As migration has made the world a more diverse landscape over the past half-century, delivering live entertainment in the native language of those migrants is becoming big business in urban metropolises. Eamonn Forde reports on the emerging market for specialist diaspora events.

Every week, somewhere around the world, crowds of migrants attend local venues to be entertained by fellow countrymen and women, while the citizens of the towns and cities that host these shows are blissfully unaware of the spectacle that doesn’t just entertain but strengthens bonds among communities living in foreign climes.

Migration is a defining feature of the modern world due to a complex combination of economic, political, cultural, and familial factors. The International Organization for Migration’s World Migration Report 2024 stated that in 2020 there were 281m people living in countries other than their countries of birth. This is an increase from 153m in 1990 and more than triple the number in 1970.

Those who relocate to other countries often cleave to certain things that provide a powerful and direct connection to “home” – and chief among them are food and music. These are a way for people to keep their culture alive and also introduce it into the places they have migrated to.

A few countries have historically dominated the export of popular music globally (the US, the UK, Sweden), but as immigration grows, so too does what we can term “diaspora touring.” This is where, when immigrant communities become established and reach a certain size, it becomes possible for acts from their home countries to play to them where they now live.

A Taste of India
Rock On Music has been, in its own words, “bringing the heartbeat of Indian music to the UK” since 1986, promoting artists in cities with long-standing Asian communities, such as London, Birmingham, and Manchester (as well as Rotterdam in the Netherlands).

“Artists will play in the UK on the way to the States or on the way back from the States. It is a way of breaking up the journey and earning a bit more money”

At a London press conference ahead of shows at the De Montfort Hall (Leicester) and Indigo at The O2 (London) in April, Indian superstar Armaan Malik spoke of how it had been eight years since his last shows in the UK, but in that time, his profile had been massively increased through a collaboration with Ed Sheeran on his track 2Step in 2022.

He described Rock On as “the real backbone behind the shows” and added that, because he sings in multiple languages, he can appeal to a wide range of Indian and Indian diaspora listeners. (Alongside English, he sings in Hindi, Telugu, Kannada, Bengali, Marathi, Tamil, Gujarati, Urdu and Malayalam – a level of polyglotism that is rare but that gives him a deeper connection with many of Indian heritage.)

It was with Bollywood singers that OVO Arena Wembley, a pioneering venue in the UK for diaspora shows, started to become aware of the scale of the demand for artists from markets that, historically, have not been regarded as major music exporters. This is now a key part of its booking policy and its business model, with nine Indian artists and nine South Korean artists having played headline shows there in 2024 (compared to 18 from the UK and 21 from the US).

“[Bollywood] here makes sense with a local community,” says John Drury, vice president and general manager at OVO Arena Wembley, of the cultural make up of the local area while also pointing to the venue’s vast potential catchment area covering London and the south. “What we still see is that those artists will play in the UK on the way to the States or on the way back from the States. It is a way of breaking up the journey and earning a bit more money on the way while they play some shows across the Atlantic. That was the start of it – and then it has grown.”

James Harrison, vice president of programming for UK and EU at ASM Global, adds that shows by such acts are travelling far beyond London (with its characteristic cosmopolitanism and regular turnover of international students). “Leicester, Birmingham, or Coventry would typically be the second play,” he says of acts coming into Wembley, “and then maybe they’d do Leeds or Manchester.”

Beyond Bollywood
Alongside London, Paris and Berlin are seen as the key diaspora cities for European shows by such acts. Speaking to IQ for its Global Arenas Guide 2025, Britta Kriesten of the Rudolf Weber-Arena says that Oberhausen, being one of the most multicultural areas in Germany, is also an increasingly important destination here. “We see an increase in arena-size concerts of artists from Arabic countries and Eastern Europe for our region,” she says.

“Rather than just focusing on bringing the same artists back, our strategy is to grow the roster of talent appealing to these audiences”

The Royal Albert Hall in London has also positioned itself as a key venue for diaspora shows, giving the venue a strongly international cultural remit. Dave Gamble, head of programming at the venue, points to Chinese singer Hins Cheung (who played three sold-out nights in 2023), Iranian singer Homayoun Shajarian (two sold-out nights in 2024), plus Ukrainian rock band Okean Elzy and Greek singer Konstantinos Argiros as examples of the venue’s recent diverse booking policy.

“In a multicultural city like London, it just increases the potential audience numbers we can welcome each year,” he says.

The immigration boom in the United Arab Emirates is also now seeing a sharp uptick in shows aimed at the different diasporas now living there.

James Craven, president of Live Nation Middle East, cites shows this year by Taiwanese star Jay Chou and Filipino rock band Rivermaya as being indicative of where the market is going there.

“[These acts’] shows were the first concerts organised by Live Nation Middle East specifically targeting these communities and are part of a growing trend of global artists, especially from Asia, connecting with their audiences here,” he says. “Rather than just focusing on bringing the same artists back, our strategy is to grow the roster of talent appealing to these audiences. There is clearly a demand for Mandopop, Cantopop and Original Pilipino Music – opening the door for more artists within these genres to perform in the Middle East.”

Tours by acts with strong diasporic audiences in Europe are increasingly seeing opportunities being unlocked in North America.

Live Nation Belgium is working to expand the reach of Murda, a Turkish-Dutch artist who raps in Turkish

Live Nation Belgium is working to expand the reach of Murda, a Turkish-Dutch artist who raps in Turkish. As well as playing shows in a number of Turkish cities, he has toured in Antwerp, Paris, Hamburg, Cologne, Berlin, Zurich, Stuttgart, Stockholm, Copenhagen, and London – but also, and more interestingly, Toronto, Los Angeles, New York, and Boston.

Robin Tulkens, head of talent buyers at Live Nation in Belgium, says this all sprang from a growing relationship with Omer Karabulut at Amsterdam-based Capitol Bookings. “Arno de Waard, one of our talent buyers, and I have been promoting shows with domestic artists for many years,” says Tulkens. “Three years ago, Omer reached out to us asking if we could help him with building a European tour and use the Live Nation network for that.”

Most of the rooms Murda played on his first run had a capacity of 1,000–1,500, dropping down to 450 in Copenhagen (which has a smaller Turkish community), but leaping to 2,300 in London.

It is a sign of how important these touring segments have become that both Live Nation and AEG are getting involved here and hoping to capitalise on the current market and, in doing so, accelerate its growth. Praise, however, for the pioneering work here has to go to a wide range of specialist promoters and ticketing companies who began by serving their own diasporic communities.

Know the Experts
Raven Twigg is senior programming manager for the arenas division at ASM Global. She says specialist promoters, like TCO Group, have been central to getting the market to where it is today.

While a company like FishCanFly does not have a UK office, Twigg says they were key in driving the NO Music Festival at Wembley in December. “They were a brand-new promoter, and we were quite cautious about it,” she admits. “But it ended up selling really well, and it was a great show.”

It is important, Twigg says, to nurture new promoters and to lean on their expertise in matching international acts to diaspora audiences. Magic Sound Entertainment is a key name bringing acts from China, Hong Kong, South Korea, and Taiwan into Western markets. “They are based [in the UK], but they spend a lot of time over in China, and they just know what works,” she says. “We’ve built a really good relationship with them. Last year, they were just behind Live Nation in the amount of money they made for the arena.”

“Our relationships with specialist promoters and their knowledge, understanding, and passion for their culture are essential”

Drury says it is critical that venues develop deep relationships with specialist promoters. “They can inform us about what’s the best angle and where they think you can draw from the community in the best way,” he says. “We defer to them.”

Jen Mitchell, managing director of NEC Group Arenas (covering Birmingham’s Utilita Arena and bp pulse LIVE), says linking up with key local promoters has been central to growing this part of their business.

“We have proactively developed close working relationships with specialist promoters such as TCO, Grace Entertainment, The Musik World, TLC Events, Rock On Music, and Skystar Media as part of a very deliberate strategy to grow the presence of South Asian music events in our programme,” she says. “Our relationships with specialist promoters and their knowledge, understanding, and passion for their culture are essential to delivering these events successfully while growing audiences year on year.”

Within this, however, is a need to do due diligence on new companies in the space; but there is also a need to help develop and guide the new wave of promoters coming through, not just relying on the established names. New promoters rising up can make the bookings more interesting and find the headliners of tomorrow.

“We get references, and we make sure that the people putting on the shows have got that experience of working to a certain level,” says Harrison. “But also, at the same time, we are open to working with new ideas and helping promoters. The team here does an amazing job with assisting promoters to do their first arena shows.”

Melting Pot
Wembley is keen to develop a reputation as the UK venue most open to acts from different countries who can play to growing diasporic audiences. In helping new specialist promoters, they see a domino effect whereby other promoters are coming to the venue with their own ideas for shows.

“Wembley has built up this profile that we are easy to work with and that we’re willing to try these types of shows”

“In attracting new promoters and new markets, Wembley has built up this profile that we are easy to work with and that we’re willing to try these types of shows,” says Twigg. “We had one Iranian show last year [Googoosh], and now we’ve got three Iranian shows booked this year [including Moein and Ebi Hamedi]. People see it and think, ‘I want to do this for my community. I’m going to reach out to Wembley Arena.’”

At the Albert Hall, a hybrid way of operating is now firmly established – supporting new and specialist names as well as working with the biggest names in global promotion.

“We’ve welcomed a mix of promoters, from independent names linked closely to their communities, such as Tar Events [for Homayoun] and Beyond Basket [for Okean Elzy], to co-promotions between diaspora-linked promoters, such as Uptown Events, working alongside established UK promoters, such as Senbla, all the way up to Live Nation, who promoted the three nights of Hins Cheung successfully,” explains Gamble. “We appreciate that playing at the Royal Albert Hall will carry deep meaning for a large number of artists and audiences.”

Live Nation is also deploying a composite strategy for the acts it is bringing into the Middle East. Its shows in early 2025 for Jay Chou and Rivermaya were done “through close collaboration with a range of local and international partners,” says Craven. This means a potent mix of market muscle and audience/community expertise, suggesting new working templates for the future.

While many of the diaspora shows are targeted at communities and audiences that have been steadily building up, often across multiple generations, in particular areas, some are happening due to unexpectedly swift migration patterns.

Speaking to IQ for our Global Promoters Report last year, Sara Gigante, general manager at Charm Music Belgrade, explained how a significant new audience category has rapidly become evident in Serbia and Türkiye. Many (often educated and affluent) Russians are leaving their home country in protest at the actions of Vladimir Putin, most significantly the war in Ukraine.

“Belgrade, together with Istanbul, [is where they move],” she explained. “Russians don’t move to the countryside – they move to Belgrade. This has created a new trend, which is promoting Russian bands in Serbia – for Russians – with considerably high ticket prices.”

“Marketing and promoting these shows requires a more tailored approach than the campaigns for major US or British acts”

Audience in Sight
For some audiences, data is now everything. For others, experts within the diasporic communities will best know the types of shows that could work.

“With K-pop, we have a lot of data as that’s a very online audience,” says Harrison. “With South Asian artists, that’s still a very traditional approach of hard tickets in shops in the community. You need to be plugged into that community to shift tickets.”

Craven says the marketing strategy in the Middle East has to be characteristically different from marketing Western acts. “Marketing and promoting these shows requires a more tailored approach than the campaigns for major US or British acts,” he explains. “We work closely with community-focused media to directly engage with the audiences we’re trying to reach. For Rivermaya, we partnered with Filipino outlets with strong ties to the local Filipino community to make sure the message reached the right audience. For Jay Chou, our partner launched a dedicated campaign in China that targeted Mandopop fans and promoted Dubai as a must-visit destination, boosting both ticket sales and tourism.”

Gamble says the refined strategy at the Albert Hall is a potent blend of old and new marketing techniques. “For example, we have an upcoming performance of the Telugu-language film RRR [for the In Concert series] on 11 May, which has meant we’ve had to explore new channels to reach audiences beyond the tried-and-tested methods,” he says. “This might mean working alongside partners in local communities to spread the word or even exploring the use of TV adverts on smaller diaspora-focused channels, as well as more physical promotion techniques, which are less used for the majority of shows these days.”

For the Murda shows, Tulkens took a blended approach. “We’ve worked together closely with Murda’s team to identify the best target audience for online advertising,” he says. “We’ve also worked together with local Turkish street promoters in some markets, which really helped us in targeting the right audience.”

Speaking to IQ for its Global Arenas Guide 2025, Steve Hevern, general manager of the Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney, Australia, explained how investment in organisational systems and teams is critical when approaching this burgeoning market.

“[We] launched a strategic programme to enhance audience engagement through a mix of customised communications and segmented marketing, driving deeper connections with culturally specific communities,” he said. “[This includes] messaging in the primary languages of key audience groups, such as Mandarin, Hindi, Korean, and Punjabi.”

“Streaming and social media enable artists to build enormous followings quickly”

Geolocated social media and streaming data is now offering insight tools that were inconceivable in the last century. Along with traditional marketing strategies, this gives promoters and venues greater precision in their bookings.

Have Love, Will Follow
“We work closely with streaming platforms to track listening trends, social media to analyse engagement and audience demographics, and local tourism boards to understand which markets are driving visitors to the UAE,” says Craven. “We also collaborate with local media and radio to monitor demand and identify which artists are generating interest. Together, this helps us identify which international acts resonate most with audiences in the region.”

Mitchell is effusive about the multitude of benefits these new digital platforms are bringing to live music.

“Streaming and social media enable artists to build enormous followings quickly,” she says. “This means that artists who have perhaps never performed in the UK may have strong potential audiences, and their management can track hot-spots of these audiences through streaming platforms to identify what regions would likely deliver the best ticket sales.”

Digital data can dramatically de-risk things here, turning hesitancy around some bookings into certainty.

“The ability to quickly check to see the number of followers and plays an artist has in the UK market and worldwide is of amazing help in terms of decision making,” says Gamble. “Recently, we were able to decide on an international comedy/Internet sensation who had yet to play in the UK. Working with the promoter, we could see that, despite the main markets for the artist being in the Far East, the artist still had a strong enough following in the UK – their third-biggest market according to followers and plays – to take a chance on the date. This was proven as we very quickly sold out a single night and rolled to a second date. In previous years, this would likely have been the sort of inquiry we wouldn’t be able to take a risk on.”

“We’ve done more K-pop shows than any other arena in the UK, without a doubt”

Some acts can start out appealing exclusively to the diaspora in a certain city but then go beyond that to appeal to multiple different audience segments. K-pop, Latin, and Afrobeats are all clear examples of genres that have achieved this in the past decade or so.

“We’ve done more K-pop shows than any other arena in the UK, without a doubt,” says Drury of Wembley’s central role in building the live K-pop market in the country. “Our first one was BigBang in 2012. Then the audience was entirely diaspora-based because nobody else really knew what the band were about […] Now, it’s such a crossover.”

Not all diaspora shows will cross over like K-pop has – and nor should they. They do not have to be solely measured on their mass market appeal because many are serving a particular cultural function for the diaspora in specific cities. They are celebrations of the music and culture of the diaspora and should not automatically be expected to compromise, artistically or linguistically, to travel outside of the diaspora.

“With the Iranian shows [we have booked at Wembley], there’s definitely not a crossover with anyone outside of that community,” says Twigg. “It is for the community. […] That is a market that’s growing. It has got the attention of that community. They’re just coming out to the shows and enjoying it.”

Gamble believes the live business is only scratching the surface of what is possible here as new opportunities for previously underserved (or ignored) diasporas are opening up.

“We are seeing an increased number of enquiries from Middle Eastern and Persian artists, as well as artists from across the African continent, with audiences who are very keen to come along and support [them],” he says, adding that upcoming bookings include Georgian artist Valery Meladze, acts from the Philippines and Tanzania, as well as a multi-artist gospel music bill with artists from South Africa, Ghana, Nigeria, and Jamaica.

There are a multitude of reasons for investing in more diaspora shows and expanding the addressable audiences. But this should not be something where commercial reasons are given priority over cultural reasons. Any moves here have to be fully informed and culturally aware, which is why carefully collaborating with, or formally partnering with, diaspora-based experts is essential. It is they who best understand their own communities, as well as how to find and nurture loyal audiences. This is how a richer and more expansive diaspora touring sector can truly flourish.

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UK arena bosses have weighed in on the sector’s biggest issues in 2025 – and debated whether the stadium boom is hurting the indoor circuit.

The arena market boasts an abundance of top talent, with upcoming tours by stars such as Sabrina Carpenter, Billie Eilish, Teddy Swims, Gracie Abrams, Usher, Pulp, Andrea Bocelli, Chase & Status, Bryan Adams, Olly Murs, Katy Perry, Tyler, the Creator, Tom Grennan, The Lumineers, Lil Baby, Jamiroquai, Central Cee, Busted vs McFly and Kylie Minogue.

But with Post Malone becoming the latest A-lister to announce a summer stadium run, joining around 30 artists from Oasis to Beyoncé in headlining music’s biggest stages, does something have to give?

“The fan demand for live entertainment is stronger than ever, and although we are always competing to some extent, there’s no harm in a wider choice for fans across the board,” says Guy Dunstan, SVP and GM at Manchester’s Co-op Live (cap. 23,500), speaking to IQ.

“There will always be differing levels or artists taking to different sized venues, and at Co-op Live we’re even seeing some of the staple outdoor artists like Bruce Springsteen, Eagles and Pearl Jam opt to return to an indoor venue of our scale and size. It’s testament to the strength of the industry, that these events can co-exist.”

Gemma Vaughan, GM of Manchester’s 23,000-cap AO Arena is equally confident there is enough room for everyone.

“Manchester is lucky enough to be a city that’s home to two arenas, a plethora of smaller independent venues and two stadiums that also host live events,” she says. “We’ve been at the heart of Manchester’s music scene since 1995, we’re confident we’ll continue to thrive alongside all of our neighbours.”

“Fans only have a limited amount of discretionary spend”

Indeed, Steve Sayer, SVP and GM at London’s 20,000-cap The O2, says it is shaping up to be a year to remember for both stadiums and arenas.

“With stadium gigs, it tends to be a little bit cyclical: you’ll have a strong year and then the next year isn’t quite as strong, so it could potentially be perceived as having an impact on arena shows,” he contends. “But we’re certainly confident when we look at the diary – and not just this year, but next year as well – that the show count forecast remains strong.”

North of the border however, Rob Wicks, MD of Aberdeen’s P&J Live, admits to harbouring reservations on the subject, stressing: “Fans only have a limited amount of discretionary spend.”

Nevertheless, Wicks, who lists the cost of touring, the cost of living crisis and closures of grassroots venues among his chief concerns for the business, reports the 15,000-cap Scottish arena is still on track for a stellar year.

“The venue sold 31% more tickets in 2024 than it did in 2023 and is on track for a similar increase in 2025, which is really encouraging,” he tells IQ.

John Drury, VP and GM of London’s OVO Arena Wembley (cap. 12,500), sees both sides of the argument, but tells IQ it’s a case of so far, so good.

“There’s no doubt that a rising number of outdoor shows and festivals can widen the market and lead to some challenges in arenas, but so far for us at Wembley we’re not seeing a downside,” he reports. “2024 was a record-breaking year for Wembley and 2025 is shaping up to be as strong, if not stronger. Significantly, we hosted over 50 first-time headline acts last year, which shows the current strength of the arena market in the UK.”

“The arena landscape is really strong in comparison to 2024,” nods Utilita Arena Newcastle GM Caroline James. “Maybe it is already having a positive impact?”

“Anything that brings massive profile to the sector is a good thing – particularly if it reminds people to buy tickets for other gigs!”

Dom Stokes, general manager of Utilita Arena Sheffield (cap. 13,600), shares similar sentiments – suggesting that a rising tide lifts all boats.

“I think it’s positive,” he argues. “Anything that brings massive profile to the sector is a good thing – particularly if it reminds people to buy tickets for other gigs! A strong stadium season can lead to offshoot events in the arenas. In Sheffield, we have often found an opportunity to use our huge space for rehearsals.”

Stokes describes 2025 as a “transitional year” for Utilita Arena Sheffield, which joined the ASM Global venue network last month alongside Sheffield City Hall.

“However, product is strong and the investment planned in both front of house and back of house areas is very exciting,” he adds. “Ticket sales for all our genres are strong, but ticket buyers continue to buy a long time in advance or very late. There doesn’t seem to be very much in between.”

It is a similar story at the 11,000-cap Utilita Arena Newcastle, where James projects a “fantastic year both for private events and live events”, but points out that ticket trends “seem to be all or nothing”.

“Late purchasing is still very apparent,” she advises, adding that an increasing number of events are going to the bigger cities and missing regional venues.

“UK arenas generated £100 million in VAT in 2023: £60m on ticket sales and £40m on ancillary income”

OVO Arena Wembley’s Drury goes into detail on the issues at the top of his in-tray right now as chair of the National Arena Association.

“Since coming back from Covid, costs have continued to rise, which puts pressure on our margins,” he notes. “We’re also of course aware that production costs are also rising, putting the squeeze on from all angles. To add to this, we are concerned that a proposed increase in business rates designed to hit the major warehouse operators of online sales will also affect arenas disproportionately – we feel that an adjustment of the proposed raises should be made for our businesses.

“We of course already contribute massively to the government coffers: we employ huge numbers locally, contribute millions of pounds to our local communities – studies show £100 per person average spend in the community from each arena show – and also pay a big part in positively impacting the mental wellbeing of our millions of guests.”

Drury also backs trade body LIVE’s calls lower VAT rates in line with many other European countries “where 20% is unheard of”.

“UK arenas generated £100 million in VAT in 2023: £60m on ticket sales and £40m on ancillary income,” he says. “A cut would help the grassroots sector massively but also if we were able to divert a portion of our VAT income back to those most in need in our industry we could and should pretty much become a self-financing industry.

“If, for example, we could plough back 5% of the VAT we raise on tickets as part of a wider VAT cut for our events, that would have meant £3m going back to grassroots in 2023 alone.”

“Grassroots venues are an incredible part of the broader live music ecosystem”

In late 2024, IQ reported the UK live music industry was edging towards a deal which would see more stadium and arena tours agree to include a contribution towards grassroots support after a meeting with culture minister Chris Bryant MP.

The ministerial roundtable followed the government’s plea to the live industry to introduce a voluntary ticket levy to support the grassroots music sector in its response to the Culture, Media and Sport (CMS) Select Committee’s report.

“What the minister asked for – and was looking for – was momentum,” says The O2’s Sayer. “From our perspective, we’ve always said that grassroots venues are an incredible part of the broader live music ecosystem. We’ve got a collective responsibility to ensure that we can put together a solution that’s equitable and works and actually delivers funds to the venues and the artists that really need that support.

“From what I can see, and the conversations that I’m having, I’m confident there will start to be momentum this year around the levy and hopefully, over time, that will start to generate the sort of funds the grassroots desperately needs.”

The struggles of the grassroots sector are also at the forefront of Vaughan’s mind.

“It’s no secret that rising touring costs are proving challenging across the live entertainment industry, but I think the more relevant question is how does that affect our grassroots musicians and venues?” queries the AO Arena boss. “If these artists are unable to perform, how can they graduate through the talent pipeline and become our next headline act?

“As one of the UK’s largest entertainment venues, we’re extremely conscious of our position, and this is something we’ve been working closely with Music Venue Trust and Manchester’s wider community as a whole. Especially as we turn 30 this year, it’s more prevalent than ever to ensure that we’re protecting grassroots from the top down, or there will be no arena sector for us in the next 30.”

“We’re seeing fans wanting a more focused consumer experience”

On the programming front meanwhile, Vaughan detects a consumer shift in genres, particularly K-Pop, where “Manchester is rivalling the likes of London when it comes to talent and demand”.

“There’s also been a substantial shift in what our fans expects not only from their favourite artists, but venues too,” she continues. “Fans are looking for authentic experiences that go beyond their Instagram stories, they’re wanting connection. Experiential experiences are not to be overlooked, so that will be another key priority for us this year.”

Across the city at the rival Co-op Live, Dunstan is revelling in the arena’s first full year of operation, with UK arena exclusives from the likes of Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band and Robbie Williams on the horizon in H1 2025.

“The appetite for content has been immense,” he observes. “Amongst it, we’re seeing fans wanting a more focused consumer experience, from quality food and drink, to pre- and post-show entertainment, well beyond VIP and hospitality.”

He concludes: “There’s significant attention on arenas and the part they play in the wider music ecosystem; perhaps more than ever, with vital conversations around ticket pricing, support for the grassroots sector, ticket levies and more.

“It’s a very exciting time to be part of the industry, and to work collaboratively to balance the various needs of all levels with an increase in fan experience and expectation. It’s this that rings loudest, with fans rightfully wanting the best possible experience in exchange for their hard-earned money.

“It’s great that things are being shaken up, and we’re proud to be at the forefront of many of these timely conversations and their subsequent changes.”

• ILMC’s annual deep dive into the arena sector, The Venue’s Venue: Anchor Topics, will take place at the Royal Lancaster Hotel at 9.45am on Thursday February 27.

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European venue experts have spoken out on the increase in unruly audiences at live events since the business returned from the pandemic.

The issue, which has been reported on by a number of UK publications, was explored during The Venue’s Venue at this month’s ILMC in London, chaired by The O2’s Emma Bownes and OVO Arena Wembley boss John Drury.

Teeing up the discussion, Bownes spoke from personal experience in saying the problem was not limited to one form of entertainment.

“It’s fair to say that at The O2 we’ve definitely seen, across multiple genres, a change in audience behaviour,” she said. “I go to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival every year, and I noticed a massive trend in quite aggressive heckling. Heckling’s always been a thing in comedy, but it’s not as prevalent as it definitely is now.

“I’ve heard racist heckling. I’ve heard heckling to the detriment of the entire show, where two drunken members of the audience just wouldn’t let an issue go with a comedian and it’s ruined the show for everybody. We’ve had really poor and aggressive audience behaviour at country shows, pop shows, comedy shows. As I mentioned, it’s not specific to one genre.”

“I feel like there’s an increased expectation when you get to the gig. With some individuals, if it’s not perfect, then they’re willing to kick off”

Katie Musham of Oak View Group’s Co-op Live in Manchester, and Sybil Franke of Germany’s Velomax Berlin, noted that the trend had not been mirrored at venues outside the UK.

“I spoke to my counterparts [in the US] and they’ve not experienced anything to the detriment that we’re seeing in the UK,” said Musham.

“I haven’t heard of any incidents across [Germany],” added Franke. “We do have such incidences, but at New Year’s Eve public gatherings or after football games, not in venues from what I have experienced.”

Bownes questioned whether the rise in disorder was related to people having less disposable income than in the past.

“I feel like there’s an increased expectation when you get to the gig,” she said. “With some individuals, if it’s not perfect, then they’re willing to kick off with the audience member who might be stood up in front of them.”

“Just before Covid, through Covid and post Covid, there was definitely a change in the audience”

“I think we are seeing that certainly,” agreed Drury. “Actually, there’s a conversation as well about the level of abuse that we should take. I had a customer who was unhappy about something. She was screaming down the phone at me, and it was so loud that the speaker was distorting on the phone. None of us should have to put up with that.”

Crowded space expert Prof Chris Kemp of Mind Over Matter consultancy put forward some of the sociological factors – explaining that the changing crowd dynamics pre-dated the pandemic.

“This is a window into our society, and what’s happening in society is being mirrored by what’s happening,” he said. “Just before Covid, through Covid and post Covid, there was definitely a change in the audience. I was working on a lot projects, and I was finding that things weren’t the same.

“There’s a polarity in music at the moment between the protest songs emerging from a number of genres and sub genres, and also, simultaneously, this new kind of relationship between concertgoers and artists where the crowd is more fragile.”

Kemp said there had been a rise in “young male on female assaults”, plus instances where security has been deliberately distracted to enable fans to “jump from the seating onto the floor, which causes severe problems”.

“This is about an audience recovering from the immense impact and emotional challenges caused by a pandemic as well”

“This is about an audience recovering from the immense impact and emotional challenges caused by a pandemic as well,” he added. “We’ve also seen concomitant rise in challenges in both society, and more from a kind of micro viewpoint [with] the recognition of autism, Tourette’s, ADHD and other, often hidden, conditions… coming to the fore. That’s been quite an interesting development, alongside difficulties with mental health. Also, it shows that the event is not a one-size-fits-all scenario; it needs a graduated response to take into consideration the many things that are changing in the industry.”

Responding to a question from the audience, Kemp agreed with the assertion that fans who had bought tickets pre-Covid were attending the rescheduled shows “in a completely different mindset” and were harder to impress and less patient as a result, with that potentially contributing to unruly behaviour.

“I think you’ve got a possible link there,” he said. “I’m not sure if it’s a great many people, but it may be one or two, and it only takes one or two people do incite violence.”

In conclusion, Drury said the debate had shown the subject to be more nuanced than it might initially have appeared.

“I think you make a really good point about mental welfare, and people going back into society who might already have some issues that are exacerbated by the reopening of society,” he told Kemp.

“It’s interesting that when when we look at the headlines of ‘have audiences forgotten how to behave’, and ‘has Covid sent them crazy? They’re coming back out to see events and they just don’t know how to behave,’ it’s actually a lot more complicated than that.”

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OVO Arena Wembley boss John Drury has told IQ he is thrilled by the number of first-time arena headliners stepping up to play the venue.

Artists such as Yungblud and Loyle Carner are scheduled to make their debut headline appearances at the 12,500-cap arena in 2023, which Drury believes is a positive sign for a business as a whole.

“It’s great to have artists coming back and we’ve got those, but it’s also really good to see people coming through to arena level,” he says. “Another new headliner is Joe Hisaishi in September with his two sold-out Studio Ghibli shows. They were first on sale in 2020, but lockdown saw them off. Then he was supposed to be back in August last year, but was confined to his house because of Covid, so people have waited a long time for these shows.”

Drury, who will co-chair the ILMC panel The Venue’s Venue: The cost of live-ing alongside The O2’s Emma Bownes at 10am on 2 March, repeats his assertion that the touring calendar will not fully return to normality in 2024.

“It is still where we are,” he says. “There aren’t as many rescheduled shows now, but as well as Joe Hisaishi, we’ve got Sabaton – who were supposed to play in March last year but postponed – and a couple of others.

“Next year should be as normal a year as 2019 was in terms of the content and the way it comes in. Unless something else odd happens!”

“Next year should be as normal a year as 2019 was in terms of the content and the way it comes in. Unless something else odd happens!”

The ASM Global arena, which hosted around one million fans in 2022 and rounded off the year with a three-night stand by The Cure, also hosts the Heavy Music Awards on 26 May and is enjoying a fruitful run with live editions of podcasts such as That Peter Crouch Podcast’s Crouchfest, which featured a surprise 30-minute performance by Kasabian.

Upcoming shows include The Overlap Live with football pundits Gary Neville, Jamie Carragher and Roy Keane, set for 5 April, and Rob Beckett & Josh Widdicombe’s Parenting Hell (23 April), while other concerts include Black Stone Cherry & The Darkness, All Time Low, Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike, Andre Rieu, Stromae, OneRepublic and Pet Shop Boys.

“It’s feeling strong,” adds Drury, Wembley’s longtime VP and GM. “We’ve all got the same challenges and through lockdowns we have seen there has been a bit of a talent drain across the production and talent side, which has been a concern for everybody. So that’s something we’re working through.

“Covid is still there, but we’re living with it now. But with a war in Ukraine, an energy crisis and the cost of living crisis, we’ve gone from one challenge to another and they are are overlapping a little bit as well. But it affects everybody. and we’re all working through it, so it is where we are.”

“We’ve got the oldest arena in the UK and it highlights what you can do with an old building”

Developer and asset manager Quintain completed the sale of OVO Arena Wembley to Intermediate Capital Group (ICG) last September. The venue, which opened in 1934 as the Empire Pool, also recently successfully completed its Greener Arena certification via A Greener Festival, becoming the oldest arena in the UK to do so.

Since April 2022, the venue has delved into the process via a baseline CO2 analysis and impact assessment, to develop and guide the arena’s strategy towards achieving its sustainability goals, supporting OVO Energy’s commitment to becoming a net-zero business by 2035.

“It’s an interesting process and an important one for us,” says Drury. “Clearly, our naming rights partner OVO Energy has strong sustainability credentials, and our new landlord, ICG, is very big on sustainability. We’ve got the oldest arena in the UK and it highlights what you can do with an old building.”

ASM’s entire portfolio of UK operated venues, which also includes AO Arena Manchester, First Direct Arena Leeds, Utilita Arena Newcastle, P&J Live Aberdeen and Olympia London, will undergo certification as part of a long-term strategy and pledge towards greener operations.

“It’s an ongoing process and no doubt things will change in the next 12 months and we will adapt again,” adds Drury. “It’s just a case of topping it up and keeping the work going.”

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London’s legendary Wembley Arena has been renamed OVO Arena Wembley.

The 12,500-cap, ASM Global-managed venue has been known as The SSE Arena, Wembley since 2014, but now follows in the footsteps of Glasgow’s Hydro (cap. 13,000) in linking with OVO Energy, the UK’s third-biggest energy supplier, which acquired SSE in 2020.

OVO Arena Wembley is expected to welcome around one million visitors in 2022, with upcoming shows including 50 Cent, Armin Van Buuren, Sigrid, KSI, The Cure and Anne-Marie.

“ASM Global is delighted to support OVO Energy on the renaming of OVO Arena Wembley,” says John Drury, VP & general manager. “The live entertainment industry has endured a challenging couple of years, but ASM Global is now looking forward to a bumper schedule of events across 2022.”

OVO will also support ASM Global’s goal to achieve ‘Greener Arena Certification’, set to be implemented across all ASM Global venues. A Greener Festival’s independent certification process provides external verification that carbon reduction and transition strategies are at the heart of all venue operations, from catering to materials used and circularity.

“As we look to welcome more fans than ever before, we’re working hard to manage the environmental footprint of our operation – one show at a time,” adds Drury. “This partnership between OVO Energy and ASM Global means that our brilliant events will be aligned with our shared desire for a carbon-free future.”

“At OVO, we’re committed to establishing purposeful partnerships which reflect our commitment to make zero carbon living a reality – not just in the home, but in the things we love doing too, whether that be going to a gig or comedy show,” adds OVO’s head of sponsorship & partnerships, Colin Banks. “That’s why we share in the OVO Arena Wembley’s ambition to help live entertainment in becoming more sustainable.

“Together, we want to identify meaningful ways through which to make lower-impact live events a headline act in their own right”

“It’ll take time, but together, we want to identify meaningful ways through which to make lower-impact live events a headline act in their own right and working with A Greener Festival represents a very positive step on that journey. But we know that’s just the beginning, and we want to continue to support the venue in identifying practical ways in which we can help to further reduce its environmental impact, without detracting from OVO Arena Wembley’s first-class visitor experience. We look forward to releasing more detail around some of the initiatives already being considered, in the very near future.”

The development and implementation of the sustainable strategies will be bolstered by social responsibility platform ASM Global Acts, which pledges the venue operator’s commitment to protecting the environment.

“ASM Global is committed to providing sustainable solutions and initiatives across our portfolio of venues around the world,” says Chris Bray, EVP Europe, ASM Global. “Our social responsibility platform, ASM Global Acts pledges our longstanding commitment to protecting the environment as we work towards ‘Greener Arena Certification’ in all ASM Global venues. We are pleased, therefore, to continue our relationship with OVO Energy, a brand which shares our vision for greener strategies in the live events industry.

Alongside the OVO Energy team at Wembley, we are excited to see how we can continue to work together to develop and collaborate on our ongoing sustainability strategies. Together, we aim to continue to ensure this iconic London concert and events venue remains a world class experience whilst developing it into one of the most sustainable arenas in the world.”

Georgina Iceton, VP Activations at AEG Global Partnerships adds: “We’re thrilled to support our partner, OVO Energy, on their renaming of such a legendary venue in London. As part of the rebrand, it was important for AEG, ASM Global and OVO, that we had a zero waste to landfill policy, so our priority from the offset, was to source from new suppliers who would deliver the most sustainable materials on the market.”

“The initiatives, through all aspects of this progressive project, were underpinned by AEG’s drive for meaningful partnerships that support goals of both the venue and partner. Through the work we establish with A Greener Festival, we will be able to implement new solutions for this legendary building which will see even greater energy efficiencies across the venue.”

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The SSE Arena, Wembley’s VP and general manager John Drury has spoken to IQ about the challenges of restaffing the venues sector as it emerges from the Covid-19 shutdown.

With a number of seasoned backstage hands defecting to other industries during the pandemic to make ends-meet, the business is battling a short-term talent shortage.

Drury, who predicts the Covid-induced upheaval to the global touring calendar could last until at least 2024, suggests the issue is far from straightforward.

“On security, in particular, a lot of SIA licences haven’t been renewed, and some of that will be no doubt people just picking up different work elsewhere and moving out of the industry,” he says. “Some will be people moving back to a home country, there’s probably a bit of Brexit in there as well, so that’s made it a challenge.

We’re still seeing more of a drop-off in numbers than normal

“We’re not really seeing it so much on the F&B side, but we’re certainly seeing it on front of house, stewarding and security, where it’s harder. We’ve not got to the point where we haven’t been able to service a show, obviously, and I don’t think we will get to that point. But it’s a challenge.

“We had a show last weekend where it ended up that we needed to bring the riggers in a couple of days earlier because that’s when they could get them and not on the show day. It meant the rigging for this one event came in ahead of the show the following day, but it was all done very amicably and everybody worked together to get it achieved. But we’ll see those challenges for a little while, no doubt.”

As previously revealed by IQ, promoters have reported the rate of no-shows by ticket-holders at concerts has been far higher than usual since the restart. Drury describes Wembley’s no-show rate as “up and down”.

“The standard tends to be around about 10%,” he says. “We were only seeing 5% on comedy, which was really encouraging, but at other events we were seeing as much as 20%, or more.

“We were finding it depended partly on shows that had been rescheduled once or twice. So some people might have just forgotten they were on, even though we’d been emailing and sending them reminders, and there is a bit of uncertainty out there, for sure. We’re still seeing more of a drop off in numbers than we normally would.”

Because we’d had some activity, it allowed us to get back into the swing of things more quickly

The 12,500-capacity London venue, which is due to round off 2021 with dates by acts including Manic Street Preachers, James + Happy Mondays, The Human League, Nightwish, Il Divo and Madness, stayed busier than most, if not all, UK arenas during 2020/21 “partly because of our size and partly because of location,” according to Drury.

“We ended up doing some filming for the BBC series The Wall through summer last year, and then we did some behind closed doors boxing for another six weeks with Matchroom,” he says.

“That led to us hosting the Anthony Joshua fight in December, [2020] for a crowd of 1,000 people. It was in that very short, small window where you could post some events for a very limited number. You couldn’t normally make that work for arena but, because of the pay-per-view, it worked.

“It was strangely like opening a new venue and was an interesting taste of what we were going to have to go through.”

The arena also hosted a Culture Club livestream and was used for filming a Tesco Mobile advert, along with the Strictly Come Dancing and Masked Dancer British TV series, and was utilised for UEFA’s Euro 2020 international football tournament over the summer.

“It was good to have that activity in the building, not because it made money – it covered its costs to a certain extent – but what it did was help us give work to our regular full-timers,” notes Drury. “It allowed us to bring in some contractors and give some of the supply chain some work that they very badly needed. So it was a real motivation for us to do something in the building – to be able to give some work to people that desperately needed it.

“We opened up with boxing on 24 July, which was our first proper event with no social distancing. And then the first proper gig, was McFly in the middle of September. And because we’d had some activity, it allowed us to get back into the swing of things a little bit more quickly. It’s been really good to be back doing shows, and let’s hope we can carry on.”

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SSE Arena, Wembley boss John Drury predicts it could be at least 2024 before the arena business gets back to a “normal” calendar.

The 12,500-capacity London venue’s long-serving VP and general manager tells IQ the multitude of postponements in ’20 and ’21 has inevitably led to complications.

“It’s been a challenge as we come out of something we’ve never experienced before, so everybody has been finding a way around it as best they can,” says Drury. “What it’s done to the diaries, though, is it’s effectively meant that we probably won’t have a normal year until ’24.

“Next year is affected by all the shows that moved from this year into next. And it’s busier, but it’s not a normal year. We’ve seen promoters putting in tours for ’22 and then starting to look into ’23 because they’ve not been able to put together the run of dates that they wanted – and that probably cuts across European dates and beyond as well.”

As a result, projections for a “rammed” 2022 had been downgraded even before the Omicron variant presented fresh cause for concern.

A bunch of shows that we thought were going to happen in ’22 are now going to happen in ’23

‘What we originally saw as ‘2022 is going to be absolutely rammed,’ has changed a little bit into, ‘2022’s busy and a bunch of shows that we thought were going to happen in ’22 are now going to happen in ’23.’ That makes us think that the only time that we’ll get back to any sort of normal looking diary is probably ’24, unless something else happens – another variant comes along or there’s another challenge – but so far, that’s how we’re looking.”

Wembley, which began holding non-socially distanced concerts again in September, is due to round off 2021 with dates by acts including Manic Street Preachers, James + Happy Mondays, The Human League, Nightwish, Il Divo and Madness.

“Back-up dates were held for the spring for most of the shows we’ve got coming up in December,” notes Drury, who says ticket sales are largely in line with expectations.

“Nothing that we put on is doing business that we didn’t expect it to do, which is encouraging,” he suggests. “We just went on sale with a rescheduled K-pop show for Ateez and it flew out, so there’s pent up demand there and I think we’ll see a bit more of that coming our way.

“Long term, we’re not seeing a decline in sales, we’re seeing the same patterns that we used to. What we need to see is what that translates into when we get to the show days, as people get more comfortable with going about their business. But it’s probably on a knife edge because nobody knows what’s going to happen and it just needs something like a new variant to come in and we take another hit.”

Drury adds there is at least a positive legacy to come out of the pandemic where the live music biz is concerned.

“One thing that has been helpful for us as an industry is working together,” he says. “Gradually, we got to the point of the LIVE group being created, and that’s a real bonus because we’ve not had that ability to work together in this way before.

“To be able to put together policies and procedures to lobby government, has been really positive. We were working with our competitors and there wasn’t any point in having secrets because we all wanted the same thing – to get back to business.”

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Heroes – the Exhibition, a photographic exploration of the sixty-year history of the SSE Arena, Wembley, is opening to the public on Thursday 28 November at Getty Images Gallery, Wembley Park.

The exhibition will feature over 100 photographs of artists at the London music venue, which celebrated its busiest year yet in 2018.

From 1960s snaps of the Beatles and the Rolling Stones, to more recent images of Kendrick Lamar, Queens of the Stone Age and the Prodigy, the exhibition will cover the arena’s rich musical history. Other artists to feature in the collection include David Bowie, Leonard Cohen, Whitney Houston, Queen, Prince, Taylor Swift, Beyoncé and Rihanna.

Words by the arena’s vice president and general manager John Drury accompany the photos, which are taken by renowned music photographer Michael Putland and former and current Getty photographers Dave Hogan and Brian Risac, among others.

“Over the past 60 years The SSE Arena, Wembley has earned its place as one of the most iconic live music venues in the world,” comments Drury. “There is a chemistry that keeps bringing artists and fans back, that feeling of connection, passion, and shared experience.

“Heroes brilliantly captures the magic on stage and in the audience that could happen nowhere else”

“Playing Wembley for the first time is a special milestone in any artist’s career and each show builds on its legendary status. That is what Heroes brilliantly captures, the magic on stage and in the audience that could happen nowhere else.”

Built in 1934, the arena in Wembley – originally known as the Empire Pool – has been a live music venue for over six decades. Following a £26 million refurbishment, the arena reopened in 2006, taking the name of the SSE Arena, Wembley in 2014.

“Wembley Park has always been about people coming together to share experiences, and The SSE Arena, Wembley is central to this,” says Josh McNorton, cultural director of Wembley Park.

“Over the past 60 years, it has played an enormous part in the cultural history of the area and in global music history, and Heroes is a great way to celebrate this through the performances of some of the world’s most famous performers.”

The exhibition is open every day from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. at the Getty Images Gallery, Wembley Park. Admission is free for the first three days. All photographs are available for purchase, priced from £70 to £648.

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Arcade Fire have been presented with award frames by the SSE Arena, Wembley, after last week’s sold-out three-date run at the London venue.

The Canadian act played three nights in the round at the 12,500-cap. arena on 11, 12 and 13 April, for which they were gifted plaques by SSE Arena Wembley vice-president/GM John Drury and bookings manager James Harrison.

Over the course of the three-night run, part of their Infinite Content tour, the band were also joined by special guests on stage for surprise performances: Chrissie Hynde on the first night, Jarvis Cocker on night two and Florence Welch and Boy George on night three. Boy George’s band, Culture Club, will play a headline show at the AEG-operated arena on 14 November.

Also receiving awards were the band’s managers, Izvor Zivkovic and Dounia Mikou, agent Emma Banks (CAA) and promoter Toby Leighton-Pope (AEG Presents).

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