Market Report: Slovenia
Primary ticketing
Multinational entity Eventim operates here and has recently started offering discounted tickets for certain bank card holders, aiming to “enhance the value for customers, drive ticket sales, and strengthen partnerships between promoters and financial institutions,” explains Damir Vranic, MD of Eventim Croatia and Slovenia.
Croatia-based Entrio entered the market in 2018. Last year, the Zagreb-headquartered team sold over 1m tickets with a total value of €16m+, doubling their revenue for the third consecutive year.
Croatia-based Entrio entered the market in 2018.
In June, the company secured a €9m investment, “the largest investment in the ticketing business in the region,” says country manager Jernej Ocvirk, adding that the company has seen a seven-fold increase in the first seven months of 2024 compared to the same period last year.
Other national companies include vstopnice.si and Moje Karte.
Distribution of sales
While online sales are increasingly popular, physical tickets are still relevant.
Entrio launched a new partnership with petrol stations this year, giving consumers the option to buy physical tickets while fueling their cars, “making ticket purchasing more convenient for enthusiasts while providing innovative marketing opportunities for organisers,” Ocvirk says.
Secondary ticketing
Viagogo, StubHub, and TicketSwap all operate here.
International/domestic splits & genres
Regional folk is big here, along with metal. In July, the MetalDays festival called it quits after over a decade in operation.
Cultural analysis
Centrally located with no hard borders, Slovenia frequently sees audiences from neighbouring Austria, Croatia, Italy, and Hungary.
“Ticket prices are almost the same in neighbouring countries; desire for live music is plateauing in Slovenia,” shares Charm Music’s Danilo Dimitrijević.
Up to 40% of music audiences are international…
But visitors are still drawn inward – up to 40% of music audiences are international, says national promoter Igor Vidmar.
A shortage of mid- and large-sized venues is affecting which touring artists can perform here.
Taxes & charges
Music and cultural events are on a reduced VAT rate of 9.5%, instead of the national 22%.
Country Profile: Slovenia
The closure of MetalDays festival in January has cast a dark shadow over the market.
Andrej Sevsek is a promoter and booker at the Gala Hala venue in Ljubljana, the country’s capital, as well as organising Punk Rock Holiday festival in August each year.
He says “conditions are good” in the country, but the pandemic put a pause on international acts coming to Slovenia, a situation that it is still grappling with.
“Currently, there’s an oversaturation of Slovenian artists performing locally, while international acts remain scarce,” he says. “However, efforts are underway to revitalise the market and attract more international performers.”
He says that getting a foothold in the market is tricky for promoters. He cites Dirty Skunks as key players in the promotion of metal acts but says the promoter world is small and restricted.
“Currently, there’s an oversaturation of Slovenian artists performing locally, while international acts remain scarce”
“The rest of the scene is fairly limited,” he says. “A few veteran promoters are still active, but their involvement is sporadic. Some foreign companies try to step in the market, but they mostly stop after a few shows as they don’t understand the market and its specifics.”
Promoters have to become multidisciplinarians. Alongside Punk Rock Holiday, Sevsek and his colleagues have recently taken over the management and booking for Kino Šiška, a 1,000- capacity public venue. “Our plan is to step out of the box and connect the scene, the promoters, and try to revive the market with more constant visits from international acts,” he explains.
Slovenia is heavily tilted towards metal, punk, and alternative, but younger audiences are increasingly embracing pop, hip-hop, and EDM, suggesting the growing potential of the market for a wider range of touring acts.
Arena Market: Slovenia
The most iconic feature of Slovenian arenas is the forest-green grandstands found in Ljubljana’s largest venues. Stožice Sports Park Arena (14,500) and Tivoli Hall (6,800), the two major arenas in the Central European country, both boast the trademark green seats, symbolic of the City Municipality of Ljubljana-run venues.
The two venues are located roughly 4km away from each other. Across both, sports are a massive part of programming: Stožice is home to basketball and handball and the two-hall Tivoli is the base for ice hockey.
Stožice Sports Park Arena is set to host Sting, Rod Stewart, and Serbian songstress Aleksandra Prijović this year, along with Lord of the Dance. Tivoli Hall is used for more cultural events, such as the International Cat Exhibition and 25 Years of Shaolin Kung Fu.
The capital is also a host of various summer festivals, including the nearly three-month Ljubljana Festival.
In the northeastern city of Velenje, Slovenia’s largest festival, MetalDays, announced earlier this year that it would not host its 2024 edition, after flooding severely impacted the 2023 event.
Centrally located, Slovenia is an easy stopover for tours passing through neighbouring Slovakia, Croatia, Hungary, Italy, and Austria.