UK/Euro Market Analysis: Inspiring Stories From Across The Atlantic (Pollstar Live! Panel Recap)

Moderator
Gideon Gottfried, European Editor, Pollstar

Panelists
Phil Bowdery, Executive President of Touring, International, Live Nation
Gary Hutchinson, Executive Vice President – Global Touring and Content, Oak View Group
Toby Leighton-Pope, MD Europe, TEG Europe
Jim King, Chief Executive Officer, European Festival Division, AEG Presents
Rauha Kyyrö, President Touring & Artist Development, FKP Scorpio

Since the coronavirus pandemic, the live industry as a whole is seeing success unlike ever before, and every promoter has achieved it in their own way. Trends in the U.S. don’t always translate in the United Kingdom, and whatever is popping in France doesn’t mean it will see similar success in Germany. Europe isn’t an easy region to navigate for live entertainment professionals, but they find a way to make it work and make key contributions to the global business. Five of the smartest executives from Europe gathered at Pollstar Live! to share their insights and triumphs, as well as the challenges that exist today in the ever-evolving live landscape.

One major point of discussion was the future of headlining acts and how that affects the festival market as well as the venues. Collectively, the promoters agreed that avails are hard to come by in stadiums and arenas these days when acts like Coldplay schedule 10 shows at London’s Wembley Stadium (all of which are sold out), an indication that demand is high for such artists.

“We are suffering trying to get availables. There are so many artists that can play stadiums,” said Phil Bowdery, executive president of touring, international, at Live Nation. “It just shows that the different acts are coming through, and they can play stadiums. It’s not saying that they won’t play the festivals, but they want to go and actually achieve something in their own right, which is understandable. That’s progress for them, but they can then look at the festivals as well, so it keeps the whole mill turning, which is what we want.”

Arenas can benefit from such demand as well, with some artists opting to do multiple-night stands in a building rather than one or two nights at a stadium, and promoters are seeing that venues are now booked well in 2026.

“This is certainly the peaking, this year, which will affect some of the festivals because the headliners are opting for stadiums in this cycle, but from what we see in the pipeline, 2026 is looking pretty busy as well,” Gary Hutchinson, Oak View Group’s executive vice president – global touring and content, said.

Toby Leighton-Pope of TEG Europe added that he read somewhere that over 70 shows in London this year were over 35,000 capacity in a span of a few months, a remarkable statistic that shows the strength of major markets in England.

However, that trend can also hurt secondary markets in the region. Rauha Kyyrö, FKP Scorpio’s president of touring & artist development, said fans are more inclined to travel to bigger shows, favoring cities like Paris and London.

“We’re doing doing some tours where we can see people traveling more than 100 kilometers on average,” Kyyrö said. “So it’s definitely something to consider as well, or maybe we are causing it by not promoting those shows outside of the cities enough.”

That willingness from fans to travel and the continued development of global talent should put to rest the debate regarding the dearth of future headlining acts.

“I’m 52, and you come to these things 25 years or so, and it has never changed, and it never will,” said Jim King, AEG Presents CEO of the European festival division. “I just think it’s the most ridiculous statement, especially in the way we currently sit. The stadium market and festival market have never been stronger.”

Some of the European markets’ strength comes from the rise in popularity of genres like country. “We’ve been laying the foundations to have this explosion,” said Leighton-Pope, who said he’s been booking country shows for 20 years.

Now, promoters are reaping the benefits of those who took the chance on country decades ago. Kyyrö noted that it was the fastest-growing genre on Spotify, and King said his company’s Country To Country in London festival has never been bigger. Zach Bryan also has sold-out shows in London and Dublin.

“The growth of country music just shows no limit at the moment, and I think in the same way hip-hop became pop music 25, 30 years ago, country music is becoming the same, and it will continue to do so.”