The Perfect Soundstorm: Annual Middle East Focus 2025

The Perfect Soundstorm – Everything’s Buoyant In The Middle East

The year 2025 in the Middle East kicked off with a bang, when Coldplay brought their “Music Of The Spheres World Tour” to Zayed Sports City Stadium in Abu Dhabi, Jan. 9-14, selling 203,160 tickets to gross $28,081,406, as reported to Pollstar.

James Craven, president, Live Nation Middle East, promoter of the show, calls it “a defining moment for live entertainment in the Middle East. It was the largest four-day single-artist event ever staged in the region. Beyond the scale, it showed how the UAE’s connectivity, infrastructure, and hospitality make it a global destination for major touring artists. It set a new benchmark for what’s possible here.”

‘It’s Been One Of Our Most Active & Rewarding Years Yet’: Q’s With James Craven, President, Live Nation Middle East

When most of the live biz in the U.S. UK and Europe winds down for Christmas – or at least attempts to – it’s peak event season in the Middle East’s Gulf region.

While international touring artists drive a lot of momentum, local talent and emerging artists in regional markets are, too. Live Nation Middle East celebrated a landmark year thanks to both, and president James Craven told Pollstar all about it.

‘The Circuit Is Real’: Q’s With Nadia Murtaza, Partner, MD, Bluebird Music Management

Bluebird Music Management is the partnership of Bondioli Entertainment CEO Nadia Murtaza and former Live Nation Middle East MD and former Mirage Promotions MD, Elissa Murtaza.

The live music management agency holds collectively over 40 years of experience with the most prolific artists in the live music industry, with expertise in tour routing, concert promotion, talent booking and concert consultation across Europe, The Middle East, Africa, India and Australia.

Pollstar reached out to Nadia Murtaza to get her invaluable insights into the state of the regional touring market.

‘The Region Is Booming’: Q’s With Andreas Mueller, MD, Ticketmaster Middle East

Each year Pollstar takes a closer look at how the live entertainment markets in the Middle East are evolving, and each year there are more events, including international tours, on sale in more markets than the year prior.

The growth is consistent, and, given how young the market still is, very visible. Ticketmaster has been operating in the Middle East since 2012, with offices in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Qatar and Saudi Arabia. Pollstar reached out to Ticketmaster Middle East MD Andreas Mueller, to ask him about the ticket volume, local purchasing habits, and the range of offer for promoters wanting to sell tickets in the region.

‘It’s Been A Very Buoyant Year For Venues & Content’: Q’s With Iain Campbell, President, OVG Middle East, Asia & Africa

OVG Middle East has been making great strides in the region since forming a joint venture with Middle East-based event management and venue operator Ethara in 2023. The business of OVG Middle East comprised 32 venues at the time of this writing, with more to come in the near future, as talks with building operators in the region are ongoing.

For Pollstar‘s annual Middle East Focus, we reached out to Iain Campbell, president OVG Middle East, Asia and Africa, to talk shop (OVG is parent company to Pollstar). He touched on the state of play at OVG ME, how far the region is away from becoming its own leg on an international tour, and shared his favorite show of the year (which may surprise you).

One Of Our Goals Is Ensuring The Next Generations Have Opportunities We Didn’t’: Q’s With Mazen Khamis, MDLBEAST

MDLBEAST has been leading the live entertainment surge in Saudi Arabia. Its flagship event, Soundstorm Festival in Riyadh, has established itself as the Middle East’s biggest contemporary music festival is seven short years, attracting some 600,000 visitors across three days, Dec. 11-13, 2025.

MDLBEAST also operates the 12,000-cap Onyx Arena in Jedda, which celebrated a very successful first year in operation, according to Mazen Khamis, Executive Director of Marketing, commercial, and products at MDLBEAST, who also talked about MDLBEAST’s ongoing expansion, its other events, including 1001 and Balad Beast, as well as the company’s initiatives to foster homegrown talent on and off stage.

‘Robust & Consistent Growth In Consumer & Business Events’: Qs With Leon Marsh, Events Director, Miral

For Pollstar’s annual Middle East Focus, we sent some questions over to Leon Marsh, event director at Miral, the main curator of (live) experiences in Abu Dhabi, most of which take place on Yas Island, an entertainment district that houses the city’s main venues for entertainment, hotels and hospitality businesses, a theme park, as well as the renowned Yas Marina Circuit, home of the F1 Grand Prix finals, as well as Saadiyat Island just off the coast of Abu Dhabi.

A Melting Pot Of Cultures: Coca-Cola Arena Is Doubling Down On Knowing Its Customers

Getting Mark Jan Kar, general manager of Dubai’s Coca-Cola Arena on the record these days isn’t easy, but that’s how it should be. It’s peak event season in the United Arab Emirates, and if you’re not busy, something’s wrong. Coca-Cola Arena is as busy as ever, having notably increased the number of events that take place at the venue in a week over the past 12 months.

One reason is the increased concert activity. A lot of major tours include the UAE in their routing from the outset, rather than as an afterthought. The other is Dubai Basketball joining the EuroLeague in 2025. The team now measures itself with the best players in Europe. And while they averaged around the same number of wins as they did losses at the time of this writing, all of their games at Coca-Cola Arena have been won. The home court advantage is real.

A Desert Spectacle: Beyon Al Dana Amphitheatre Bahrain Celebrates Its Best Year Yet

Al Dana Amphitheatre in Bahrain is looking back at its biggest year to date, staging 37 shows across three venues, and welcoming over 120,000 music fans through its gates in 2025.

It’s been a year of recognition for the 10,000 capacity venue, which received Gold in both the New Venue and Outdoor Venue categories at the 2025 Eventex Awards, as well as Silver in the People’s Choice selection. The building also won Bronze at the 2025 Symbol Awards for People’s Choice Engagement for André Rieu’s Feb. 23, 2024 concert, which sold 7,796 tickets and grossed $459,649, according to the box office report submitted to Pollstar for the show.