French concert business in ‘best of health’
The French touring scene is in “the best of health” despite a summer overshadowed by the Paris Olympics, according to local music insiders.
Hosting the sporting competition may have resulted in fewer major concerts taking place in the country in 2024, but a busy autumn is in store for the indoor circuit, which will host acts such as Justin Timberlake, Janet Jackson, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, Childish Gambino, Slipknot, Jonas Brothers, Justice and Melanie Martinez.
“The live entertainment market is in the best of health,” says Nicolas Dupeux, CEO of Paris Entertainment Company, which runs the Accor and adidas arenas in the French capital.
Accor Arena is one of France’s key venues, with a capacity between 15,000 and 20,000, while the company’s brand-new adidas arena has a capacity of 8,000-9,000. Speaking in IQ‘s 2024 Global Arena Guide, Dupeux notes that rising ticket prices do not appear to have impacted attendance.
“The evolution of the average ticket price is clear evidence: in our venues, in France, the post-Covid period is marked by a gradual increase in prices,” he says. “All styles and artists are affected, but international artists – who are increasingly performing in our venues – stand out significantly. For example, tickets for Madonna’s concert at Accor Arena in November 2023 reached exceptionally high price levels, up to €386.50. Nevertheless, we continue to fill the venues – a sign of strong demand.”
“We have had a record year in the number of concerts hosted while having the Olympics using the venue for six months”
Separately, the multifunctional Paris La Défense Arena, which served as another key venue for the Olympics, has welcomed more than 1.2m spectators over the past year. The venue has increased its maximum capacity from 43,000 to 45,000 and aims to further expand in the near future.
“We have had a record year in the number of concerts hosted while having the Olympics using the venue for six months, with major international acts such as 50 Cent, Black Eyed Peas, Taylor Swift and French local legend Michel Sardou,” reports booking director Raphaëlle Plasse.
“Our goal is to host 100 events per year in the upcoming years. To achieve that, we are planning to invest in solutions to optimise load-in and load-out times, reducing costs for the promoters, and increasing the number of days available to book additional events.”
Meanwhile, Paris’ 7,000-cap Le Zénith celebrates its 40th anniversary in 2024. Upcoming gigs include Moby, Girl in Red, Nas, London Grammar, Deep Purple, Nas, Fontaines D.C. and Jacob Collier.
“The last two years have been very good ones for the performing arts, with a very strong lineup of French and international artists, particularly for those performing in large and very large venues, with generally good attendance figures, a clear breakthrough for rap artists, and a strong comeback for electronic music/techno nights,” says director Lily Fisher.
French electronic music pioneer Jean-Michel Jarre will open and close the Paris 2024 Paralympics Closing Ceremony on 8 September
France’s biggest indoor arena outside of Paris, the 16,000-cap LDLC Arena in Lyon, opened last year to provide another boon for the market, and renowned promoter Salomon Hazot brought further positive news, praising the “absolutely magnificent” sales for Ed Sheeran’s 2025 French stadium dates in an interview with IQ.
Hazot is staging the singer-songwriter’s +–=÷× (Mathematics) Tour concerts at Marseille’s 70,000-cap Orange Vélodrome Stadium (6-7 June) and Lille’s 65,000-cap Decathlon Arena (20-21 June) next year via his partnership with AEG Presents France.
Elsewhere, it has been announced that French electronic music pioneer Jean-Michel Jarre will open and close the Paris 2024 Paralympics Closing Ceremony at the Stade de France on 8 September.
Domestic singer-songwriter Mylène Farmer’s will also play three concerts at the 90,000-cap stadium on 27-28 September and 1 October. Farmer was originally due to perform at the venue last year only for the dates to be rescheduled due to the French riots.
Get more stories like this in your inbox by signing up for IQ Index, IQ’s free email digest of essential live music industry news.
Red Hot Chili Peppers world tour attracts 3.4m
Red Hot Chili Peppers’ multi-year Unlimited Love Tour has entered the record books after drawing more than 3.4 million fans across the globe.
Launched in June 2022, the 86-date trek featured multiple legs around the world, visiting 20 countries and including 66 stadium shows.
The outing, which supported the group’s two 2022 #1 studio albums, Unlimited Love and Return of the Dream Canteen, ranks as the third best-selling rock tours of the 2020s so far, behind only Coldplay’s Music of the Spheres (7.7m and counting) and Elton John’s Farewell Yellow Brick Road (6.1m), according to Billboard Boxscore.
The tour featured special guests including A$AP Rocky, Anderson .Paak & The Free Nationals, Beck, City and Colour, DOMi & JD BECK, Haim, Ice Cube, Iggy Pop, Ken Carson, King Princess, Otoboke Beaver, Post Malone, Seun Kuti & Fela’s Egypt 80, St. Vincent, The Mars Volta, The Roots, The Strokes, Thundercat and Wand.
“We are thrilled to feature the very best of LA with local artists and are grateful to Billie, H.E.R., the Chili Peppers and Snoop for their collaboration”
On the final 18-date North American leg, which kicked off on May 28 this year at RV Inn Style Resorts Amphitheater in Ridgefield, Washington, and concluded on 30 July at Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre in St. Louis, Missouri, RHCP partnered with local dog adoption agencies at every tour stop to raise awareness for adoptable dogs in the city.
It was the seventh highest-grossing run of 2022 at $77 million, according to Pollstar, earning a further $91m in the first half of 2023 and has generated a total gross in excess of $300m, with the final total still to be verified.
The CAA-represented band also performed at last night’s Closing Ceremony of the Paris 2024 Games when the Olympic Flag was officially handed off from Paris to Los Angeles for the LA28 Olympic and Paralympic Games in their home city of Los Angeles. Other performers included Billie Eilish, Snoop Dogg and H.E.R.
“This is the biggest moment in LA28 history to date, as the Olympic flag passes from Paris to LA,” said LA28 and Wasserman Music chair Casey Wasserman, speaking ahead of the event. “We are thrilled to feature the very best of LA with local artists and are grateful to Billie, H.E.R., the Chili Peppers and Snoop for their collaboration on what will be an incredible show to a global audience that will give fans a taste of what’s to come in 2028.”
Get more stories like this in your inbox by signing up for IQ Index, IQ’s free email digest of essential live music industry news.
Celine & Gaga tipped for Olympics opening ceremony
Celine Dion and Lady Gaga are strongly rumoured to be performing a duet at tomorrow’s (26 July) Olympic Games opening ceremony in Paris.
French journalist Thierry Moreau reports on X that the pair have rehearsed Édith Piaf’s La Vie en Rose for the occasion, with both said to be staying at same hotel near the Champs-Élysée.
Dion has not performed live since 2022, when she rescheduled and cancelled a number of concerts after being diagnosed with incurable neurological condition Stiff Person Syndrome (SPS). The Canadian was later forced to axe her entire 2023/24 European tour due to her ongoing health battle.
The 2024 Olympic opening ceremony will be the first held outside a stadium, taking place along a 6km stretch of the Seine River and at Trocadero, showcasing Parisian landmarks.
French-Malian singer-songwriter Aya Nakamura it expected to perform a Charles Aznavour classic, accompanied by the Republican Guard
Award-winning theatre director Thomas Jolly will serve as artistic director, but details of performers have remained a closely guarded secret. As well as Dion and Gaga, Time Out reports that French-Malian singer-songwriter Aya Nakamura will perform a Charles Aznavour classic, accompanied by the Republican Guard.
Domestic acts Sofiane Pamart, Juliette Armanet, Philippe Katerine, Cerrone, Marina Viotti, Gojira and Rim’K are also set to appear.
Singer-songwriter Slimane, who represented France at the last Eurovision Song Contest, will also reportedly give a free concert in Saint-Denis tomorrow, backed by a symphony orchestra, just hours before the opening ceremony.
Get more stories like this in your inbox by signing up for IQ Index, IQ’s free email digest of essential live music industry news.