Country Profile: Philippines

Despite mainly being a one-city territory, with most (if not all) shows taking place in the capital Manila, the country has spent the year filling out festivals and indoor arenas to the delight of audiences that constantly crave live shows by their favourite performers.

Most popular genres include pop, rap, K-pop, R&B, and rock. Live Nation booked acts such as the Backstreet Boys, Harry Styles, Blackpink, Bruno Mars, Sabrina Carpenter, P1Harmony, Sam Smith, and Fall Out Boy to play at venues including the 16,500-capacity Smart Araneta Coliseum and the 20,000-capacity SM Mall of Asia Arena. This all followed the global promoter’s acquisition of long-standing local company MMI Live last year, following years of collaboration. Coldplay will play two January dates at the 55,000 Philippine Arena.

Furthermore, the Filipino festival circuit has seen massive success this year with Phoenix and Carly Rae Jepsen headlining Wanderland, as well as Joji, Kehlani, Russ, Weezer, and Aminé among the performers across two PLUS63 editions in Cebu.

Manila has also hosted Peach Tree Rascals, Yungblud, and Bebe Rexha through Eventim Live Asia; Ovation Productions promoted Dream Theater, Wallows, NCT DoJaeJung, and Alanis Morissette’s Jagged Little Pill 25th Anniversary show, and has Daryl Hall and the Daryl’s House Band on the horizon; and AEG Asia has One OK Rock and Rex Orange County on the books in 2023. Insignia Presents, Karpos Multimedia, and Wilbros Live are also some of the other national promoters currently working with international artists.

Furthermore, the Filipino festival circuit has seen massive success this year with Phoenix and Carly Rae Jepsen headlining Wanderland, as well as Joji, Kehlani, Russ, Weezer, and Aminé among the performers across two PLUS63 editions in Cebu.

While the country was unlucky to miss out on being one of Taylor Swift’s stops on her Eras Tour, Midas Promotions’ Michael Hosking believes that the future lies in prioritising the development of Asian artists and promoting them to play in western territories. “I’ve been going to the Philippines since 1982, and I believe it’s fair to say that they have produced some of the most talented musicians on the planet,” he says.