A new era: Inside TAKK ab’s blockbuster year
Swiss-French promoter TAKK ab Entertainment has hailed an “incredibly exciting” first year as a new entity.
The operation was established last year when the 15-year-old TAKK Productions, run by Sebastien Vuignier and Théo Quiblier, joined forces with CTS Eventim and Swiss concert pioneer André Béchir.
The move brought together three generations of promoters – and rosters that include some of the world’s biggest artists – resulting in a blockbuster year for TAKK ab.
“You bring all of us together and the volume of activities is crazy,” Quiblier tells IQ. “The first year exceeded all expectations. The two Taylor Swift shows at Zurich’s 50,000-capacity Letzigrund Stadium were a massive highlight and AC/DC selling out the same stadium in just eight minutes was another unforgettable moment.”
The firm promoted a further 250 shows with artists such as Sam Smith, Jungle, The National, James Arthur, Aurora, Idles, PJ Harvey, Royal Blood, Nick Mason, The Last Dinner Party and Aurora, and booked acts for festivals such as Montreux Jazz Festival, Paleo and Zurich Openair.
“You bring all of us together and the volume of activities is crazy”
“This is a new era,” says Vuignier. “The old TAKK was a small, family-like team and we co-promoted shows with partners. TAKK ab, though still a boutique company at heart, has grown significantly. With André’s involvement, we’ve been able to expand the team, handle much larger concerts and manage our shows from start to finish.”
Béchir – whose roster includes Taylor Swift, AC/DC, The Rolling Stones, Pink, Queen and Bruce Springsteen – says the idea of a three-generation team attracted him.
“With Seb (54) and Théo (28) we can cover the whole field from young bands and young agents to the established bands and agents…we form a dream team,” the 75-year-old tells IQ. “This allows me to offer the next generation the opportunity to build and grow on a secure foundation so that I can hand over my knowledge sooner or later into new good hands.”
Quiblier agrees: “We really complement each other. To have Andre’s knowledge on these big shows is amazing and Seb is so good at diplomacy.”
In addition to Béchir, the team grew rapidly in both the German and French-speaking parts of Switzerland, which was initially challenging for TAKK ab.
“Hiring new people and ensuring everyone worked well together across different languages and locations was challenging,” says Quiblier. “We now have a fantastic team of positive-minded individuals. None of the successes this year would have been possible without each of them working together.”
“It’s been challenging, but very exciting at the same time for our company”
Other challenges came in the form of cancellations with acts including P!nk and The Smile, as well as the collapse of Vibiscum Festival in Vevey which left some of TAKK’s acts unpaid.
Stadium availability for 2025 is another hurdle for the firm, with Switzerland set to host the UEFA European Women’s Championship.
“As a football fan it’s amazing but as a promoter, it’s terrible,” says Quiblier. “It’s frustrating because we had to pass on some amazing opportunities. The reality is that the country lacks infrastructure.”
‘The biggest stadium in Switzerland is Letzigrund in Zurich, which you can sell for up to 47,000 tickets. On a wider scale is a very small stadium. This stadium cannot be rented more than four or five times in summer due to restrictions so you can imagine the competition to get avails. It’s hard to see other markets building new arenas and know that, once again, we are 25 years behind in Switzerland.”
Fortunately, TAKK has secured Letzigrund for two Ed Sheeran shows in early August 2025 and the firm looks to promote more arena shows than in 2024.
“It’s been a challenging but very exciting time for our company,” concludes Quiblier. “What I like about my job is that there is no day like yesterday.”
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Promoter Béchir counts cost of P!nk cancellation
TAKK Entertainment’s Andre Béchir has spoken out after P!nk cancelled her Switzerland concert at short notice over health concerns.
The US superstar was due to perform at Bern’s Wankdorf Stadium last night (3 July), promoted by TAKK, as part of the European leg of her record-setting Summer Carnival Tour, but announced the day before that she would no longer be able to perform.
“I am so sorry that I have had to cancel my show in Bern,” she said on Instagram. “I do everything I can to ensure I can perform for you every night, but after consultation with my doctor and exploring all options available, I’ve been advised that I’m unable to continue with the show tomorrow.
“I was looking forward to being with you and making memories with you and sharing our show with you and am so disappointed that we have to cancel.”
The concert will not be rescheduled, with all tickets to be refunded. And due to the lateness of the cancellation, Béchir indicates the amount not covered by insurance is in the six-figure range.
“We have insurance for such cases, but it certainly won’t cover all the costs,” Béchir tells Berner Zeitung. “We will now renegotiate with all partners. But we will be left with a very red number.
“If she can, she will perform. But her health comes first”
“If the concert had been cancelled a few days earlier, it would have been much cheaper.”
Nevertheless, the veteran promoter acknowledges that P!nk would not have cancelled without good reason. “If she can, she will perform. But her health comes first,” he notes, as per Nau.
Béchir leads CTS Eventim-backed TAKK ab Entertainment AG, which was established last year, alongside TAKK Productions founder Sebastien Vuignier and IQ New Bosses alumnus Théo Quiblier. Béchir’s abc Production was amalgamated with Gadget and Wepromote by CTS shortly before the pandemic hit.
P!nk’s cancellation marked the second time in three years that a TAKK-promoted gig at the Bern stadium has been axed at the 11th hour. The Rolling Stones were forced to pull out of their June 2022 show at the venue after Mick Jagger tested positive for Covid-19. But Béchir insists there are no hard feelings towards the city.
“We are still on very good terms with Bern,” he adds. “Especially with the authorities, such as security director Reto Nause and those responsible at the Wankdorf Stadium. Everyone involved was very understanding about the cancellation. We have a very cooperative relationship.”
The Summer Carnival Tour is due to resume in Denmark this Saturday at Copenhagen’s Parken Stadium.
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Swiss promoter hails Eras Tour’s ‘economic factor’
Swiss live music pioneer André Béchir has praised the economic impact of Taylor Swift’s forthcoming Zurich concerts, revealing that thousands of fans are travelling from outside Switzerland to attend the shows.
Swift will perform at the city’s Letzigrund Stadium on 9-10 July, promoted by AEG Presents, TAKK, Gadget abc Entertainment Group and Taylor Swift Touring, as part of the European leg of The Eras Tour.
“With an entourage of around 200 people, Taylor Swift is on the road with the largest tour group in the world,” Béchir tells Blick. “Around 100,000 fans will come to her two concerts. Well over 10,000 are traveling from abroad, as we can see from the ticket sales.”
Béchir leads CTS Eventim-backed TAKK ab Entertainment AG, which was established last year, alongside TAKK Productions founder Sebastien Vuignier and IQ New Bosses alumnus Théo Quiblier. Béchir’s abc Production was amalgamated with Gadget and Wepromote by CTS shortly before the pandemic hit.
“Taylor Swift’s importance for Zurich is totally underestimated,” adds Béchir. “After we announced it, hotel room prices were on average a hundred francs more expensive the next day.
“We are assuming that the fans will arrive early, which will be an unprecedented challenge for traffic and the corresponding security measures. The authorities involved and the stadium have been informed accordingly. It still doesn’t seem to be clear in the minds of those responsible here that Taylor Swift is not just a concert, but an economic factor.”
“Concerts of this magnitude are of great importance for local businesses and suppliers, the hotel industry and the catering industry”
“Concerts of this magnitude are of great importance for local businesses and suppliers, the hotel industry and the catering industry,” says the City of Zurich’s communications department. “Since the ‘Swifties’ are considered particularly committed, just a single photo of the superstar from Switzerland on social media can have a huge advertising effect.”
Swift’s 17-19 May concerts at Sweden’s Friends Arena (cap. 50,000) are also expected to be a “real hit” for Stockholm’s economy. According to calculations by the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce (SCC) and Friends Arena, Swifties attending the concerts are expected to spend half a billion kroner (€43.6m).
According to the SCC, almost half of the 150,000 fans attending Swift’s Stockholm concerts will come from abroad, with people from 132 countries, including USA, Finland and Australia, set to flock to the shows in the Swedish capital.
Meanwhile, the opening leg of The Eras Tour, which ran to 50+ dates from March to August 2023, reputedly contributed $5.7 billion to the US economy. The Washington Post reported that her SoFi Stadium residency in Inglewood, California, brought an estimated $320 million alone to the Los Angeles economy.
Swift and other A-list stars have also been credited with helping to rejuvenate tourism in Singapore after the country secured a much-debated exclusivity deal with the star.
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CTS Eventim confirms Swiss expansion with new firm
CTS Eventim has formalised the expansion of its live entertainment business in Switzerland by establishing new company TAKK ab Entertainment AG.
The firm will be led by three generations of promoters – Swiss concert pioneer André Béchir, TAKK Productions founder Sebastien Vuignier and IQ New Bosses alumnus Théo Quiblier.
It was announced earlier this year that Béchir would be operating a new company under the Eventim Live umbrella, in collaboration with Swiss-French promoter TAKK. Vuignier has been appointed MD of the new venture, with Béchir, to serve as an advisor and Quiblier, who joined TAKK from Lausanne-based Two Gentlemen last September, named VP booking.
“We’re delighted to be further expanding our live entertainment business in Switzerland,” says CTS Eventim CEO Klaus-Peter Schulenberg. “This highly effective, cross-generational team will enable us to unlock even more of the potential in this market.”
“Thanks to the partnership with CTS Eventim, we have laid the foundations for the future growth of our live entertainment activities”
TAKK ab Entertainment will benefit from current TAKK Productions’ team operations based in the French part of Switzerland and staff operating from its new office in Zurich.
“Thanks to the partnership with CTS Eventim, we have laid the foundations for the future growth of our live entertainment activities,” adds Vuignier. “Maximum professionalism, extensive experience and the latest technology will enable us to leverage new synergies that we can use together with great success.”
Pan-European giant CTS reported strong growth for the first quarter of 2023, revealing it has sold 18 million tickets so far in this year.
Béchir’s abc Production was amalgamated with Gadget and Wepromote by CTS shortly before the pandemic hit.
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‘Simply the best’: Tina Turner remembered
Michael Rapino, Mick Jagger, Andre Bechir, Beyonce and Max Lousada have joined the chorus of voices mourning Tina Turner following the pop icon’s death aged 83.
The legendary American vocalist died yesterday (24 May) at her home near Zurich, Switzerland following a long illness, sparking a flood of tributes from across the world.
“Tina always sparkled with strength and joy,” Swiss promoter Bechir, who staged around 30 concerts by Turner, tells Blick. “Despite all the drama and strokes of fate that she had to experience, she never let the negative get to her, she always valued the good as bigger and higher. I have and will always admire that about Tina Turner, this great talent and this wonderful woman.
“Even when she faced major health challenges, where she withdrew, we were in contact by phone, I was with her and Erwin [Bach, Turner’s husband]. Even then, she remained confident that everything would turn out well. She never lost her sense of humour either.”
Live Nation CEO Rapino tweets: “Simply The Best. RIP Tina Turner,” while Spain’s Doctor Music posts: “Tina Turner passed away yesterday but her powerful voice will never fade. She will now forever be the queen of rock and roll. We’ll miss you. Tina, you are simply the best.”
“I am so grateful for your inspiration, and all the ways you have paved the way”
Turner’s 11th and final tour, the 90-date Tina!: 50th Anniversary Tour, was attended by 1.2 million fans from October 2008 to May 2009 and grossed US$132.5 million at the box office.
Her previous Twenty Four Seven Tour in 2000 generated $122.5m from more than 2.4m ticket sales. According to Pollstar it was the year’s highest-grossing tour in North America, netting $80.2m. During her Break Every Rule World Tour in 1988, she reportedly set a then-Guinness World Record for the largest paying audience for a solo performer when she drew 180,000 people to the Maracana Stadium in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Beyoncé, who duetted with Turner at the 2008 Grammy Awards, writes on her website: “My beloved queen. I love you endlessly. I am so grateful for your inspiration, and all the ways you have paved the way. You are strength and resilience. You are the epitome of passion and power.
“We are all so fortunate to have witnessed your kindness and beautiful spirit that will forever remain. Thank you for all you have done.”
Mick Jagger posts on social media: “I’m so saddened by the passing of my wonderful friend Tina Turner. She was truly an enormously talented performer and singer. She was inspiring, warm, funny and generous. She helped me so much when I was young and I will never forget her.”
“Tina will be remembered most through the sheer joy of her music”
Dionne Warwick writes: “Not only will I miss that eternal ball of energy named Tina Turner but the entire world will also find this void in their lives.”
Born Anna Mae Bullock in Brownsville, Tennessee in 1939, Turner first found fame alongside her first husband Ike Turner in the Ike & Tina Turner Revue before going on to huge success as a solo artist in the 1980s with songs such as What’s Love Got to Do with It, Private Dancer, We Don’t Need Another Hero and The Best.
A 12-time Grammy Award winner, she was signed to Warner Music, whose CEO, recorded music, Max Lousada says: “All of us at Warner Music are deeply saddened by the passing of the one and only Tina Turner. A global icon and trailblazer, instantly recognisable by her incredible voice and inimitable style, she was one of the greatest stars of all time.
“Even after the countless awards, the 180 million album sales, the record-breaking tours, and unforgettable acting roles, Tina will be remembered most through the sheer joy of her music. So powerful is her extraordinary, universal appeal that there is no doubt she will continue to influence generations to come. She stands as the epitome of artistic self-empowerment.
“We offer our heartfelt condolences to her husband Erwin Bach, family, friends, and countless fans around the world.”
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André Béchir to operate new Eventim Live company
André Béchir will operate a new company under the Eventim Live umbrella, in collaboration with Swiss-French promoter TAKK.
Béchir was acting as a senior advisor to CTS Eventim-backed Gadget abc Entertainment Group AG under a three-year contract that ended last year.
He will continue to co-operate with Gadget abc on shows such as Bruce Springsteen, Herbert Grönemeyer and Eros Ramazzotti.
With his new company, Béchir will stay part of Eventim Live promoter network and collaborate with TAKK, using its infrastructure and team for the new shows to come.
Sebastien Vuignier’s TAKK and Gadget abc have collaborated for the last five years on concerts for Muse, Sam Smith, Bon Iver and others.
“I am very proud to now work side by side with André, a pioneer and internationally recognised market leader”
“I have known Seb since he was at Paleo Festival,” says Béchir. “Through his passion for music and his sense of business, he could establish his name and his company TAKK as a leading international promoter. I am very happy to be collaborating with him, with Théo and the whole TAKK team.”
Vuignier adds: “I met André Béchir more than 20 years ago. I was his local partner in the French-speaking part of Switzerland while I was working at Paleo Festival. I learned a lot and could always count on support from André, working on my first arena and stadium shows at that time. I am very proud to now work side by side with this pioneer and internationally recognised market leader.”
Théo Quiblier, who joined TAKK last September, comments: “When André promoted The Rolling Stones in Lausanne in 2007, little did he know 11 years old Théo was attending his very first show with his father and fell in love with the magic of shows. André has always been an inspiration for me and I cannot wait to work with him and learn from him. Nothing but huge respect on my side for his illustrious career. Bring on the shows!”
Béchir’s abc Production was amalgamated with Gadget and Wepromote by CTS Eventim just a month or two before the pandemic hit. The newly formed Gadget abc Entertainment Group is 60%-owned by Eventim, with the rest held by the Swiss partners.
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