Magna Charta Arenas: 2020 Dates Locked In Across Europe’s Arenas
AMG – Lanxess Arena
Has become an emblem of Cologne, Germany, just like the Cologne Cathedral (Kölner Dom) in the background.
Cologne, Germany’s Lanxess Arena leads this year’s Magna Charta ranking with 1,162,250 reported tickets sold and $66,818,195 grossed from Feb. 1, 2019 through Jan. 31, 2020.
Due to the “fantastic number of national and international stars and other events we welcomed in our arena last year,” venue CEO Stefan Löcher had difficulty picking a personal 2019 highlight.
Louis Bürk – Stefan Löcher
CEO of Lanxess Arena
“Obviously, the 26th Men’s Handball World Championship 2019 was breathtaking!” he said. “We had Barack Obama as a speaker at our premises, Ariana Grande did an amazing show, the Backstreet Boys celebrated their comeback.”
Of those shows, Ariana Grande sold out 15,450 tickets on Sept. 1, 2019, grossing $1,331,746. Backstreet Boys grossed slightly less ($1,257,381), but sold more tickets (15,747).
“Personally, I enjoyed the concert of Rod Stewart,” Löcher said. “Seeed, a highly successful German act who brought more than 50,000 people to Cologne during three concerts, was great, too. There were so many other great shows, but this would go beyond the scope here.”
One of the challenges Löcher and his team overcame last year was the installation and construction of new LED-flying-displays, even as business continued at the venue, with concerts and events taking place almost everyday. The new equipment replaced the venue’s old video cube, which was located in the center of the arena.
“We also have a new fascia board, a 360°-LED-circle that can be used for entertainment, design, information and advertising matters,” Löcher explained.
Lanxess Arena is also planning to redesign and renew its VIP areas, including the “Backstage Restaurant” and the sky boxes. “We are also currently working on a complete replacement of all seats inside the arena,” said Löcher, adding that “In general, we will keep on improving a lot of things across the entire venue, thereby preserving the status of Lanxess Arena as a modern, high-quality event location.”
Among the roughly 200 shows the arena will host in 2020 are three Elton John farewell concerts, Billie Eilish, Queen + Adam Lambert, Céline Dion and Alicia Keys. With Die Ärzte, Die Toten Hosen and PUR booked, national superstars are represented as well.
Jörg Schüler/Getty Images – 26th IHF Men’s World Championship at Lanxess Arena
Fabian Wiede of Germany throws a ball during the Main Group 1 match on the 26th IHF Men’s World Championship between Germany and Spain at Lanxess Arena in Cologne, Germany, Jan. 23, 2019.
“It is an honor to be able to keep up with the best event locations in the world,” Löcher said of Lanxess Arena’s top spot in the Magna Charta ranking. “This means a lot to us and we don’t take it for granted. “With this in mind, I am looking forward to a fantastic year 2020, and we cannot wait to take on the challenges and tasks ahead of us. We strongly benefit from thousands of enthusiastic people living in the region around the city of Cologne. Only in this way is it possible to run an arena like ours in a ‘smaller city’ and to compete with arenas in major cities all around the globe.”
Madrid’s WiZink Center, the second-ranked venue this year, is one of the reasons the Spanish capital has become a staple of Europe’s live music circuit. Backstreet Boys, Rosalía, Billie Eilish, Elton John, Mark Knopfler, Michael Bublé, Bryan Adams, Hans Zimmer and EnnioMorricone all contributed to the 996,430 tickets sold and $71,936,715 grossed that produced WiZink’s second-place ranking.
– WiZink Center
Arena GM Manuel Saucedo
“We finished 2019 reasonably happy, because it arose to be difficult, after a 2018 record year, the venue’s general manager Manuel Saucedo told Pollstar.
“For all the WiZink Center team, it has been really hard to maintain our venue’s spot in the world’s top 5 in Pollstar´s ranking; but this also helps us to confirm our good international and national positioning.”
He said the building’s 2020 calendar was already full, including dates by Dua Lipa, Jonas Brothers, Queen, Harry Styles and, nationally, four Serrat & Sabina shows, as well as three by Dani Martín.
“WiZink Center is following a worldwide trend of programming several dates in a row for some artists and bands,” said Saucedo. “This reveals that the experience in indoor venues is prevailing over outdoor shows, both for artists and fans.”
The venue introduced its own ticket office last year, in order to offer security to customers, who are confused about which are the safe and official channels to buy tickets. “A venue´s ticket office offers that confidence,” said Saucedo, “and we demonstrated it as we sold almost the 20% of all the tickets that have been sold for our venue this year. Customers have been able to purchase their tickets calmly and with confidence.”
After investments in VIP areas, LED screens and signage, WiZink Center is now starting a sustainability project, which includes installing LED lighting in aisles and working areas and photovoltaic solar panels on the roof, to cover up to 80% of the its electrical needs.
Sustainability also continues to be a priority for The SSE Hydro in Glasgow, Scotland, which ranks third with 853,213 tickets sold and $59,723,977 grossed. “We are committed to reducing our environmental impact,” said Debbie McWilliams, Director of Live Entertainment at the Scottish Event Campus.
– Debbie McWilliams
Director of live entertainment at the Scottish Event Campus.
“By looking at ways to save energy and water, recycle, reduce waste and purchase environmentally preferable products, we have been able to help raise awareness of climate issues at our campus,” she continued, adding that security was an obvious priority as well. “Our aim is to ensure the safety of our visitors and clients whilst not impacting on their enjoyment of an event,” said McWilliams.
“Business across the Scottish Event Campus continues to be buoyant despite some of the uncertainty over Brexit,” McWilliams continued, adding that the Hydro increased standing capacity by 30% last year, bringing overall capacity to 14,300. “This increase is a result of us successfully completing the project to extend the venue grid, which provides more flexibility to tours.”
The only thing that would really influence this positive business outlook negatively, would be a downturn in the global economy, which “could prove to be the biggest challenge for the live music industry in the coming years,” according to McWilliams.
The SSE Hydro’s upcoming highlights include Lewis Capaldi’s first appearance there, the return of the Scottish edition of C2C for a sixth consecutive year, Diana Ross, who last appeared at the Hydro in 2006, the return of Celine Dion and Elton John’s “Farewell Yellow Brick Road Tour.”
A key focus for 2020 will be The SSE Hydro’s move to 100% digital tickets, “which will enhance the fan experience by creating a more personalised journey,” according to McWilliams.
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