Arena Market: Belgium

Be•at Venues, a Live Nation Belgium subsidiary, has cornered the Belgian market with its expansive portfolio of four arenas and three theatres.

The facility group’s holdings include Antwerp’s big Sportpaleis (23,000), Hasselt’s multi-hall Trixxo Arena (17,000), Brussels’ concert hub Forest National (8,400), and Antwerp’s basketball home Lotto Arena (7,500).

Also nestled in Brussels, the former Palais 12, renamed ING Arena in September 2023, boasts a capacity of 15,000 and hosts a variety of local stars along with international tours. In the Flemish region of the country, Ghent’s 13,300-cap Flanders Expo serves as the space for conferences and fairs for a variety of sectors.

Mid-sized arena Forest National is due to continue renovation projects following its 30-year licence renewal. Be•at managing director Jan Van Esbroeck says it will begin updating the ventilation system and refreshing the backstage installations over summer 2024, adding to previously completed roof and sanitary block projects.

Both local and international midsize acts are plenty and selling well

“We choose to close the venue during the summer period for several years in a row rather than one longer period,” Van Esbroeck says. “This way, we can provide maximum service to our promotors and fans. In Belgium, the summer months are mainly festival months. The other arenas get a proper refreshment during those same months.”

In the non-summer months, business is strong: both local and international midsize acts are plenty and selling well, which “gives artists opportunities to grow into the really big venues,” Van Esbroeck says. Last year, be•at sold a record- breaking 2.75m tickets across its seven venues, with plans to exceed the number of events this year.

While business is at its peak, the success is not without challenges. Massive A-list tours are beginning to falter for Belgian stops, and cancellations are becoming an increasingly frequent hiccup in the execution of shows.

“Previously, you had absolute certainty with a confirmed date for an artist; this is now much less so,” Van Esbroeck says. “Confirmed shows are moved or even cancelled, and neither the agent, the artist, nor the promoter seems to want to bear any responsibility. Nevertheless, this is detrimental to the venue operator, as they have a demonstrable loss as a result of such a cancellation.

“A tightening of cancellation rules seems imminent”

“A tightening of cancellation rules seems imminent.” Nonetheless, a variety of music, sports, and entertainment is scheduled for the venues across the next year. At the Sportpaleis, Olivia Rodrigo will play two nights, and family horse spectacular Cavalluna will gallop into the venue.
Hozier, Melanie Martinez, and Glass Animals will perform at Forest National, whose calendar also includes Riverdance, Swan Lake, and Disney On Ice.

At Lotto Arena, home of the Antwerp Giants basketball team, the calendar is split roughly three ways between music, sports, and family entertainment. And over at Trixxo Arena, bigger conferences and genre-specific events, like the annual Het Schlagerfestival, find a home. And despite an average ticket price increase of 15% across the board, Van Esbroeck says demand is higher than ever.

“We see no signs of weakening, although Belgian consumers are price-sensitive, and we notice that there are limits to ticket prices,” he says. “It is also a typically Belgian phenomenon that uplifts, packages, and premium seats are comparatively less sought-after than in the US and also our neighbouring countries.”

Sandwiched between France, the Netherlands, and Germany, a variety of languages and dialects are spoken across the country. Programming is reflective of this, with regional and national artists of all backgrounds performing across the arena circuit – meaning there’s something for everyone at each arena level.