French electro artists Air, Phoenix and Etienne de Crécy starred in a unique concert held on the roof of Terminal 1 at Paris-Charles de Gaulle airport.

The ‘French Touch’ showcase, which attracted more than 2,000 fans, was organised by ADP Group (Aéroports de Paris) alongside Amazon Music and was livestreamed on Prime Video and the global Amazon Music channel on Twitch.

Held in the run-up to this month’s Paris Olympics, the 17 July show marked 50 years of the country’s main airport and its role “as a gateway to the world in France, and a participant in France’s cultural influence”. It also served as “a celebration of French culture and a tribute to the art and music that have shaped the global electro scene”.

Admission was free of charge and accessible by registration, with other acts on the night including Inès Mélia, Benjamin Diamond B2B Alan Braxe and Izzy Lindqwister.

London’s Heathrow Airport has also teamed with global music events company Sofar Sounds to curate its new Terminal 5 stage

The airport has previously staged gigs by Rone in 2015 in the boarding lounge of Terminal 2E, as well as Metronomy in the baggage reclaim area, in addition to performances by Nicolas Godin, Tale Of Us and Lang Lang.

Paris-CDG is not the first major European airport to present live music in 2024 – London’s Heathrow Airport has also teamed with global music events company Sofar Sounds to curate its new Terminal 5 stage throughout this summer.

Designed to showcase a diverse range of emerging British talent spanning pop, jazz, folk, R&B, soul and rock, the Heathrow Introducing Stage is due to wrap up its season today (24 July) after hosting the last of three events. Acts have included acoustic rock band China Bears, folk singer-songwriter The Halfway Kid and R&B artist Olivia Nelson.

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Berlin’s former primary international airport recently became the setting for a new concert series featuring renowned and burgeoning DJs.

German promoter ARTE Concert transformed Berlin-Tegel’s (TXL) former cargo hall and Lufthansa aeroplane hangar into a club for the event, dubbed TXL Berlin Recordings.

The series featured 36 DJs including international stars such as Ben Klock, Patrick Mason, Rebekah and Elli Acula, and newcomers such as Daria Kolosova, MCR-T and Nathalie Seres.

TXL Berlin Recordings was produced in March by SUOL Music and commissioned by RBB in cooperation with ARTE.

The concerts are streaming on ARTE TV every Tuesday and every second Thursday between 2 May and 22 June.

The series featured DJs including Ben Klock, Patrick Mason, Rebekah and Elli Acula

Until 2020, Berlin-Tegel was Berlin’s most important commercial airport with more than 20 million passengers per year. The decommissioned site is to be one of the largest urban development projects in Europe.

Airports have proved to be popular locations for live music events – especially in Europe.

Tempelhof Airport in Berlin, Germany, has served as a public park and outdoor concert venue since closing in the 2000s, hosting major festivals including Berlin Festival, Lollapalooza and most recently, Tempelhof Sounds.

Elsewhere, Slovakia’s flagship festival Pohoda has been making use of Trenčín Airport since 2004 and last year, On Air festival launched at Lotnisko Bemowo in Poland.

2022 also saw the opening of Europe’s largest outdoor music venue on unused land at the Reggio Emilia Airport, near Bologna, Italy. Harry Styles is booked to play the 100,000-cap RCF Arena on 22 July as part of his Love On Tour European run.

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