Market Report: Bolivia
As the poorest country in Latin America, Bolivia’s live event market is small: the capital La Paz has no indoor arenas and most large-scale shows take place at a smattering of amphitheatres.
Nonetheless, the country’s appetite for major international tours is increasing (Guns N’ Roses, Ricky Martin, and Puerto Rico’s Wisin & Yandel have played huge concerts here) and infrastructure is arriving, with a new Bolivar Stadium set to open next year in the capital.
Primary ticketing
Passline is the only official operator here, covering all bases. “There are other alternatives that are virtual stores adapted to ticket offices or sublease pages that do not have their own technology,” says Passline Bolivia’s Abel Espejo.
Distribution of sales
With digital options still developing in Bolivia, a significant portion of concertgoers (15%) still purchase their tickets from physical points of sale. The remaining 85% receive their tickets via email.
Secondary ticketing
Though resale does occur through virtual stores, no official companies are dedicated to secondary ticketing.
International/domestic splits & genres
Trap, reggaeton, and Latin pop are the most popular genres here, hence most shows are by international artists, with national shows making up just 30% of the market.
Cultural analysis
As in other South American countries, economic and political instability has the greatest effect on consumer behaviour, but Bolivia is a country fast becoming attuned to major international tours. “In the last decade, international concerts have been implemented,” Espejo says, “giving rise to Bolivia as an important and attractive place for artists. The public have achieved trust for the continuous presentation of massive shows.”
Taxes & fees
The Bolivian IVA rate is 13%, its transaction tax (IT) is 3%, and its tax on business profits (IUE) is 5%. Other payments for copyright, state, and municipal institutions apply.
Country Profile: Bolivia
Sandwiched between major touring markets Brazil, Peru, Chile, and Argentina, Bolivia is often overlooked by internationally touring artists. One of the poorest nations in South America, Bolivia lacks critical infrastructure – specifically indoor venues – to support prime productions.
But over the past year, national promoter Esuesa has brought two major electronic acts to the nation. At the beginning of the year, David Guetta played the outdoor Estadio Real Santa Cruz (25,000) in the eastern commercial city of Santa Cruz de la Sierra. The next month, Dutch DJ Martin Garrix played at Sonilum Arena, a 6,000-capacity outdoor venue also in Santa Cruz.
Most Latin American promoters operate across the continent but few call Bolivia home. Sich Producciones works to deliver national tours, which often span three main cities: capital La Paz, commercial hub Santa Cruz, and central city Cochabamba. Sich and Esuesa both helped deliver the three-city run for Argentine group Los Fabulosos Cadillacs back in April.
Most Latin American promoters operate across the continent but few call Bolivia home.
As is true with most of Latin America, major regional promoters pick up occasional shows in the country. EB Producciones CEO Eduardo Basagaña says exploring new connections in countries like Bolivia helped give his company a solid foundation for further expansion.
“[Working] with new artists was very difficult, because other companies have worked with big artists for more than 10-15 years,” he says. But in markets without a widely reputable promoter, he “started to offer this alternative market to the artists, and luckily, they started to give me that opportunity to work with them.”
EB Producciones now operates in nearly a dozen markets, including Bolivia, Uruguay, and Paraguay.
Arena Market: Bolivia
An inevitable fact of the international touring market is that it tends to go where the money is – which is one reason why Bolivia, the poorest nation in Latin America, is not necessarily always high on the list.
Things are potentially changing, though, with a new 20,000-seater stadium in the mountain-fringed administrative capital of La Paz breaking ground in December 2022 and scheduled for completion in 2025. A new home for local football team Club Bolívar, the Bolívar Stadium has been designed in imposing concrete by L35 Architects and is also intended for wider use, including concerts.
No venue operator has yet bestowed a modern indoor arena on Bolivia. In La Paz, the 8,000- to 10,000-cap Teatro al Aire Libre Jaime Laredo, built in 1952, is the sole outdoor amphitheatre, with Puerto Rican singer Mora, New York metallers Manowar, and Latin-pop boyband CNCO stopping by last year.
In the tropical eastern commercial centre of Santa Cruz, outdoor sites are key venues for bigger shows. Sonilum Arena is a 6,000-capacity outdoor plot that welcomes medium-sized acts, from Sebastián Yatra and CNCO in past years to Puerto Rican rapper Farruko, who is visiting the venue in June as part of his Latin American tour.
No venue operator has yet bestowed a modern indoor arena on Bolivia.
Another outdoor site, Fexpo Arena, out in the west of the city, was the location for Ultra Worldwide’s house and techno one-dayer Resistance last October. Fexpocruz, the city’s convention centre around the corner, also accommodates shows, including José Feliciano in March.
Otherwise, when international artists go in, they tend to go big. Those with memories that go back a few years might recall Guns N’ Roses at Estadio Hernando Siles La Paz in 2014, and Ricky Martin at the same 41,000-cap stadium in 2016. Most recently, Puerto Rican heroes Wisin & Yandel brought their La Última Misión tour to the same location in 2022, while Daddy Yankee graced the similarly spacious (38,000-cap) Estadio Ramón Tahuichi Aguilera in Santa Cruz that same year.