Dubai events to proceed after floods
Live events are going ahead as scheduled in Dubai this weekend despite the United Arab Emirates experiencing its worst rainfall in 75 years.
This week saw approximately double the UAE’s yearly average of rainfall in a single day, bringing much of the region to a standstill. The National reports that some areas recorded more than 250mm of rain in less than 24 hour.
Nevertheless, Mark Jan Kar, general manager of ASM Global’s Coca-Cola Arena in Dubai, says there has been no disruption to events at the venue or at the company’s C3 conference centre at Expo City.
“Tonight’s Kid Laroi show is proceeding as planned albeit, of course, with refunds available for patrons whom cannot make it,” he tells IQ.
International acts such as Boyz II Men, Jason Derulo, Shaggy & Blackstreet, Nicole Scherzinger & T.I., James Blunt and Hans Zimmer Live are all due to perform at the arena over the coming months.
“The city has taken a big hit – Dubai more than Abu Dhabi,” All Things Live Middle East CEO Thomas Ovesen tells IQ. “I think some shows have been cancelled or postponed as folks just couldn’t get about or would want to attend events, but I think from this weekend the events business is back to normal unless venues need repair – as might be the case for a few outdoor venues.”
“Due to the ongoing disruption, and to speed up recovery, we are temporarily limiting the number of arriving flights”
Dubai International Airport says it is limiting the number of flight arrivals for two days as it battles a backlog.
“We’re endeavouring to do our best to support guests impacted by delays due to recent unprecedented weather conditions,” it posts on social media. “However, due to the ongoing disruption, and to speed up recovery, we are temporarily limiting the number of arriving flights from 1pm on 19 April for 48 hours.”
Emirates is also suspending check-in for all customers in its network with onward connections through Dubai until 11.59pm GMT tonight (19 April).
“Customers travelling to Dubai as their final destination may check-in and travel as usual,” it adds. “Our teams are working hard to restore our scheduled operations as soon as possible.”
Etihad, state carrier for Abu Dhabi, said flight operations are back to normal in the UAE capital, which was also hit by a downpour on Tuesday (16 April).
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AEG Presents’ Simon Jones: ‘Business is good’
AEG Presents’ SVP of international touring Simon Jones says 2024 is on track to be the “biggest ever” for the global live business.
The Arthur Award-winning promoter is currently on the road across Asia for Ed Sheeran’s +–=÷× (Mathematics) Tour, with dozens of Taylor Swift Eras dates still to come later this year.
And Jones, who is also overseeing this month’s BRITs Week, tells IQ he is especially encouraged by the growth of the industry outside the traditional heartlands of the US and UK.
“Business is good,” he says. “2024 is shaping up to be the biggest ever. For me, Asia continues to be the most exciting region. The globalisation of music genres is something that is outpacing everyone and is ever changing. Blackpink headlining Coachella and BST Hyde Park is a great example of that.
“Also, separately to Blackpink, what is amazing to see is how an act based out of Korea for example can be so huge in Europe and the United States, yet less so in their home region, and the same goes for a select few artists in the UK, where they have a decent solid business in Europe, but explosive in Asia.”
AEG recently co-promoted Sheeran’s record-breaking stadium concerts in Dubai on 19-20 January alongside All Things Live (ATL) Middle East. The current run also encompasses stops in Bahrain, Japan, Taiwan, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines and India, where AEG Asia Pacific CEO Adam Wilkes is a longtime collaborator on Sheeran with Jones.
“The Dubai shows were collectively the biggest shows in UAE’s history, and a huge flag in the ground”
“The first couple of weeks of the tour has been fantastic,” says Jones. “We did a warm up show at the fantastic Al Dana Amphitheatre in Bahrain, followed by two sold-out shows at The Sevens Stadium in Dubai – 69,500 tickets in total.
“The Dubai shows were collectively the biggest shows in UAE’s history, and a huge flag in the ground proving that putting on major outdoor events in that market can be done, even though the viable venues are so few and far between. Together with our partner in Dubai, [ATL Middle East CEO] Thomas Ovesen, it was a hugely successful return to the region for Ed.
“After the Middle East shows, Ed crushed three sold out shows in Japan too last week, which has shown to be a huge market for him. Now on to sold out shows in Taiwan, Singapore, Mumbai and more over the next two months.”
In total, AEG will stage 26 dates with Sheeran from January to September, as well as 50 sold-out Taylor Swift concerts from May to August, including eight nights at London’s Wembley Stadium in the UK.
“It’s already a busy year but we’re about to launch some major tours for Q3 and Q4 2024, and into 2025,” says Jones, who notes he is closely monitoring developments in the ticketing world.
“Ticketing is an ever dynamic landscape, and the trends in America are slowly but surely going to evolve into most markets around the world over the next few years,” he adds. “We have seen it in South Africa recently, and we will also see even more forward thinking strategies being delivered into more markets that are going to catch up, despite local hesitance. We are going to be right at the forefront of implementing those.”
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Ed Sheeran’s UAE shows tipped to make history
Ed Sheeran’s forthcoming Dubai concerts could become the best-selling shows in UAE history, according to All Things Live Middle East CEO Thomas Ovesen.
The British singer-songwriter brings his + – = ÷ x (Mathematics) Tour to The Sevens Stadium from 19-20 January 2024 in what are being called the largest open-air concerts ever to take place in Dubai.
The dates, which will see the 32-year-old perform “in the round”, will be Sheeran’s first in the Middle East since playing the city’s Autism Rocks Arena in November 2017, which attracted a sell-out 23,272 crowd.
“Not since 2017 has the Dubai market hosted such large scale outdoor concerts promoted on merits of ticket sales,” Ovesen tells IQ. “So it’s with great satisfaction we don’t just put on two Ed Sheeran concerts here in January, but again together with AEG Presents get to work with Ed and his management – this time showcasing his incredible 360° production for the first time in the Middle East.”
The events, which will feature support from Calum Scott, are backed by Dubai Calendar and Coca-Cola Arena, with tickets going on sale on Friday (9 November).
“It’s not only a massive event and achievement for Dubai, but one that hopefully reflects also a return to more large-scale outdoor shows”
“With a combined capacity of more than 60.000 tickets these shows could well break the record of the best-selling UAE concert ever. It’s not only a massive event and achievement for Dubai, but one that hopefully reflects also a return to more large-scale outdoor shows and an increased live entertainment offering in our market.”
European live entertainment group All Things Live launched in the Middle East earlier this year following successful collaborations with Ovesen’s TOP Entertainment. Ovesen had previously brought acts including Justin Bieber, The Eagles, Guns ‘N Roses, Jennifer Lopez, Elton John and Ed Sheeran to the region, and launched festivals such as RedFestDXB and Fiesta De Los Muertos.
The promoter’s recent highlights included a rare sell-out for last weekend’s Bryan Adams’ concert at Dubai’s 17,000-cap Coca-Cola Arena.
“I think the arena has had a few other sell-out shows this year including Hanz Zimmer and some Arabic and Indian artists,” Ovesen told IQ last month. “But the UAE is a relatively small market with less than 10 million residents and more than 200 nationalities, so it is hard to pick an event or artist that will pull from all the various communities and sell beyond 10,000 tickets.
“It’s rare that shows in the UAE sell out and, indeed, for large-scale shows in the few arenas here. So for an established touring artist who has visited the market many times in the past and played in smaller capacities, to completely sell out Coca-Cola Arena two months prior to the show date is unheard of. Our last sold-out show at the venue was with 50 Cent back in September 2022 and it only sold out the day before the show.”
The Mathematics Tour was the fifth highest-grossing worldwide in H1 2023
The Mathematics Tour was the fifth highest-grossing worldwide in Pollstar‘s H1 2023 rankings, selling just over one million tickets to earn $105.3 million. Back in June, Sheeran broke the attendance record at New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium in the USA, pulling in 89,106 people to surpass the 88,491 fans drawn by U2 for their 360° Tour in 2011.
He also broke his own attendance record at Melbourne Cricket Ground in March by playing to more than 100,000 fans on consecutive nights, and New Zealand’s Sky Stadium, where he drew 48,000 fans. He also set a new ticket sales record in Denmark, shifting 160,000 tickets to four shows in the capital city of Copenhagen last year.
Sheeran, who will tour Asia and Europe in 2024, will also headline Rock in Rio Lisbon’s 20th anniversary edition, and is also slated to appear at other festivals including Lucca Summer Festival (Italy), Hurricane & Southside (Germany) and Stavernfestivalen (Norway).
His previous 255 show ÷ (Divide) run from 2017-19 was the highest-grossing tour ever before, generating $776.2 million, before being surpassed by Elton John’s Farewell Yellow Brick Road Tour earlier this year. Sheeran is represented by Marty Diamond of Wasserman Music in North America and Jon Ollier of One Fiinix Live for the rest of the world.
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All Things Live Middle East CEO on market’s evolution
All Things Live Middle East CEO Thomas Ovesen has spoken to IQ about the evolution of the region’s live music market.
The Nordic live entertainment firm launched its new Middle East operation earlier this year, following prior successful collaborations between ATL and Ovesen’s TOP entertainment.
Recent highlights have included an “unheard of” sell-out for Bryan Adams’s forthcoming concert at the 17,000-capacity Coca-Cola Arena in Dubai, with ticket prices ranging between AED 199-549 (€51-141). And according to veteran promoter Ovesen, it “has been and will continue to be very exciting times” at ATL’s southernmost outpost.
“I think the arena has had a few other sell-out shows this year including Hanz Zimmer and some Arabic and Indian artists but the UAE is a relatively small market with less than 10 million residents and more than 200 nationalities, so it is hard to pick an event or artist that will pull from all the various communities and sell beyond 10,000 tickets,” explains Ovesen.
“It’s rare that shows in the UAE sell out and, indeed, for large-scale shows in the few arenas here”
“It’s rare that shows in the UAE sell out and, indeed, for large-scale shows in the few arenas here. So for an established touring artist who has visited the market many times in the past and played in smaller capacities, to completely sell out Coca-Cola Arena two months prior to the show date is unheard of.
“Our last sold-out show at the venue was with 50 Cent back in September 2022 and it only sold out the day before the show. In a market with many events being subject to last-minute sales having sold out the full arena almost two months prior to the event is proof of the artist’s significance and his great pull here.”
Bryan Adams’ last Dubai show, which was promoted by Ovesen at TOP, took place in an open-air venue with around 8,000 guests and was his biggest-ever show in the emirate.
“His fan base is of an age where disposal funds are available and with little entertainment programming targeting them specifically, so when the opportunity is there and it is an artist known for great material and an evening of reminiscence then it clearly works,” he says. “Word of mouth was the strongest marketing tool for us.”
Ovesen says ATL Middle East also has several major shows lined up for the remainder of the year, as well as some yet-to-be-announced “blockbuster outdoor mega shows” in Q1 2024.
“I am particularly excited about these shows as it has been approximately five years since we last had such events here in Dubai… it’ll mark the return of stadium/greenfield shows in the emirate and will serve to show the world we are finally back again and stronger than ever before,” he tells IQ.
“To run a feasible business [here], even if as part of a global operation, you have to think regionally”
But it’s not just the Dubai market that’s going from strength to strength. The potential of the wider Middle East region has been recognised by an increasing number of live entertainment behemoths who are making moves within the market.
Oak View Group recently expanded into the region through a joint venture with local event management and venue operator, Ethara, and Festival Republic’s Wireless debuted in Abu Dhabi earlier this year. ASM Global and Live Nation have long had a presence in the market.
“The success of the Middle East as a business hub and tourism destination is partly based on how at home the country and its business environment makes everyone feel and indeed the ease with which you can set up your business here,” adds Ovesen. “But to run a feasible business, even if as part of a global operation, you have to think regionally and having a regular if not permanent presence across the many very different Middle East markets, cities and business environments is costly.
“Plus, here as in most other places professionalism and quality will dictate your success hence many new players will no doubt find that also here you have to earn your wings and a long-term play requires a proper commitment and investment in the region.”
He continues: “I think the market, in dollars and cents, for live events and entertainment is still expanding faster than the influx of new events and entertainment organisers so to some degree there is still room for exciting opportunities and I haven’t yet seen such new players as being my main competition in any of the Middle East markets.
Concluding, the veteran promoter tells IQ he remains “committed”, and will partner with the “best-suited operators and industry peers”.
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All Things Live Middle East appoints Johnny Mollet
All Things Live has named Johnny Mollet as head of operations for its Middle East firm.
Mollet has 30 years of experience in the events industry and has produced events for Expo 2020, the London 2012 Olympics, Expo City Dubai’s 2022 Christmas show, Ministry of Sound worldwide tours and F1 entertainment (Abu Dhabi), alongside festivals, global PR launches and other events for high profile corporations and government entities.
In his new role, Mollet will primarily focus on delivering the company’s regional events, overseeing a line-up of 2023/24 shows across the Middle East and India. He will work closely with local and regional partners, venues and suppliers, whilst also providing the incoming artist teams with a premium experience on and off stage.
“[All Things Live] are a highly experienced group and I hope that my experience can add a fresh perspective”
Mollet officially assumed the position of head of operations at the Dubai-headquartered company on 1 September. He reports to Thomas Ovesen, CEO, All Things Live Middle East.
“I am tremendously excited to join the team at All Things Live! They are a highly experienced group and I hope that my experience can add a fresh perspective,” says Mollet.
All Things Live Middle East was established in April 2023 and marked the Nordic live entertainment company’s first foray outside of Europe.
Since All Things Live was founded by Waterland Private Equity in 2018, it has expanded to seven European countries and 19 companies, with offices in Oslo, Stockholm, Helsinki, Copenhagen, Brussels, Milan and Amsterdam.
The company’s portfolio ranges from musical productions to music festivals and standup events to stadium concerts, with The Rolling Stones, Eminem, Katy Perry and Rammstein among its clients.
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