Revenue / 04.05.23

Artists, Promoters, Buildings: Europe's Q1 Proves Global Biz is Back

Access Staff

Pollstar (03/30/23) Gottfried, Gideon

Europe's global live event business has rebounded, according to Pollstar's first-quarter (Q1) Top 100 Tours chart. Elton John's farewell tour topped the list with $64,359,927 earned in the reporting period, with COVID restrictions having drawn it out into possibly one of the longest-running tours of all time. Daddy Yankee saw the most ticket sales with 625,748 sold for a total gross of $60,461.483; Elton John's ticket sales came in second, while Harry Styles was ranked third with 618,786 tickets. European promoters scored highly in Q1, with Italian live entertainment company Vivo Concerti taking 13th place partly thanks to Rome rock band Maneskin's tour. Europe also reigned in the Q1 Top 100 Arenas Ranked By Ticket category, as Hallenstadion Zurich in Switzerland led with 483,097 tickets sold. Hallenstadion CEO Philipp Musshafen said the arena's earnings show "that the demand for live events is still high even after the pandemic. Of course, the very positive result was also influenced by some COVID-related postponements from 2020/2021." He admitted that artists and audiences' willingness to attend shows "has not yet returned to pre-pandemic levels," adding that "rising prices are of course challenging for everyone, [especially] the energy price amongst many, which has increased tenfold!" Over half the venues included in the top 10 are either based in Europe or Britain.

Read the full story from Pollstar.

Tags: Revenue , Sales