Arena Market: Nigeria

Home to a wave of global stars, Nigeria stands paradoxically underdeveloped when it comes to arena-scale infrastructure. While artists like Burna Boy, Wizkid, Davido, and Rema regularly sell out venues across Europe and North America, back home, the story is starkly different.

Nigeria still lacks a single purpose-built indoor venue that meets international touring standards at arena scale. However, plans are underway for the Lagos Arena, a 12,000-capacity, purpose-built venue currently in development supported by OVG, Live Nation, other private sector organisations, and government stakeholders. With its launch projected for December 2025, there should be much more to unpack by our next report.

In the meantime, in the absence of such infrastructure, artists and promoters rely on a mix of converted banquet halls, industrial spaces, and open-air locations to mount arena-level shows. The most consistently used venue for international-standard indoor concerts is the Eko Convention Center, located inside the Eko Hotel & Suites complex in Lagos. Though technically a banqueting hall, the space is reconfigured for concerts and accommodates up to 6,000 standing. It has hosted events headlined by Gunna, Roddy Ricch, Tyla, Megan Thee Stallion, and others in recent years.

Nigeria still lacks a single purpose-built indoor venue that meets international touring standards at arena scale.

However, capacity limitations, acoustic challenges, and staging constraints remain ongoing concerns. “The acoustics weren’t designed for concerts, so every show requires a full technical build,” explains an event production manager. “The good thing is the location is unmatched because it’s central.”

One of the most intriguing spaces to emerge in recent times is a warehouse space at The Palms Shopping Mall, located in Victoria Island, Lagos. The venue was also selected as a host site for the Move Afrika tour, an initiative led by Global Citizen in partnership with African governments and the creative sector to establish a Pan-African music touring circuit. As part of this initiative, John Legend performed at The Palms in February, following his show at Rwanda’s BK Arena earlier that week.