Features
Ongoing Sonisphere
Shifting more than 100,000 tickets across four shows in three countries has Sonisphere co-promoter and
Italy’s Sonisphere, co-promoted by Live Nation Italy promoter Andrea Pieroni, sold 28,000 tickets to Milan’s Fiera Arena June 8.
For Iron Maiden, which was a bill-topper along with Megadeth and Mastodon, it was the band’s biggest audience in Italy. The other acts included Ghost, Voodoo Six, and Amphitrium.
Whether Sonisphere reboots itself next year and returns to the territories it’s previously visited – such as Finland, Sweden, Switzerland, The Netherlands, the UK and various countries in eastern and central Europe – may hang on talks between Kilimanjaro, Australian promoter Paul Dainty and U.K. entrepreneur Richard Branson.
After the three had teamed to promote some shows for The Rolling Stones under the Virgin Live banner, there were rumours that the new entity would eventually rival Live Nation and AEG Live.
“There will be a lot more to say about Virgin Live soon but, for now, it’s all about the Stones,” Dainty said at the time.
“In the future, Virgin Live plans to make a real difference to how fans experience, interact and enjoy live events – Virgin Live gigs will be truly people-driven,” was Branson’s comment.
Galbraith tells Pollstar the talks between the various parties are still “ongoing.”
Spain’s Sonispheres co-promoted by Last Tour International in Madrid and Barcelona pulled 52,000 people May 31 and June 1.
In France a June 8-9 Sonisphere co-promoted by Salomon Hazot’s Nous Productions did 27,000 people at Snowhill Park in Amneville.
The lineup for the French Sonisphere included Iron Maiden, Limp Bizkit, Slayer, Megadeth, Korn, Motorhead, Mastodon, Airbourne and Stone Sour.