Young Voices Choir Concerts Tops UK National Arena Attendance

Young Voices, the world’s largest school choir concert series, has topped the UK’s total arena attendance as well as number of performances for 2024, surpassing music icons including Take That, Girls Aloud and The Killers, according to the UK’s National Arenas Association (NAA).

“With 30 arena dates and a total attendance of 416,942, Young Voices has outperformed world-class touring names,” a press release from the NAA states.

Total attendance includes the performers on stage, which, in the case of the Young Voices, is a substantial amount. When Pollstar spoke with Young Voices CEO Ben Lewis in the beginning of this year, his team had just set up shop at The O2 in London, awaiting some 8,000 kids from about 200 schools in and around the English capital.

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In 2024, the choir made up for 192,835 people, and ticket sales added another 224,107, leading to the 416,942 total attendance.

Lewis also shared the 2025 figures with Pollstar, which have already surpassed 2024: choir members of 197,570, plus ticket buyers of 226,900 makes a total attendance of 424,470.

Young Voices, which celebrates its 30th anniversary next year, brings together hundreds of thousands of primary school-aged children each year to sing as part of a huge choir collective, in iconic venues such as The O2, Co-op Live, OVO Arena Wembley, Utilita Arena Sheffield, and bp pulse LIVE.

Each concert is a fully-produced arena-scale show featuring a full live band, guest artists and professional production – and of course, all starring the children’s choir as the headline performers.

Since its inception, Young Voices has cemented its place as a cornerstone of the UK’s live music and creative education landscape. Leading NAA’s performer ranking is about more than just ticket sales; it underscores “the urgent need to prioritise music education and youth access to the arts,” according to the press release.

Ben Lewis, CEO of Young Voices, commented, “For many of these children, Young Voices is their very first time stepping into an arena – not just as a member of the audience, but as a performer. It’s a moment they never forget, and it creates a lifelong connection to music and performance, as well as their local arena.”

Young Voices helps to develop soft skills such as teamwork, confidence and resilience, as well as sector-specific insights into professional performance and production.

John Drury, chair of the NAA, and VP/General Manager of OVO Arena Wembley, said, “We are so delighted and impressed to see Young Voices top the charts for arena attendance in 2024. To be held up among world famous touring acts is phenomenal, with Young Voices proving to us all that the appetite for live music isn’t limited to the big household names. It is a real testament to the power of giving children a stage, and to the role that live music plays in education, from primary school and upwards. We are, as ever, very proud to support Young Voices and their foundation which opens our arenas up to the next generation of performers.”

Beyond the music, Young Voices is a powerful force for community building, bringing together children, teachers, parents and schools from across the country in a shared celebration of creativity.

The concert experience unites thousands of voices in harmony – not just in an arena, but across classrooms, families and entire school communities. From rehearsals to the big night, it fosters connection, teamwork and a collective sense of achievement that lasts far beyond the final song.

Jon Collins, chief executive, LIVE: “A key objective for LIVE is to ensure that we continue to see new generations coming into the world of live music, as performers, crew and audience. When it comes to engaging with young people to show them the magic of live performance (while reminding their parents of the joys of gig-going), nobody is doing that better than Young Voices.”

In 2025, the legacy of Young Voices is more visible than ever. This year’s special guest artists, who join the children on stage, all sang as children in the very same arenas they now headline – “a powerful symbol of the creative ecosystem and pathways the program has helped shape,” according to the NAA.

The press release concludes, “as the [Young Voices] embarks on it’s 30th anniversary season, the value to both the music education landscape as well as the music industry highlights the ongoing need to invest in access to arts for all children.”

Emma Bownes, senior vice president venue programming, The O2 & Europe, AEG, said, “Young Voices performed at The O2 the first year it opened and have returned every year since. They hold the record for most shows at the venue, 89 and counting, bringing over 1.5 million people to The O2, which is just unbelievable. So these numbers cumulatively are not even comparable to any other tour out there, they are number one by a mile.”

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