Rock am Ring promoter Matt Schwarz has hailed the event as “the spearhead of the German festival landscape” after marking its 40th anniversary.

The 90,000-cap Nuremberg gathering and its 88,500-cap Nürburg twin Rock im Park, which celebrated its 30th birthday, both enjoyed sellout editions over the weekend, topped by Bring Me the Horizon, Korn, Slipknot, The Prodigy, Falling in Reverse, Biffy Clyro, Sleep Token, K.I.Z, Spiritbox, Rise Against and Kontra K.

Electric Callboy and Roy Bianco & Die Abbrunzati Boys opened the festival with secret shows.

It was the first time the festivals had taken place under the combined PRK DreamHaus banner following last year’s merger of the CTS Eventim companies.

“We thank everyone who contributed to a peaceful and smooth festival”

“For 40 years, Rock am Ring has thrived on its unique community – and our visitors impressively demonstrated this again this year,” says Schwarz, promoter of Rock am Ring and Rock im Park and CEO of PRK DreamHaus and eventimpresents. “We thank everyone who contributed to a peaceful and smooth festival. This year’s production shows that Rock am Ring remains the spearhead of the German festival landscape.”

Rock am Ring teamed up with Germany’s largest media brand, BILD, to provide extensive editorial and digital coverage of the anniversary weekend, including a free livestream of the main stage. According to organisers, the video of the livestream attracted up to 90,000 simultaneous viewers over the weekend and was viewed more than 26 million times.

The festival also confirmed Linkin Park its first headliner for 2026 via a spectacular light and pyrotechnic show. Advance tickets for the 5-7 June 2026 festival go on sale at noon CEST tomorrow (10 June), priced €179. Linkin Park have also been announced as headliners for next year’s Rock in Rio Lisbon in Portugal.

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The team behind Germany’s now-defunct MELT Festival has announced a pair of new events, set to take place in Berlin this summer.

The 27th and final edition of MELT (promoted by Live Nation-owned Goodlive) took place last July, at the Ferropolis open-air museum, near Gräfenhainichen, after organisers succumbed to “insurmountable changes in the festival landscape”.

Now Goodlive’s Magnus von Welck, Tobias Gruber and Florian Czock, are launching two open-air parties in the RSO Valley in Schöneweide, a suburban area of Berlin.

Paying homage to MELT, the new events are named Magma and Lava and will incorporate the same spirit as their predecessor but on a more intimate scale, according to the team.

Taking place on Saturday 30 August between 2–10 pm, Magma is for “lovers of sophisticated club music beyond the mainstream” such as UK garage, house, breakbeat, future bass, trip hop, baile funk, dancehall, disco, and experimental club. Artists including Ben Ufo, Nooriyah, Jyoty, Crystallmess, Mura Masa, and Vegyn are set to perform.

The next day, Lava (10am–10pm) will offer a “platform for young ravers and lovers of electronic pop and dance music” with a mix of hyper-pop, trance, hard groove, and avant-pop.

“We noticed that well-curated parties, especially open-air parties, were lacking in Berlin”

Ascendant Vierge, HorsegiirL, Camoufly, Charlotte Plank, Coco Cobra, Lolahol, Lil London, DJ G2G, Nick Cheo, Peterparker69, IceMorph, and Icykof are featured on the bill.

Each event will utilise a 3,000-capacity main space (The Valley) and a 1,000-capacity subsidiary space (RSO floor). Advance tickets for each of the events start from €21.

“We realised pretty quickly that we were filling a cultural gap in Berlin,” Gruber, head marketing and promotion, told Berliner-Zeitung. “We noticed that well-curated parties, especially open-air parties, were lacking in Berlin. While there are many classic club nights, most of the acts on the lineup are often pretty similar. We wanted to create something a little different: More than your regular club night.”

Discussing the decision to call it quits with MELT, von Welck revealed that ballooning production costs and artist fees were the death knell for the 20,000-capacity festival.

“To compensate for this, higher ticket prices are needed,” he explained. “But that brought us to a point where we said: We can’t scale this up any further. We were afraid of losing our community, our fans. This was the right time to properly celebrate it with a grand finale, to bury it – and now to launch something new. We left with a good feeling and with a big bang, even if the decision was sad at first.”

Launched in 1997, MELT has hosted artists including Jamie xx, Little Simz, Bonobo, Alt-J, Jon Hopkins, Mogwai, Justice, Hot Chip and Aphex Twin. The festival has also won numerous international awards, including Best Festival, Artist’s Favourite European Festival, and Green ‘N’ Clean Festival Of The Year.

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The final hurdle for Düsseldorf’s controversial Open Air Park venue has been cleared by the city council.

Venue developers D.Live and local promoter Concert Team announced the new “plug-and-play” 80,000-cap open-air venue in February, promising a “new era” for outdoor events in Germany.

The venue was scheduled to open on 8 July with a concert by AC/DC but the project was delayed due to concerns about tree felling, as well as objections about traffic disruption, noise, and anxiety over anti-social behaviour.

Subsequently, D.Live announced that AC/DC’s concert would take place on the same date in the adjacent Merkur Spiel-Arena (cap. 52,500).

“I’m optimistic and looking forward to many unparalleled concerts and festivals”

The project has now been given the green light to launch in 2026 after receiving a majority vote at the Düsseldorf City Council meeting on Wednesday (May 28). Only members of the Left Party, the AfD, the Climate Action Party, and the Animal Welfare Party voted against.

Speaking for the majority of the council, FDP parliamentary group leader Mirko Rohloff emphasised the potential of the area and its unique position as the largest open-air concert venue in North Rhine-Westphalia.

“I’m optimistic and looking forward to many unparalleled concerts and festivals,” he said at the meeting. IQ has reached out to D.Live for comment.

The furore around Düsseldorf’s Open Air Park is reminiscent of a similar situation seven years ago when a scheduled outdoor show by Ed Sheeran, in the same location, had to be cancelled after objections in relation to the felling of trees, and worries over local wildlife.

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Deutsche Entertainment (DEAG) CEO Detlef Kornett has heralded a “perfect start” to 2025, as the firm posted its strongest-ever first-quarter revenue and EBITDA.

The Berlin-based promoter, events operator and ticketing company yesterday (28 May) reported revenue of €67m in Q1 2025, surging 29.6% from €51.7m in the same period of last year. This represents a 20.7% increase in EBITDA to €3.5m, up from €2.9m.

DEAG largely attributed this growth to a further increase in ticket volume, which rose by 15% compared to the same quarter of the previous year and was largely processed via the Group’s ticketing platforms, which include myticket.de, myticket.at, myticket.co.uk, gigantic.com and tickets.ie.

More than 5.6 million tickets have already been sold at the end of the first quarter for events in 2025 in DEAG’s national markets, marking an increase of over 700,000 tickets compared to the same quarter last year.

“The first quarter marked a perfect start to the year for DEAG”

DEAG has set its sights on selling 12 million tickets to its events in 2025 to surpass the previous year by around one million tickets. The firm’s upcoming quarters include tours and stadium concerts by Ed Sheeran, Sam Fender, Stereophonics, Judas Priest and Iron Maiden.

The Group companies acquired in 2023 and 2024 as part of the Buy & Build strategy also made a significant positive contribution to the strong EBITDA. These include UK-based promoter and live entertainment organiser ShowPlanr, German festival organiser black mamba Event & Marketing and Italian rock promoter MC2 Live.

The Q1 results follow the firm’s “tough but transformational” 2024, which Kornett recently unpacked with IQ.

“The first quarter marked a perfect start to the year for DEAG,” says Kornett. “The first few months of the current year have already demonstrated that we offer an outstanding portfolio of events for our audiences across Europe and that our investments in growth and strategic transformation projects have set the right course. These measures are already delivering initial economic success in the current year. We will continue to focus on this in the future.”

In addition to the Q1 2025 results, DEAG has announced the departure of Christian Diekmann, who will step down from the executive board and leave the group on 31 May 2025 for “personal reasons and by mutual agreement”.

During his 19 years on the board, Diekmann assumed responsibility as CMO, COO, Group CFO, and CEO National.

Going forward, DEAG will be managed by an executive board of three members, supported by an experienced team of executive vice presidents driving the company’s ongoing strategic growth.

DEAG has a presence in Germany, the UK, Switzerland, Ireland, Denmark, Spain and Italy.

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CTS Eventim has toasted a “successful start” to 2025 after confirming a 22% revenue growth in the first quarter.

The German-headquartered ticketing and live entertainment giant reported consolidated revenue of €498.6m for the first three months of 2025, marking a 22% increase compared with the prior-year period. Adjusted EBITDA for the first quarter increased by 8.9% to €100m.

CTS partially attributes the Group’s revenue growth to the acquisitions of See Tickets and France Billet, plus Chile’s Punto Ticket and Peru’s Teleticket.

With these companies fully consolidated for Q1, the firm’s ticketing segment improved by 16.9% to €213.6m, with adjusted EBITDA ascending 6.6% to €88.7m.

This increase was also driven by major on-sales for several popular international artists and the launch of ticket presales for the 2026 Milano Cortina Olympic and Paralympic Games.

“We will continue to expand our Group, unlock synergies, and inspire our customers and partners with innovative products and services”

Revenue for its Live Entertainment segment increased 24.5% to €291.8m, with adjusted EBITDA of €11.6 million (+ 29.8%). These results are down to organic growth, both in Germany and internationally, according to CTS.

“Further favourable effects in connection with the live entertainment companies acquired as part of the See Tickets transaction should materialise over the course of the festival season in mid and late summer 2025,” it adds.

CTS’s positive Q1 2025 results come soon after CTS confirmed record earnings for 2024.

“CTS Eventim grew dynamically in the first quarter of 2025, both organically and as a result of acquisitions,” says Klaus-Peter Schulenberg, CEO, CTS Eventim. “The integration of the See Tickets Group and French market leader France Billet are on track, proving the effectiveness of our global growth and acquisition strategy. We will continue to expand our Group, unlock synergies, and inspire our customers and partners with innovative products and services.”

CTS’ Arena Milano project in Italy is due to be completed at the end of this year, and the firm was also awarded the contract to build and operate a planned new multipurpose arena in Vienna, Austria, last November.

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Live Nation is joining forces with the Munich Arena project team as a long-term strategic partner, ahead of its projected 2029 opening.

Located in the northern part of the city near Munich International Airport, the Munich Arena will host approximately 20,000 fans and combine “cutting-edge architecture, excellent acoustics, and optimal sightlines,” according to a press release.

The Populous-designed arena is also slated to be ‘Germany’s most sustainable concert arena’ as the first in the country to achieve Gold certification by the German Sustainable Building Council (DGNB), a leading authority in sustainable construction.

The arena is expected to be a strong economic driver for the region. A recent Deloitte study estimates an annual gross value-added impact of €354 million ($396 million), in addition to €391 million ($438), projected during the construction phase.

“We are proud to be part of this groundbreaking project in Bavaria, which has the potential to become a cultural and live entertainment hotspot at the heart of Europe,” says Tom Lynch, president venues, Live Nation EMEA.

“Finally, Germany will have the arena that fans have been waiting for”

“The record-breaking Adele residency last summer proved how much Munich and the surrounding region value live music and demonstrated the area’s capacity and infrastructure to host both national and international artists and fans. The Munich Arena will play a key role in attracting talent and audiences to the region, and we’re excited to support its growth.”

The arena team is led by Lorenz Schmid, managing director at Bavaria-based developer SWMunich Real Estate, who adds: “This strategic partnership with Live Nation is a significant milestone for us, bringing the expertise of the world’s leading live entertainment company into our project. Together with my team, we will continue to drive the plans forward with full energy and unwavering commitment to the region. We want to create a place where people of all backgrounds and ages can come together to experience unforgettable concerts and live entertainment events. A venue that is deeply rooted in Bavaria while also shining on a global level. In doing so, Munich Arena will become a driving force for culture, economy, and tourism.”

Marek Lieberberg, MD, Live Nation GSA, comments: “Finally, Germany will have the arena that fans have been waiting for. With the Munich Arena a new era begins – an essential new concert and entertainment experience that meets the needs of both visitors and artists in every way.”

Munich Arena adds to Live Nation’s European venue portfolio, which also includes top entertainment buildings like the Ziggo Dome in Amsterdam, Netherlands, 3Arena in Dublin, Ireland, and the Royal Arena in Copenhagen, Denmark, among others.

Upcoming Live Nation arena projects already announced include new buildings in Cardiff, Wales, and Singapore.

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Irish post-punk band The Murder Capital have had two concerts in Germany cancelled over their plans to display a Palestinian flag on stage.

The five-piece had been set to perform at Berlin’s Gretchen club on 10 May and Gebäude 9 in Cologne last night.

Gretchen posted an apology for the cancellation to fans on social media, explaining the 650-cap venue has a long-held “no national flag” policy in place.

“We are very sorry that the show with The Murder Capital didn’t take place,” says the statement. “We as venue have a ‘no national flag’ policy since many years. That means that we do not tolerate any kind of national flags in our venue. This is also written down in our venue specs so that also artists get to know about that.

“During the sound check… it turned out that the band had a Palestinian flag on stage. We asked them to take the flag away, but they decided that for them and their show this flag is too important to be able to do the show without.

“We try to be a safe place for many different communities and really believe that music is able to build bridges – beyond borders and nationalities. Therefore we deeply believe that national flags are not helpful at all.”

“There is no compromise possible between ‘a national flag’ and ‘no national flag'”

The statement continues: “Regarding the Middle East, we try to support the Palestinian community as well as Jewish and/or Israeli people. We also present artists from all over this region. We never cancel speeches as long as they are not hatespeeches against other groups of human beings. We try to encounter everybody with empathy and consider it important to follow our heart.

“We feel very sorry that all the fans weren’t able to experience the concert they were coming for, but there is no compromise possible between ‘a national flag’ and ‘no national flag’. And there is probably no right or wrong.”

The Murder Capital performed free acoustic sets outside of Berlin venue Obentrautstraße 19 and in Cologne’s Rheinpark in place of the cancelled shows.

In a social media video, the group said: “The Palestinian flag itself needs to be on our stage and needs to be as visible everywhere in the world as possible,” they added. “These people are being eradicated, being starved, being bombed, and these war crimes and this genocide is being committed by the Israeli state and funded and supported by governments around the world.

“Us having a flag on our stage at a rock show is not a political statement. It is a human reaction to a horrific and unimaginable situation. But this is not history, it is happening right now today.”

Irish rap trio Kneecap also had a number of performances in Germany called off after being accused of “projections of anti-Israel messages and hate speech” at this year’s Coachella in the US, while American singer-songwriter Kehlani’s scheduled show at Cornell University was also nixed due to her pro-Palestine support.

“Forcing musicians not to perform and denying people who want to hear them an opportunity to do so is self-evidently a method of censorship”

Elsewhere, Radiohead’s Johnny Greenwood and Israeli musician Dudu Tassa saw their June dates at Bristol Beacon and London’s Hackney Church cancelled after the venues “received enough credible threats to conclude that it’s not safe to proceed”.

The BDS movement had accused Greenwood, who previously performed shows with Tassa in Tel Aviv, of “artwashing genocide”.

In a lengthy statement in response, the guitarist and Tassa and their band said: “Forcing musicians not to perform and denying people who want to hear them an opportunity to do so is self-evidently a method of censorship and silencing.

“Intimidating venues into pulling our shows won’t help achieve the peace and justice everyone in the Middle East deserves. The cancellation will be hailed as a victory by the campaigners behind it, but we see nothing to celebrate and don’t find that anything positive has been achieved.”

Referencing, the joint statement signed by more than 100 artists in support of Kneecap’s right to artistic freedom of expression, the duo added: “We have no judgment to pass on Kneecap but note how sad it is that those supporting their freedom of expression are the same ones most determined to restrict ours.”

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Plans for AC/DC to open Düsseldorf’s controversial Open Air Park venue this summer have been shelved, with the gig instead switching to the nearby Merkur Spiel-Arena.

Venue developers D.Live and local promoter Concert Team had hoped the legendary rockers’ 8 July concert would mark the start of a new era for the city, with a proposed outdoor venue catering for up to 80,000 fans. However, concerns about the number of trees that would need to be cut down, as well as objections about traffic disruption, noise, and anxiety over anti-social behaviour have seemingly delayed the project, with local authorities stalled on approving full planning consent.

Instead, D.Live has announced that the show will take place on the same date in the adjacent Merkur Spiel-Arena (cap. 52,500).

The delay is another setback for Düsseldorf’s venue portfolio, following a similar situation seven years ago when a scheduled outdoor show by Ed Sheeran, in the same location, had to be cancelled after objections in relation to the felling of trees, and worries over local wildlife.

“The event would not have come to Düsseldorf if this opportunity had not existed”

Undeterred by the delay, D.Live managing director Michael Brill notes that AC/DC would not have visited the city at all had they not been able to present Düsseldorf’s range of facilities to the band and their representatives.

“Düsseldorf as the location for the AC/DC concert also reflects the strategic importance of the upcoming Open Air Park,” says Brill. “Although it is now being relocated, the event would not have come to Düsseldorf if this opportunity had not existed. Through its portfolio strategy, D.Live is solidifying Düsseldorf as a top location for live entertainment.”

Noting that, “The relocation of the event has no connection with the development plan procedure for the Open Air Park,” on which the City Council will announce its bylaw resolution on 28 May, Brill adds, “Fortunately, we can react very flexibly to changing requirements here in Düsseldorf and relocate shows to one of our other venues. Of course, we find it very unfortunate that we won’t be celebrating the premiere of the Open Air Park Düsseldorf with AC/DC this year and have postponed it to 2026. At the same time, however, we are pleased that the concert with these global stars will take place in Düsseldorf.”

The show’s relocation means that tree felling in the park will not be carried out this year, but D.Live says other development steps involving the provision of electricity, water, and sewage systems are “still in full swing.”

Fans who had already purchased standing room tickets, or tickets for the outdoor show’s wheelchair access area will need to exchange their ticket to book places in the relevant areas of the arena, but other fans should be able to use their existing tickets for entry to the relocated event.

AC/DC’s PWR UP tour will also visit Berlin’s Olympic Stadium (30 June) and Messe Karlsruhe (17 August), and elsewhere the band’s European dates will include appearances in Prague, Warsaw, Madrid, Imola, Tallinn, Gothenburg, Oslo, Paris, and Edinburgh.

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The German touring sector is gaining a new awards ceremony as a successor to the Live Entertainment Award (LEA).

First held in Hamburg in 2006, the LEA had been held at Frankfurt’s Festhalle since 2011 and grew into one of the industry’s most prestigious awards shows, but was discontinued two years ago and the organisation behind it dissolved.

However, national trade association the BDKV has now announced the Best Of Live Award (BOLA), which aims to recognise outstanding achievements in live entertainment. The event will debut on 9 December during the gala dinner of the the organisation’s general meeting at the Hotel Palace Berlin.

“The Best Of Live Award is the prize we’ve all been hoping for,” says Sonia Simmenauer, president of the BDKV and chair of the BOLA Jury. “We celebrate the people behind the scenes who make the live experience possible with passion and professionalism. This award brings our community together – in the spotlight and full of appreciation.”

“With the Best Of Live Award, we are creating a platform for excellence, innovation, and collaboration – while strengthening the industry’s network”

The ceremony will be presented by comedians Jeannine Michaelsen and Jan van Weyde and will include nine categories representing the breadth of the industry.

“With the Best Of Live Award, we are creating a platform for excellence, innovation, and collaboration – while strengthening the industry’s network,” says BDKV MD Johannes Everke. “A particular challenge was ensuring that all segments of our broad industry could be represented and have their say. Accordingly, the categories are broadly defined; one half of the jury represents all of our departments, and the other half is made up of experts from around us. And the final vote by our members ultimately makes this award a truly collaborative project.”

All BDKV members can submit proposals from 1 August, with the announcement of the nominees by a jury of members and industry experts to follow on 16 October.

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As Deutsche Entertainment (DEAG) posts its 2024 year-end financial results, CEO Detlef Kornett speaks to IQ about the firm’s “tough but transformational” year.

On Friday, the Berlin-based promoter, events operator and ticketing company reported the highest revenue result in the company’s history: €369.8 million – up 17.9% year on year.

With over 11 million tickets sold in the DEAG Group in 2024 (previous year: 10 million), the rapidly expanding ticketing business was particularly successful, as was the Spoken Word & Literary Events division.

The Group’s increased revenue can also be partly attributed to its bullish M&A strategy, which this year included the acquisitions of UK-based promoter and live entertainment organiser ShowPlanr, German festival organiser black mamba Event & Marketing and Italian rock promoter MC2 Live.

“MC2 Live co-founder Andrea Pieroni is a big asset within the European network”

“M&A is an essential part of our business, so there hasn’t been a year when we haven’t acquired new companies,” says Kornett. “I think we made fewer acquisitions than usual in 2024, but with MC2 Live, for example, it was a very important and sizeable acquisition.”

DEAG acquired Milan-based MC² Live in October 2024, bringing its co-founders and legendary promoters Andrea and Stefano Pieroni into the group. Over the past few decades, the stalwart promoter has organised numerous concerts, festivals and events with stars such as Judas Priest, Slipknot, Rammstein, 50 Cent, Ne-Yo, Eros Ramazzotti and Negrita.

“MC2 Live co-founder Andrea Pieroni is a big asset within the European network and we have managed to tap into new cycles of contacts and so forth,” Kornett adds.

Though he admits that the Netherlands and Benelux are obvious gaps in DEAG’s marketplace, the CEO is resistant to “expansion for the sake of expansion”. “There has to be a fit with the people and how to approach business,” he adds.

“It’s been a tough year and I don’t want to portray everything as hunky dory”

With the acquisition of MC² Live, DEAG is now present in Germany, the UK, Switzerland, Ireland, Denmark, Spain and Italy.

“In 2024, we’ve not been outstandingly successful in just one country or one specific segment; it was hard work and everyone pitched in,” says Kornett. “It’s been a tough year and I don’t want to portray everything as hunky dory.

“In continental Europe, stadium acts and big shows were selling like hot cakes, but on the flip side, lots of good household names were clawing for every ticket to get to the water line.”

With former CEO Peter Schwenkow stepping down in March last year, Kornett framed 2024 as a “year of transformation to lay the foundations for sustainable and profitable growth”.

This is how the company explains a drop in earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) to around €14.4 million in 2024, compared to €26.4 million in 2023.

“It’s not a matter of if the weather will hit your festival, it’s when”

“With Peter stepping down, there was lots of reorganisation,” explains Kornett. “I have put a big emphasis on strengthening the executive vice president level within the company. We’re not on the stock exchange right now, but we are a company structured that way, and having a new board with all new board members just takes some time.”

The company also invested in a sustainability officer and the evolution of its IT infrastructure, both of which Kornett is confident will pay off in 2025.

An unexpected cost last year was the weather-related challenges in staging open-air events in parts of Europe.

“It’s not a matter of if the weather will hit your festival, it’s when,” says Kornett. “If it hits early enough, then you’re usually in an okay place because you’ve got insurance. But last year, we had to turn away 10,000 people at Nature One because of unsafe weather conditions. Then you miss all the auxiliary revenues, too. It was still a very good festival but the economic damage is done.”

“There are a lot of issues in the festival sector – from weather to headliners to costs to audiences”

Kornett says the company will continue to invest in weather prevention, having accepted that it increases the cost of putting on an outdoor event.

Last year, the company organised over 30 festivals and open-air concerts across the continent, but with margins decreasing, the firm has streamlined its outdoor event portfolio for 2025 and axed less profitable events and festivals in the UK, Germany and Italy.

“There are a lot of issues in the festival sector – from weather to headliners to costs to audiences,” he explains. “And when the rest of the year has strong events, you think ‘Do I need to risk it all for a small festival of the same genre?’  –probably not.”

DEAG Group’s rapidly expanding ticketing business was particularly successful in 2024, with over 11 million tickets sold compared to 10 million in the previous year.

“We have created a very good instrument to drive success for our events”

A steadily growing share of these tickets is sold via the DEAG Group’s ticketing platforms, which include myticket.de, myticket.at, myticket.co.uk, gigantic.com and tickets.ie.

“It’s one segment of a business that has a very good margin and now contributes significantly to the total EBITDA, but for us, it’s more complementary [to the success of the company],” the CEO explains.

“Having our own ticketing machine in the core markets helps us put our content into the best possible light and it allows us to promote acts that otherwise would not get the limelight on that day of the week,” he says.

“Having access to data is also very important and other ticketing companies don’t do that. But I can’t stress enough: we’re not in competition with Eventim or Ticketmaster or vice versa. We have created a very good instrument to drive success for our events and add to the overall mix of our business, and that’s really important.”

“Spoken Word & Literary Events is probably the most important non-music segment we have”

Another segment of DEAG’s business that has seen significant growth is the Spoken Word & Literary Events division, which achieved a 10% share of revenue within just three years.

The event format “An Evening with…” featuring world-famous authors has been particularly successful, as has the international literature festival lit.COLOGNE, which celebrated its 25th anniversary in March 2025 by welcoming around 120,000 visitors.

“Spoken Word & Literary Events is probably the most important non-music segment we have,” says Kornett. “I am very confident that there are more years of rapid growth in front of us, and we’re only just realising how big the audience is. There’s still a whole world for us to capture, outside of personality and literary events, and that’s where I think the growth will come from.”

It’s not just the Spoken Word & Literary Events division that Kornett is feeling optimistic about. If 2024 was DEAG’s year of transformation, 2025 is poised to be its year of success, according to the CEO.

For the financial year 2025, DEAG is aiming to sell 12 million tickets to concerts, festivals and live events

“We’re very confident that our EBITDA will increase significantly in the current financial year – I think all the signs are in our favour,” he says.

DEAG has already sold around four million tickets to events in 2025, achieving a new record for advance sales figures.

The revenue generated and already fixed is around €150 million and significantly exceeds the previous record of €129 million from 2021 for 2022, the most successful financial year to date.

For the financial year 2025, DEAG is also aiming to sell 12 million tickets to concerts, festivals and live events.

“I do feel that our two-to-three-year plan of becoming a company with more than €500 million in revenues will pay off”

This year, DEAG is organising concerts and tours by artists such as Sam Fender, Stereophonics, Andrea Bocelli, Till Lindemann, Lana Del Rey, Iron Maiden and the Scorpions. The tour for the 45th anniversary of German rock band Böhse Onkelz sold 160,000 tickets exclusively via the Group’s own ticketing platform myticket.de within just a few hours.

The firm is also expecting hundreds of thousands of visitors to its festivals, such as the 30th anniversary edition of Nature One, Mayday, Airbeat One and the Belladrum Tartan Heart.

“We’re not only looking at 2026 now, we’re also having bookings in 2027 – and not only at superstar level but arenas too,” he says. “For us as a company, that’s very helpful because it allows you to plan for resources and whatever is needed. So I do feel that our two-to-three-year plan of becoming a company with more than €500 million in revenues will pay off.”

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