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DJ Alan Walker achieves groundbreaking sales in India

Norwegian DJ and music producer Alan Walker sold 120,000 tickets to the India leg of his WalkerWorld Tour, with promoters saying it’s the highest-selling international tour the country has ever seen.

Produced by Asia’s biggest electronic music festival Sunburn, the month-long trek visited nine cities including Mumbai, Bengaluru, Delhi NCR, Ahmedabad, Kochi, Pune, Shillong, Chennai and Kolkata.

The September-October outing, which visited arenas ranging from 10,000 to 30,000-capacity, grossed upwards of US$5 million (€2.5m), the promoters told IQ.

The tour featured surprise appearances from Bollywood celebrities Alia Bhatt, Kartik Aaryan, celebrated music composer Pritam, singer Guru Randhawa, and the Shillong Chamber Choir.

Walker has made several visits to India during his career, including a four-city tour with Sunburn in 2022 and a support slot on Justin Bieber’s Purpose Tour in 2017.

“Alan has a massive fan base in India which we have seen growing steadily in the past few years,” says, Karan Singh, chief executive of Sunburn. “In fact, India ranks #1 across his global fan base.

“During the tour, Alan gained approximately 160,000 new followers from the region. Alan’s fan base grew multi-fold in smaller cities such as Shillong, Chennai, Kochi and Ahmedabad – some of which he performed in for the first time.

“This Sunburn Arena tour was nothing short of phenomenal”

“This Sunburn Arena tour was nothing short of phenomenal. Alan Walker has once again proven why he’s one of the most influential artists in the EDM scene. We’re thrilled to be able to bring this historic experience to fans across India. It is moments like these that make us truly proud as we continue to set the stage for the biggest EDM artists to bring their music to their community here in India.”

Gunnar Greve, Walker’s manager, adds: “Bringing the Walkerworld tour to India and having over 160,000 people on ground has been nothing short of extraordinary. We set out to create the most immersive experience Indian fans have ever seen, and the response was overwhelming. Every night, we felt the energy and passion of the crowd, which inspired us to deliver unforgettable performances in every city. This tour was about more than just music—it was about connecting with the heart of India. We couldn’t be prouder of what we achieved together with our long-time partner, Sunburn, who played a key role in making this journey possible.”

Singh says that Walker’s tour underscores the rapidly increasing demand for large-scale events in India.

“India is undeniably one of the fastest-growing entertainment markets in the world. Recently, we’ve seen a wave of major international artists touring the country, with many more lined up for this season.

“Artists like Coldplay, Dua Lipa, and Bryan Adams are scheduled to perform in India, alongside festivals such as DGTL, Lollapalooza, and Brunch in the Park. This robust line-up further underscores India’s emergence as a vibrant hub for global entertainment.”

 


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Esports giant trying its hand at concert promotion

Riot Games, the developer of esports mainstay League of Legends (LoL), is to stage a concert featuring music from the game ahead of next month’s League of Legends World Championship 2017 final.

Dubbed League of Legends Live: A Concert Experience, the show will include performances from both international artists and amateur “League of Legends community musicians”, with headliners including Norwegian producer Alan Walker (whose song ‘Faded’ features in the game), metal band Pentakill and DJ duo Mako.

The concert will take place at Beijing National Aquatics Center (17,000-cap.) on 3 November, on the eve of the Championship final, which will pit either SK Telecom T1 (South Korea) or Royal Never Give Up (China) against Samsung Galaxy (S. Korea) or World Elite (China). Prize money currently stands at more than US$5m, with $2.13m pledged by Riot and more than $3m by fans.

League of Legends Live will be streamed live at watch.na.lolesports.com and on the game’s Facebook page.

Esports, or competitive videogaming, is becoming an increasingly hot property in live entertainment for its ability to fill stadia with thousands of fans who have little interest in concerts. Madison Square Garden Company and AEG in the US, TEG in Australia and France’s Vivendi all have business interests in esports, as a growing number of promoters and other music businesses seek to claim a slice of the pie.

The global esports market is predicted to be worth US$1.1bn by 2019.

 


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