Hungary’s Broadway Event Group expands portfolio
Broadway Event Group, the largest 100% Hungarian-owned concert organising and ticketing company, is expanding its portfolio.
The company’s primary focus has been on concerts and tours with domestic performers such as Azahriah and Hungária, who have each delivered sold-out stadium shows this year.
The Budapest-based firm has also been responsible for organising Hungary concerts for international acts such as Scorpions, Queen+Adam Lambert, Jean-Michel Jarre, Enrique Iglesias, and Andrea Bocelli.
Now, Broadway wants to focus on its commitment to international performers and expand its repertoire in terms of both musical genres and the size of concerts.
“This is a small country with a relatively small market, but a great love for music”
Joining the firm on its mission is newly appointed partner Balázs Benjámin Soós, who spent 10 years as the booking manager of A38 Hajó, once Budapest’s leading medium-sized venue, as well as booking manager of various Hungarian summer festivals.
Soós began his career as a club promoter as the founder of Phoenix Music Hungary and co-owner of Skalar Music Hungary, the Hungarian brand of Barracuda Austria.
He has worked with several high-selling acts in the Hungarian market, including Dropkick Murphys, Enter Shikari, ZAZ, Editors, Parkway Drive or Machine Head to name a few.
Soós’s role at Broadway will be to open doors for more contemporary international acts in club and hall-level venues across Hungary.
András Szabó, the company’s managing director, said: “This is a small country with a relatively small market, but a great love for music. I’ve known Balázs for a long time and have always admired his work. He’s been freelancing for a while, but now we believe that by joining forces, we can successfully leverage his expertise and motivations in our shows.”
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Familiarity breeds content
While Live Nation entering a new sector might have already established competitors breaking a sweat, there’s no denying it’s a sign of faith in the potential of the market.
Last year, Michel Boersma was hired to lead Live Nation’s emerging markets unit from Dubai. As SVP of family entertainment and theatre, he’s tasked with creating family shows and tours in the region that can also be rolled out globally.
It’s very difficult to go into these markets with pop or music related content,” Boersma explains. “Sometimes these markets may not be ready technically and venue-wise, but often there is a theatre space or small arena that we can bring a family or theatre show into. Additionally, there is more political support for family entertainment than there sometimes is with music.”
“There is more political support for family entertainment than there sometimes is with music”
Boersma reports a successful first year with tours including bringing Madagascar Live! to Asia in partnership with Dreamworks, launching a Banksy exhibition in Australia that’s now touring Asia and taking LED show iLuminate to Saudi Arabia where Monster Jam was also introduced together with Feld.
Broadway Entertainment Group opened an office in Dubai before Live Nation, having relocated from London two years ago to focus on the Middle East and Asia, where venues and theatres had started to be built. CEO Liz Koops says Disney’s Beauty and the Beast is its greatest success to date after touring the musical for 48 weeks internationally.
Attendance ranged from 65-85% capacity – depending on the maturity of the market – with ticket prices ranging from $75–100 (€67–90).
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