Arena Market: Singapore

Singapore is frequently the Asian base for many global arena firms – ASM Global established a new office in the city state in 2021, and promoter CTS Eventim opened its Eventim Live Asia office there the same year, joining established presences by others such as AEG.

The leading venue complex in this Asian economic powerhouse is Singapore Sports Hub – made up of the 55,000-capacity Singapore National Stadium and longstanding stalwart venue Singapore Indoor Stadium. Built in 1989, the pillarless, air-conditioned venue can be configured for between 4,000 and 12,000 people.

Damian Bush, managing director – venue operations says: “Market forces and pent-up demand for live events, which built up during the pandemic, are driving the return of in-person events.

“Market forces and pent-up demand for live events, which built up during the pandemic, are driving the return of in-person events.

“We have received strong interest from organisers and have had to do some juggling to find dates for some acts as our calendar is fast filling with sports and entertainment events beyond 2022 across all our venues.

“Consumer demand is equally strong. Tickets for events at the Singapore Sports Hub are being snapped up, whether it’s for sports such as UFC 275, Dota 2 The International or concerts by The Script, Lany, K-pop groups such as Seventeen, Super Junior or Asian artistes like Eric Chou.”

He says new and returning live acts are drawing even bigger crowds than in pre-pandemic times. “More bands are touring, and acts that typically fill, for example, a 10,000 seat arena, are looking for larger venues to support double the attendees.”