Market Report: UAE
Primary ticketing
According to Statista, Platinumlist has approximately 80% of the entertainment market in the UAE. Ticketmaster and Virgin Megastores are other key ticketers.
“We offer a dynamic backend organiser panel, which allows organisers to: improve their ticket sales, enable team management, [include] a high-load and surge traffic system, manage marketing campaigns, control network distribution, and see their live sales dashboard,” says Platinumlist CEO, Cosmin Ivan. “Additionally, we have rolled out a full venue management system and the technology to enable flexible and agile promotional activities such as discounts, special rates, and promo codes.”
“We’ve been busy launching several exciting initiatives tailored specifically to the UAE audience.”
According to Andreas Müller – general manager and vice president of Ticketmaster Middle East, “We’ve been busy launching several exciting initiatives tailored specifically to the UAE audience. This includes targeted marketing campaigns that leverage the power of social media, local influencers, and strategic partnerships with popular venues. In addition to these marketing efforts, we’ve secured exclusive ticketing partnerships with a host of event organisers, ensuring that we can offer our customers access to the best events in the region.”
The emirate’s largest venue, the Coca-Cola Arena, recently launched its own ticketing service, backed by Lebanon- headquartered white-label firm Tixity.
Distribution of sales
Ticketmaster’s Müller says: “More and more events in the UAE are going digital, with 80% of tickets delivered digitally.”
Value of market
Revenue in the music events market is projected to reach $140.40m in 2024, according to Statista, who project a market volume of $146.90m by 2028.
Secondary ticketing
Platinumlist recently launched an “ethical ticket fan-to-fan ticket exchange and safe and secure transfer (end-to-end encoded, dynamic QR code access control), which keeps the organiser in control and the main beneficiary from ticket resale,” according to Ivan. “This comes in line with our initiative to empower the event organisers with more significant income from their events. We are working closely with the Dubai government on the steps of rolling out this initiative to protect fans and provide benefits for organisers.”
“Platinumlist is a well-trusted brand in the region, which suits this initiative perfectly, as statistics show”
However, the firm’s white-label offer of this service is yet to work well on unbranded or white-label solutions, “as fans require recognition of the entity. Platinumlist is a well-trusted brand in the region, which suits this initiative perfectly, as statistics show,” Ivan explains.
International/domestic splits & genres
Home to almost 200 different nationalities, the huge diversity of the population is reflected in the breadth of content gracing the UAE’s venues, including two main arenas – the 17,000-capacity Coca-Cola Arena in Dubai and the 18,000-capacity Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi. Coca-Cola Arena general manager Mark Jan Kar told the Global Arena Guide in June 2024 that around 40% of the shows at the venue cater to Indian and Pakistani entertainment enthusiasts, while Western, K-Pop, C-Pop, and J-Pop concerts are also very popular.
Cultural analysis
While international touring is now well-established in the UAE, it’s still only five years since the Coca-Cola Arena opened, with the accompanying level of global superstars. “One of the challenges we face is navigating the complex regulatory environment for events in the UAE,” says Müller. “We’re collaborating closely with regulatory bodies to simplify these processes and ensure events run smoothly.”
“We’re collaborating closely with regulatory bodies to simplify these processes and ensure events run smoothly.”
Nonetheless, he says: “We’re seeing tremendous opportunities in emerging markets within the region. The entertainment and events sector is experiencing significant growth, and we’re excited to tap into new markets in the region.”
Taxes & charges
VAT on events in UAE is 5%, which is included in the ticket price. A government tax of 10% has been waived for the time being.
Country Profile: UAE
With the UAE now established as a regular stop on many global tours, promoters here are now seeking to establish the nation as a hub to link Europe with Asia, Africa, and India.
“The main challenge is joining the dots between markets,” says Daniel Goldberg, co-founder and COO of Sony-owned MAC Global, which works across the Middle East. “Some markets we actively promote in, but others require strong communication between other entities to collaboratively align tour routing. It’s becoming less disjointed…which helps place the GCC region as a viable touring market, rather than artists coming for one-off shows. We first successfully did this ten years ago when we toured Ed Sheeran in the UAE, Oman, Qatar, and India. That has forever been our blueprint.”
Alongside MAC Global, the major promoters here are Live Nation, All Things Live (ATL), SES Live! (which specialises in family entertainment) and Ethara, which was formed after state-backed promoter Flash Entertainment merged with Abu Dhabi Motorsports Management.
“Despite political tensions in the broader region, demand for talent has remained solid”
“Despite political tensions in the broader region, demand for talent has remained solid,” reports Live Nation’s Middle East president James Craven. “Our 2024 show count is up on the previous year, and we are already forecasting a significant leap in 2025 as the pipeline looks extremely strong.
“Building our regional touring business remains a core focus for all our talent teams, across Western, Arabic, family, and comedy.” After the success of the Middle East’s inaugural Wireless Festival last year, November will see it return to Yas Island for its second edition with a lineup including SZA, 21 Savage, Yeat, Karan Aujla, Fridayy, and Flo Milli.
Goldberg says his company recently had success with hard-ticketed shows by André Rieu, and it has Take That, Lang Lang, and Sophie Ellis-Bextor to come. “Bahrain, Qatar, and Kuwait also remain important markets for us,” he adds, saying André Rieu was a notable success selling over 12,000 tickets.
“Bahrain, Qatar, and Kuwait also remain important markets for us”
When it comes to bringing new artists to the region, the UAE market is the most mature, says Goldberg. However, “the success of aspiring artists rests on the importance governments [across the region] place on helping grow the creative sector by implementing frameworks to protect their rights through music copyright and publishing, for example.”
ATL started 2024 with two sold-out shows at The Sevens Stadium by Ed Sheeran and has Green Day and Offspring in January 2025 but at the Dubai Expo.
ATL Middle East CEO Thomas Ovesen says that since the beginning of the year, the company has increasingly been booking not as promoter but in collaboration with either a venue or with an event owner. “That has put us into a different type of event than what we would normally do. As well as Ludovico [Einaudi] at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, we have many small- to medium-scale events such as Apocalyptica at Agenda in Dubai in September and shows at the Dubai Opera including Buena Vista All Stars, Glenn Hughes performing Deep Purple, and others.
“As a result, volume-wise, we have so much more on our plate than we normally would do. We are also working on Bryan Adams shows across the region. Having promoted a sold-out arena show in Dubai last year, we are now looking at multiple shows across the Middle East and into India. The India dates are already on sale and doing incredibly well.”
“Volume-wise, we have so much more on our plate than we normally would do.”
SES Live! is the market’s leader in family entertainment, promoting shows such as Disney On Ice, Marvel Universe Live, and Cirque du Soleil. “We find there is always demand for shows like this, where the whole family can come together, with multiple generations of each family, to experience something special,” says CEO and founder Ali Haidary.
Business development director Alison Goldsmith says the biggest challenge businesses face is transportation. “With a massive change to the shipping times, particularly in and around our region, this has really affected our ability to bring large-scale shows here. While air freight can be an option, the costs are prohibitive to make the shows work financially. We have been working with our partners to set realistic transport schedules to ensure we are going to be able to visit as many cities as we can with as little downtime as possible, but we are ensuring we add additional days to avoid any issues with upcoming shows.”
Nonetheless, the company is overcoming these challenges, and there’s no sign of slow-down in demand. “We have delivered more shows in the last 12 months than in any previous year and reached more audiences than at any time in our company’s history,” says Haidary.
Arena Market: UAE
Whether you’re an artist from Europe, the USA, Asia, the Middle East, or even Latin America, you’re likely to find an audience in the United Arab Emirates. Home to almost 200 different nationalities, the huge diversity of the population is reflected in the breadth of content gracing the UAE’s two main arenas– the 17,000-capacity Coca-Cola Arena in Dubai and the 18,000-capacity Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi.
The Coca-Cola Arena marked its fifth birthday in June 2024. Over the past half-decade, it has hosted over 251 live shows and staged 390 international artists, attracting guests from around the world. The venue is equipped with a state-of- the-art sound system and almost 400sqm of modular and ribbon LED screens. The roof structure can support 190 tonnes of production equipment.
General manager Mark Jan Kar says around 40% of the shows at the venue cater to Indian and Pakistani entertainment enthusiasts, while Western, K-Pop, C-Pop, and J-Pop concerts are also very popular.
All this diversity means you need a venue team that understands the different cultures and how they buy tickets. “About 80-85% of our audience is residents and the balance made up of international tourists,” says Jan Kar. “We need to understand habits of different demographics – for example, Indian clients purchase and consume information about entertainment differently to an Arab demographic. We have to understand everything, from price points to times of the year or even month, when you’re announcing a show or when it takes place.
Around 40% of the shows at the venue cater to Indian and Pakistani entertainment enthusiasts, while Western, K-Pop, C-Pop, and J-Pop concerts are also very popular.
“We understand not only when to achieve a substantial spike in ticket sales (usually if it’s announced around payday) but also how to ensure guests have the best time once in the venue, from a food-and-beverage perspective. It’s very much knowing who you’re talking to and catering to them in the right manner.”
And, as far as understanding its patrons goes, the venue has just upped the ante with the launch of its own ticketing platform. “It’s integrated with all the major ticketing companies, but ultimately, we become the central database and the central API,” says Jan Kar. “It means that during that ticket process, we can offer the opportunity to pre-purchase food and beverage or buy VIP upgrades, or that for our hospitality suites, customers can manage their own tickets, organise parking, and so on for themselves.”
The venue is signing a professional franchise team as an anchor sports tenant – details of which had not been announced at press time. “We’re looking at a minimum of 20 home games this season,” says a delighted Jan Kar. “What’s amazing about this is it’s going to be complementary to our live entertainment programming. Most games will take place on a Sunday or midweek, allowing us to deliver concerts Thursday through to Saturday and the occasional Sunday.”
“We understand not only when to achieve a substantial spike in ticket sales (usually if it’s announced around payday) but also how to ensure guests have the best time once in the venue”
In neighbouring Abu Dhabi, the 18,000-cap Etihad Arena has Hot Wheels Monster Trucks Live: Glow Party, Bluey’s Big Play, Chicago the Musical, UFC, and more on the calendar for 2024.
The venue is operated by live entertainment group Ethara, which was formed in May 2023 when state-backed promoter Flash Entertainment merged with Abu Dhabi Motorsports Management.
Six months after the formation of the new company, it announced a strategic partnership with global venue firm Oak View Group, giving the US-headquartered firm a foothold in the Middle East.
Oak View Group’s executive vice-president in the Middle East and North Africa, Iain Campbell, has been in the region for many years. He says: “A few years ago, people had to push hard to get acts to come to this region. Now the phone is ringing off the hook!”