Arena Market: Uruguay

In modern arena terms, Uruguay is a pretty simple proposition, beginning and ending with the ASM Global-managed Antel Arena. The 10-15,000-capacity venue, which opened in November 2018 in the central Villa Española district of Montevideo, endured a couple of agonisingly slow years between 2020 and 2022 like everywhere else and now performs the role of a modern arena touring stop with quiet aplomb.

In fact, it’s hard to imagine quite what Montevideo did without its new building, given the volume of region-spanning tours that have passed through in 2023 and 2024, including Louis Tomlinson, Tan Biónica, Emilia Mernes, La Vuela Puerca, Mon Laferte, Ricky Martin, Camilo, and The Cure.

One of South America’s smaller capitals, but also one of its most visited, Montevideo has a metropolitan population of around 2m and enjoys close ties with Buenos Aires, from which it is accessible via ferry across the Río de la Plata. The artists that play in Montevideo tend to derive from Uruguay, Argentina, and the English-speaking world, with some broader regional additions.

“It’s hard to imagine quite what Montevideo did without its new building, given the volume of region-spanning tours that have passed through in 2023 and 2024, including Louis Tomlinson, Tan Biónica, Emilia Mernes, La Vuela Puerca, Mon Laferte, Ricky Martin, Camilo, and The Cure.”

Matías Valdes, Marama, Airbag, La Beriso, and Los Palmeras & Chacho Ramos are all on the Antel Arena’s winter schedule – the coldest season in Uruguay being June to September. In addition to concerts, the arena is a venue for basketball, tennis, futsal, and other sports, as well as family shows, festivals, and corporate and special events.

A state investigation into suggested financial irregularities in the construction process of the Antel Arena, first filed in 2021, was archived in February having found no evidence of crime, though it was subsequently reopened by the prosecutor’s office in May to invite further testimony.

Another key venue in the city is the Teatro de Verano Ramón Collazo, a 4,235-capacity, open-air entertainment centre in the Parque Rodó Quarries on the Montevideo promenade. The theatre marked its 80th anniversary this year and is now in the second stage of a remodelling project to improve its stalls, accessibility, and circulation, and to renovate its audio, lighting, and video operation. The coming months are therefore quiet but recent ones have seen visits by Pulp, La Beriso, No Te Va Gustar, and Las Pastillas del Abuelo.