Arena Market: Malaysia

At a capacity of 11,000 to 16,000, Malaysia’s most prominent live entertainment centre for touring artists remains the Axiata Arena. Formerly known as the Putra Indoor Stadium before a major rebrand in 2017, the multipurpose indoor venue in Kuala Lumpur features 3,000 retractable seats; five corporate suites; centre-hung and ribbon LEDs; an advanced two-sound system; and preprogrammed floodlighting.

Having hosted Westlife, Jacky Cheung, and Jason Mraz in the past, popular acts such as IU and LANY are due to perform at the Axiata Arena as part of their world tours this year. The Axiata is also part of the KL Sports City Complex, which includes the Bukit Jalil National Stadium. The 85,000-capacity venue, which happens to be the 15th largest in the world and the biggest of its kind in Southeast Asia, saw major artists like Ed Sheeran, Coldplay, and Muse play sold-out shows there over the past 12 months.