, which has brought high-profile events to Malta including Take That’s The Greatest Weekend Malta, and Liam Gallagher and Friends Malta Weekender in 2024.
The deal comes at a time of significant growth for Malta’s live entertainment sector. In 2023, 356 Group’s festival season brought 56,000 visitors to the island, generating an economic impact of €51.8 million ($56.7 million), according to a press release from Live Nation, which goes on to state: “Live Nation will look to build on this economic boost by broadening the diversity of acts and bringing more international artists to the market.”
SWITZERLAND
Paléo Festival Sells Out In 13 Minutes
Paléo Festival announced that all of the 200,000-plus tickets available for its 2025 edition, scheduled to go down in Nyon, Switzerland, July 22-27, have sold out in 13 minutes.
It’s a record, beating the 21 minutes it took fans to snatch up all available tickets last year.
Fans who’ve missed out on tickets for what will be the 48th edition of Paléo can check out Paléo’s own ticket exchange from April 2, where ticket buyers who end up not being able to make it can put up their tickets for sale. It’s a reliable way to secure a face value ticket after all.
During the festival, 1,500 extra day tickets will be made available on each day of Paléo.
UNITED KINGDOM
Co-op Live Sets Weekly Ticket Sales Mark
Co-op Live in Manchester, England celebrated both its biggest week for ticket sales and highest ticket sales in a single day to date. With over 150 shows announced and on sale in the 10 months since Co-op Live opened its doors, the week commencing Monday, March 31, saw a total number of tickets sold exceeding 90,000.
The week was driven by Lady Gaga’s announcement of two nights at Co-op Live, Oct. 7-8, and Chris Brown’s four-night residency this coming summer – his only indoor appearances on the UK leg of the “Breezy Bowl XX” world tour.
Monday, March 31 alone saw over 46,000 tickets snapped up by fans. In addition to the two artists mentioned above, the presale for The World Of Hans Zimmer contributed to this number.
