Staying in for the summer: Year-round arena gains

The traditional summer off-season for European arenas is becoming shorter as the demand for indoor shows extends almost year-round, venue bosses tell IQ.

Even with a stacked stadium and festival schedule, the continent’s top arenas have a busy schedule in store for June to July, welcoming tours by an array of international and domestic stars.

“We’ve been used to quieter summers for music, but the busy periods are busier than ever at the moment and are now moving into months that used to be quieter. There’s really only August that remains pretty quiet,” says John Drury, chair of the National Arenas Association (NAA), which brings together the UK and Ireland’s major arenas.

Drury is VP and GM of London’s 12,500-cap OVO Arena Wembley, which will host the likes of Billy Idol, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Lara Fabian and Punjabi artist Gurdas Maan, as well as an Afrobeats Legends Concert, comedy and sporting events and family entertainment productions.

Meanwhile, Manchester’s Co-op Live (23,500) has 30 concerts in the books across the summer, including Billie Eilish, Massive Attack, Robbie Williams, Morrissey, Diana Ross, Jeff Lynne’s ELO, Iron Maiden, Olivia Rodrigo and Stevie Wonder.

“We’re certainly seeing more content on our stage during what would have previously been classed as the off-season”

“There’s a significant shift in touring schedules; everything from lead times to seasonal scheduling,” the SVP and general manager Guy Dunstan tells IQ. “We’re certainly seeing more content on our stage during what would have previously been classed as the off-season.”

Co-op Live, which opened last May, announced today (9 April) that it had secured both its biggest week for ticket sales and highest ticket sales in a single day to date – shifting 46,000 presale tickets for Lady Gaga, Chris Brown and The World of Hans Zimmer on 31 March, and 90,000 for the week in total.

“It’s clear there’s certainly a need for venues such as ours to remain flexible and adaptable, in line with global touring schedules,” adds Dunstan.

ASM Global’s Tobias Ekman, general manager of Sweden’s Avicii Arena (16,500), says that while it remains true that the summer is a quieter time for arenas, the window is “much shorter now”. The recently renovated Stockholm venue has June gigs with Tate McRae, André Rieu, Kylie Minogue and Pitbull.

In addition, Amsterdam’s Ziggo Dome (17,000) will bring names such as Dua Lipa, Green Day, Alanis Morissette, Rauw Alejandro and Duran Duran to the Netherlands in June/July, while Berlin’s Uber Arena (17,000) in Germany has McRae, Nine Inch Nails, Lionel Richie, Kylie and Santana, among others.

“What we’re finding now is that the business is busy right the way through the year. August is the only time we might get a little bit of downtime”

Plus, France’s Accor Arena Paris (20,300) boasts artists like John Legend, Billie Eilish, Scorpions, Nelly, Rema and Nine Inch Nails.

London’s The O2 (20,000) has 19 arena shows on sale for June, along with a dozen for July, with business then picking up again in the autumn.

“Undoubtedly, our show count does tend to dip a little bit in August, then it ramps up in September and we’re always super-busy in Q4,” says venue boss Steve Sayer. “There’s always a little bit of seasonality around the events, but what we’re finding now is that the business is busy right the way through the year. August is the only time we might get a little bit of downtime in terms of the event profile. But in amongst that, we’ve got our building projects, our campus projects and the day-to-day, week-to-week of running the building.”

Sayer continues: “The O2 of course, is not just our arena business, it’s the beating heart of the [complex] with our entertainment district and retail, and we want to be busy. In the 10 years that I’ve been in this part of the industry, I’ve definitely found that it’s got busier and busier.”

Elsewhere, Rob Wicks of MD of Aberdeen’s P&J Live, points out the 15,000-cap Scottish venue is making a conscious effort to vary its spread of events, staging family entertainment, exhibitions and other attractions over the summer.

“We are working hard to enhance and diversify our content offering, particularly over these months,” he says.

“We are seeing more coming through, especially for family shows and younger demographic fans”

Indeed, Utilita Arena Newcastle (cap. 11,000) GM Caroline James says the venue is seeing more content come through – especially for family shows and younger demographic fans – for the summer stretch. Presentations include family show Paw Patrol Live, comedian Peter Kay and WWE Live.

“There is also a lot more local content in and around this time,” she remarks.

Gemma Vaughan, GM of Manchester’s 23,000-cap AO Arena, adds the less intense period can also prove beneficial in other ways.

“Summer is festival season around the world, it’s only natural that arenas see a dip in activity around this time,” she concludes. “This ‘downtime’ allows us to regroup and strategise as a venue, giving us some much needed clarity after the whirlwind months from Q4 through to June.”

Nonetheless, given the industry’s current trajectory – and a slate of new venues coming online – it would be no surprise to see the quieter periods become ever briefer in the years to come.

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