P!nk earns second highest-grossing run from a female
P!NK’s 2023-2024 global tours have grossed nearly US$700 million, becoming the second highest-grossing run of all time from a female artist after Taylor Swift.
The three-time Grammy Award-winning artist’s run comprised four record-breaking tours: Summer Carnival Tour 2023 + 2024, TRUSTFALL Tour, and P!NK LIVE.
According to promoter Live Nation, the two-year run shifted more than five million tickets across 130 stadium and arena dates in 15 countries.
The Summer Carnival Tour EU/UK leg brought in over one million fans and grossed over $125 million, while the North American leg saw her perform to a further 1.75 million fans.
Across 130 stadium and arena dates in 15 countries, the two-year run shifted more than five million tickets
The Australia/New Zealand leg brought in over one million fans across 20 stadium dates. And with over three million tickets sold in Australia throughout her career across six tours, P!NK is now the country’s highest-selling artist.
Across the entire 2023-2024 global run, the 44-year-old’s performances have broken all-time attendance records at 15 venues globally and set new highest gross sales records around the world.
The US star, whose real name is Alecia Beth Moore Hart, also became the first female to headline shows at American Family Field (Milwaukee, WI), Chase Field (Phoenix, AZ), and Washington Grizzly Stadium (Missoula, MT).
P!nk is managed by Roger Davies and represented by Barrie Marshall at Marshall Arts.
The team behind the Summer Carnival Tour tour gave a unique glimpse behind the scenes of the global trek at the recent ILMC Production Meeting (IPM). Revisit the panel report here.
Get more stories like this in your inbox by signing up for IQ Index, IQ’s free email digest of essential live music industry news.
Festivals ’25: Linkin Park, Basement Jaxx return
The return of Linkin Park has dominated the latest round of European festival confirmations for 2025.
As revealed last week, the US rock band’s revamped lineup, which features Emily Armstrong as co-vocalist alongside original member Mike Shinoda, will headline a raft of the continent’s leading events.
Rock For People (11-14 June) in the Czech Republic boasts the group alongside acts including Slipknot, Fontaines D.C., Idles, In Flames, Motionless in White, Poppy, Skrillet and Spiritbox.
“I never would have thought that we would have the artist who is the most ‘hot name’ globally for the season at Rock for People and we would be one of the first select festivals to get the band,” says festival founder Michal Thomes. “I couldn’t have dreamed up a better way to celebrate Rock for People’s 30th birthday.”
Linkin Park will also perform at Italy’s I-Days on 24 June, which has also announced headline shows by Justin Timberlake (2 June), Dua Lipa (7 June) and Olivia Rodrigo (15 July) so far.
Austria’s Novarock (11-14 June) will include Korn, Linkin Park, Slipknot and Electric Callboy, backed by the likes of Falling in Reverse, Knocked Loose, The Warning, Rise Against, In Flames, Motionless in White, Powerwolf, SDP, Lorna Shore, Flogging Molly, Biffy Clyro, Refused, Wanda, Dream Theater, Alligatoah, Idles and Skillet.
“Basement Jaxx are the ultimate festival act”
Belgium’s Rock Werchter‘s headliner lineup is now completed, comprising Linkin Park, Green Day, Sam Fender and Olivia Rodrigo from 3-6 July.
And the updated bill at Poland’s Open’er (2-5 July) stars Linkin Park, Justice, Rüfüs Du Sol and St Vincent.
Elsewhere, the UK has seen another flurry of festival announcements, headed by Download (13-15 June). Alongside headliners Green Day, Sleep Token and Korn, more than 90 other acts have been unveiled including Weezer, Bullet For my Valentine, Jimmy Eat World, Don Broco, Spiritbox, the Sex Pistols ft. Frank Turner, Within Temptation, The Darkness, Steel Panther, Cradle of Filth and McFly.
In addition, Basement Jaxx return to the live stage for the first time in a decade to close, joining Sting, Snow Patrol and Fatboy Slim in headlining Latitude Festival (24-27 July).
“Basement Jaxx are the ultimate festival act,” says festival director Melvin Benn. “Their performances are a whirlwind of energy, packed with euphoric pop anthems, dazzling visuals, and a vibrant cast of musicians, singers, and dancers. Anyone who has witnessed their blistering performance of Where’s Your Head At? during a headline set at Glastonbury will know exactly what I mean. Having them close Latitude’s Friday night is the perfect way to kickstart the weekend.”
The dance music pioneers will also play a headline show at South Facing in Crystal Palace Park on 23 August.
“Roundhouse Three Sixty will see world-class artists, emerging talent and young people from every walk of life come together for one month”
Elsewhere, Raye is the latest All Points East headliner to be confirmed, topping the Victoria Park bill that same date.
Also in London, music and culture festival Roundhouse Three Sixty will debut from 1-30 April. BAFTA-winning Roundhouse alumnus Jack Rooke will host cabaret comedy night Show Hole at the event, which will also feature a Roundhouse Song Circle with performances by singer-songwriter Tom Odell.
Placing a strong focus on supporting youth talent, thousands of tickets will be available for free for 18-30-year-olds.
“Roundhouse Three Sixty will see world-class artists, emerging talent and young people from every walk of life come together for one month to perform, share and showcase their amazing work,” says Marcus Davey, CEO and artistic director at the Camden venue. “The festival embodies our core purpose as a charity amplifying our work with over 10,000 young people each year and it will create transformational artistic experiences that bring people together. We can’t wait to welcome you next April.”
James and Stereophonics will headline Neighbourhood Weekender, which returns following a fallow year. They will be joined by The Wombats, The Lathums, Inhaler, Dizzee Rascal, The Reytons, among others, at Victoria Park, Warrington on 24-25 May.
And Robbie Williams is the first headliner confirmed for the inaugural edition of the North East of England’s biggest-ever music festival, Come Together (4-8 June). Williams will take centre stage at the 45,000-capacity event at Newcastle’s Town Moor on 4 June, with the supporting cast including Kaiser Chiefs, Perrie, Andrew Cushin, Lottery Winners, Nell Mescal, Guy Sebastian, Deco, Sonny Tennet, Charlie Floyd and Harriet Rose.
“We are absolutely thrilled to announce Robbie Williams as our first headliner for the Come Together Festival,” adds Toby Leighton-Pope, MD of promoter TEG Europe. “Bringing such an iconic artist to Newcastle underscores our commitment to delivering a world-class festival experience that’s accessible and unforgettable.”
Get more stories like this in your inbox by signing up for IQ Index, IQ’s free email digest of essential live music industry news.
Robbie Williams announces huge UK and Europe tour
Pop legend and former Take That member Robbie Williams has announced a mammoth 2025 tour of the UK, Ireland and Europe.
Robbie Williams Live 2025 will make 28 stops at an assortment of stadiums, arenas, festivals and parks between 31 May and 20 September 2025.
The outing kicks off in the UK with concerts at Edinburgh’s Scottish Gas Murrayfield Stadium, London’s Emirates Stadium, Manchester’s Co-op Live and open-air venue Royal Crescent in Bath.
The European leg will kick off on 19 June at Parken Stadium in Copenhagen (DK) and wrap up on 20 September at Olympiastadion in Helsinki (FI). In addition to the tour stops Williams will also perform at Werchter TW Classic in Belgium on 28 June.
The 50-year-old, who is repped by X-ray’s Ian Huffam in Europe, last toured in 2022 with his XXV outing, which visited the UK, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand.
He still holds several records for live performances including the Guinness World Record for his 2006 world tour, which sold more than 1.6 million tickets in a single day, and the record attendance of 375,000 fans over three nights at his legendary Knebworth shows in the UK. More recently, Williams returned to BST Hyde Park in London this summer for a critically acclaimed and sold-out headline show.
“This tour is going to be my boldest yet – I can’t wait to see you next year”
The tour announcement comes a month before the release of Williams’ musical biopic film ‘Better Man’ which hits UK cinemas on 26 December. Based on the true story of Williams’ life and directed by Michael Gracey (‘The Greatest Showman’), the film sees him portrayed as a CGI monkey throughout.
‘Better Man’ follows his journey from childhood to being the youngest member of chart-topping boyband Take That to his achievements as a record-breaking solo artist – all the while confronting the challenges that fame and success can bring, according to an announcement.
“This tour is going to be my boldest yet – I can’t wait to see you next year,” says Williams in a statement. “There will be songs from the movie ‘Better Man’, and some new music too…but more on that soon.”
In the meantime, Williams is set to perform at the open-air series Saadiyat Nights in Abu Dhabi this December, and in South Africa in January.
The popstar will deliver a headline set at Calabash festival in Cape Town, as well as two solo headline shows at SunBet Arena, Time Square, Pretoria – marking his first shows in the country since 2006.
Tickets for Robbie Williams Live 2025 go on general sale Friday 15 November. The tour is sponsored by cat food brand FELIX from Purina, with which Williams has had a long-standing partnership. See the full list of dates below.
31 May – Scottish Gas Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh, UK
6 June – Emirates Stadium, London, UK
11 June – Co-op Live, Manchester, UK – with special guests Lottery Winners
13 June – Royal Crescent, Bath, UK
19 June – Parken Stadium, Copenhagen, Denmark
22 June – Johan Cruyff ArenA, Amsterdam, Netherlands
25 June – VELTINS-Arena, Gelsenkirchen, Germany
28 June – Werchter TW Classic, Belgium
30 June – Heinz von Heiden Arena, Hanover, Germany
2 July – La Défense Arena, Paris, France
5 July – RCDE Stadium, Barcelona, Spain
9 July – Red Bull Arena, Leipzig, Germany
12 July – Ernst-Happel-Stadion, Vienna, Austria
17 July – Stadio Nereo Rocco, Trieste, Italy
21 July – Waldbühne, Berlin, Germany
22 July – Waldbühne, Berlin, Germany
26 July – Olympiastadion, Munich, Germany
1 August – Darius and Girėnas Stadium, Kaunas, Lithuania
3 August – Mežaparks, Riga, Latvia
7 August – Stockholm Stadion, Stockholm, Sweden
10 August – Deutsche Bank Park, Frankfurt, Germany
13 August – Forus Travbane, Stavanger, Norway
16 August – Granåsen, Trondheim, Norway
23 August – Croke Park, Dublin, Ireland
7 September – O2 Arena, Prague, Czech Republic
9 September – TAURON Arena, Kraków, Kraków, Poland
12 September – MVM Dome, Budapest, Hungary
20 September – Olympiastadion, Helsinki, Finland
Get more stories like this in your inbox by signing up for IQ Index, IQ’s free email digest of essential live music industry news.
OVG rolls out venue services offering in UK, Europe
US-based venue management giant Oak View Group (OVG) is rolling out its full suite of venue service offerings in the UK and Europe.
The announcement comes nearly six months after the opening of OVG’s Co-op Live in Manchester (cap. 23,500), the UK’s largest indoor concert venue.
The new suite of services, available to venue operators in the respective markets, ranges from venue development, management, premium hospitality and food service, booking, sponsorship sales, marketing, and more.
Led by Jessica Koravos, president, OVG International and Chris Granger, president, OVG360, the international venue services team includes several veterans of the UK live entertainment and sports industry.
Rebecca Kane Burton, recently announced executive vice president of venue management, will focus on growing OVG’s venue services in the UK and Europe, after acting as interim GM at Co-op Live. Burton previously led Sodexo Live!, LW Theatres and The O2.
“As owners and operators ourselves, we care deeply about the challenges facing venue owners today”
Sam Piccione and Alex Reese will continue their leadership in commercial strategy and sales services. The division provides a suite of strategic sales services including sponsorship valuation, commercial revenue modelling, sponsorship and premium hospitality strategy and sales delivery. In addition to Co-op Live, current clients include Aviva Studios, Birmingham City FC, EF Pro Cycling, AS Roma and Lloyd Webber Theatres.
Michalis Fragkiadakis, vice president of hospitality strategy, OVG International, will lead hospitality innovation, building on the 2023 acquisition of Rhubarb Hospitality Collection. Michalis has over 20 years of experience in the entertainment and hospitality industries, with a background in strategic operational delivery including his previous role at Levy by Compass.
Gary Hutchinson, vice president of booking and commercial partnerships at OVG International and MD Chrysalis Leisure Management, will continue to lead content development and strategic partnerships internationally.
Katie Harel joins as vice president of marketing, OVG International, transitioning from her role as global VP of marketing for Rhubarb Hospitality Collection, which will fall under her newly expanded role. Harel has over 20 years of luxury hospitality experience, working for renowned establishments like The Lanesborough and The Dorchester as well as the Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group and The Langham in Hong Kong.
“In just a few short months, Co-op Live has welcomed nearly one million fans and is setting new standards for artists and fans alike,” says Jessica Koravos, president, OVG International. Co-op Live offers an integrated fan experience from parking and ticketing to premium spaces that elevate fan engagement and generate valuable operator revenue. We are keenly aware of the challenges and opportunities facing venue owners. Our suite of service offerings is rooted in that knowledge and experience and paired with experts who have forged their careers in the European live entertainment and sports landscape, bringing real value to our clients.”
Chris Granger, president OVG360, adds: “As owners and operators ourselves, we care deeply about the challenges facing venue owners today. Our unique partnership approach, coupled with our mission of positive disruption in the live entertainment and sports space, has fuelled our growth over the last 3 years. With our collection of expert team members with deep backgrounds in UK and European live experiences, we now have the ‘boots on the ground’ to authentically and consistently partner with venue owners to meet their needs.”
Get more stories like this in your inbox by signing up for IQ Index, IQ’s free email digest of essential live music industry news.
DEAG CEO on the firm’s rapid expansion in Europe
Deutsche Entertainment (DEAG) CEO Detlef Kornett has spoken to IQ about the firm’s latest acquisition and how it fits into a wider expansion strategy.
Today, the Berlin-based live entertainment giant announced its first foray in Italy with the acquisition of Milan-based rock promoter MC² Live.
MC² Live was launched after the company’s founders, Andrea and Stefano Pieroni, sold a 51% stake in their former business, Vertigo, to CTS Eventim in 2017.
DEAG says the brothers will continue to manage MC² Live in the long term together with their team, who will all remain with the company.
Speaking about his admiration for the company’s leader, Kornett told IQ: “Andrea has been in the industry for decades and has a very impressive roster of artists and bands that he works with internationally, as well as Italian-language acts.”
“We have had a very impressive growth curve and I believe this acquisition will help us to continue on that path”
Over the past few decades, the stalwart promoter has organised numerous concerts, festivals and events with stars such as Judas Priest, Slipknot, Rammstein, 50 Cent, Ne-Yo, Eros Ramazzotti and Negrita.
“MC² are of a certain size already so this is a very important step for DEAG where we can really funnel growth, and that’s what DEAG has been all about these years,” says Kornett. “We have had a very impressive growth curve and I believe this acquisition will help us to continue on that path.”
Indeed, DEAG has been on an acquisition spree in the past 12 months, entering the Spanish market in late 2023 with the launch of subsidiary Get Rock Live (GRL) and acquiring three companies in the first six months of 2024. With the acquisition of MC² Live, DEAG is now present in Germany, the UK, Switzerland, Ireland, Denmark, Spain and Italy.
“Benelux, The Netherlands is an obvious gap in our marketplace, and at the same time it’s not an easy market – it’s set in a certain way – so the right opportunity would need to arise for us to expand there,” explains Kornett. “That doesn’t mean that we’re not in conversations, it is just not right yet.”
Though the company is bullish in its international expansion, Kornett insists that being a pan-European company is not the main goal.
“Obviously, there are still so many white spots for DEAG on the European map and we will continue to explore those opportunities”
“Obviously, there are still so many white spots for DEAG on the European map and we will continue to explore those opportunities but the partnership has to fit,” he explains.
“The importance is really on the people, the way they conduct business and relationships, and the fit. The way Andrea maintains his relationships, the way he budgets for his events, the way he settles his events fits very well with us.”
Kornett says he’s excited to capitalise on the opportunities available in the Italian live music market alongside MC².
“There’s a huge opportunity for international rock and pop in the market and the Italian language music sector is very important and very big, but it’s also very divided between some major players,” he says.
“There are only very few independents left but now Andrea has a strong partner to continue to be independent in that market. Italy is no different to the UK or Germany, there are opportunities for independent, boutique-type promoters like us, and we intend to take full advantage of that.”
DEAG has set its sights on becoming “a company with more than €500 million in revenues”
The company has already shared ambitions to take some of its pre-existing event brands to the Italian market and introduce some new ones.
“MC² and Andrea have traditionally been focused on Italian artists and international rock and pop,” he says, nodding to the firm’s upcoming shows with Iron Maiden, Pantera, Skunk Anansie and Falling in Reverse.
“I think there are elements within rock that we can add but we would look for synergies the other way. We do all kinds of events in the non-music sector from the spoken word events to the light trails to the family shows to the classical music to jazz. – so we will explore all of these opportunities. Is the market ready for it? Does it work? If it works, then let’s give it a shot!”
While DEAG continues to expand in Europe, the firm has set its sights on becoming “a company with more than €500 million in revenues”. Its highest-ever revenue was €325 million in 2022.
“We will go some way towards that goal in 2025 but it’s more of a three-year plan,” says Kornett. “It’s all in the bottom line, so we have to find the right balance in our portfolio in order to achieve that. We’ve been at 8–9% margin – another thing we hope to grow next year. This year nothing was easy but I generally feel that the business will be in a better flow in 2025.”
Get more stories like this in your inbox by signing up for IQ Index, IQ’s free email digest of essential live music industry news.
FEAT: “Digital Services Act is still in teething”
Face-value European Alliance for Ticketing (FEAT) director Sam Shemtob has spoken to IQ about the “teething stages” of the European Union’s Digital Services Act (DSA).
Introduced in February, the legislation outlined several measures that have major implications for ticket resale marketplaces, such as Viagogo and StubHub.
While the introduction of the DSA was hailed as “a landmark moment” for Europe’s live events sector, the implementation has been slow and steady.
“There’s usually a period of up to two years for a law to be transposed into member state legislation but that didn’t happen with the DSA – it came into force immediately,” Shemtob explains.
“So that requires quite a lot of enforcement and administration, and that has led to the need for Digital Services Coordinators (DSC) to be created in every member state. Having spoken to a number of them, we’ve found quite a lot of variation in terms of how well set up they are.”
While DSCs in some member states have been “very clearly on top of their brief” and setting the standard for working practice, others have only just become operational, he tells IQ.
“I think it’ll be mid-next year before we’re in a position where we have enough data to say how well the Digital Services Act is working,” he adds.
“There is still a clear need for specific ticket resale legislation beyond the DSA”
“It’s a vast regulation – across the entirety of e-commerce in Europe – so it will take time. But I have every faith that the member states will get there. On the positive side, it’s all there. It’s great that a system is being set up to monitor illegal activity online and make sure it isn’t just given a free pass.”
Meanwhile, at their Barcelona AGM last week, FEAT members have committed to engaging with the new law by dedicating a team member to help file reports – especially on search engines that direct consumers to illegal content online, which is a major focus for the alliance.
As Shemtob explains, “If you put ‘Oasis tickets’ into Google, one of the top listings will be Viagogo but the Google advert doesn’t connect to a single ticket, it connects to the Oasis ticketing page on the platform where there may be some illegal listings and then some legal listings,” he says. “Well, what’s Google’s liability there? We’ve got to clarify where the law stands on things like that.”
Though the DSA provides a solid mechanism to report illegally listed tickets, Shemtob warns that its effectiveness may be more limited in countries that don’t have strong, pre-existing legislation on ticket resale.
“The DSA is only a reporting tool – an enforcement structure if you like,” he explains. “If we’re talking about Spain, where there are no particular laws around online ticket resale, then it’s not going to create them for us. There is still a clear need for specific ticket resale legislation, and further to discussions at last week’s AGM, that is another area that FEAT is now actively beginning to engage with, beyond the DSA.”
Shemtob nods to the UK, where the new Labour government has pledged to introduce a ticket resale cap and is currently in the consultation stage.
“It’s really positive we’re seeing this kind of interest from politicians,” adds Shemtob. “It’s a really interesting time for this kind of legislation.”
Get more stories like this in your inbox by signing up for IQ Index, IQ’s free email digest of essential live music industry news.
Sam Fender unveils 2024/25 European arena tour
Sam Fender has announced his first UK tour since spring 2022, along with a slate of arena dates across Europe.
The People Watching Tour, which will feature support from Wunderhorse, commences at Dublin’s 3 Arena on 2 December.
The seven-date 2024 UK & Ireland leg also includes stops at Leeds’ First Direct Arena (4 December), Manchester’s Co-Op Live, Manchester (6 December), The O2 in London (10 December), Utilita Arena, Birmingham (13 December) and OVO Hydro, Glasgow (16 December), concluding on 20 December at the Utilita Arena in Fender’s native Newcastle.
Tickets go on sale on 25 October. Due to the expected high demand, tickets for the latter show will be available by ballot to customers with North-East postcodes only.
The CAA-represented 30-year-old, who returned to the stage to headline Boardmasters festival earlier this summer, has pledged that £1 from every ticket sold for the UK dates will be donated to the Music Venue Trust in support of grassroots venues.
Next spring, the singer-songwriter will headline European shows in Paris, Tilburg, Zurich, Cologne, Munich, Bergamo and Berlin, wrapping up at the Forest National arena in Brussels.
The full list of tour dates is as follows:
2024:
2 December – 3Arena, Dublin
4 December – First Direct Arena, Leeds
6 December – Co-Op Live, Manchester
10 December – The O2, London
13 December – Utilita Arena, Birmingham
16 December – OVO Hydro, Glasgow
20 December – Utilita Arena, Newcastle
2025:
4 March – Olympia, Paris
5 March – 013 Poppodium, Tilburg
8 March – Halle 622, Zurich
10 March – Palladium, Cologne
12 March – Zenith, Munich
13 March – ChorusLife Arena, Bergamo
16 March – Uber Eats Music Hall, Berlin
18 March – Afas Live, Amsterdam
19 March – Forest National, Brussels
Get more stories like this in your inbox by signing up for IQ Index, IQ’s free email digest of essential live music industry news.
Semmel Concerts’ road stories with Hans Zimmer
Semmel Concerts’ Oliver Rosenwald has given IQ a glimpse into the world of Hans Zimmer ahead of the Oscar-winning film score composer’s latest European tour.
Zimmer will grace arenas across the continent in 2025 and 2026 with Hans Zimmer Live – The Next Level, which promises a completely new show featuring “groundbreaking electronic soundscapes and a spectacular light production”.
Although project manager Rosenwald remains tight-lipped on the finer details, he is convinced fans will not be disappointed.
“It’s a new tour, a new show, a new concept,” he tells IQ. “It will not be even similar to that what you have seen or experienced before, and I’m 100% sure that everybody will love it. I really hope we will surprise and delight our customers with this one.”
The Next Level will commence in Zimmer’s native Germany at Oberhausen’s Rudolf-Weber Arena on 12 October next year, going on to visit Austria, the Czech Republic, Switzerland, Belgium, the Netherlands, France, the UK and Ireland, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Poland, Spain and the UK and Ireland.
“Hans is a super pro and a wonderful human, and he loves to be on tour and to make music”
In 2026, it will also head to Scandinavia, Poland and Spain before wrapping up at Portugal at Lisbon’s MEO Arena on March 31. Rosenwald reports that ticket sales have got off to a strong start.
“Our on-sale went very well: after 48 hours, we added second shows at The O2 in London and in Dublin at the 3Arena. We sold 25,000 tickets in three or four days for La Defense Arena in Paris that indoor stadium, which I was not expecting. I’m pretty sure that we will add more shows to these two tour legs within the coming weeks.”
CTS Eventim-backed Semmel is co-producing the tour with Los Angeles-based RCI Global, which was founded by Zimmer and Steven Kofsky, while the UK dates are presented alongside Harvey Goldsmith and Kilimanjaro Live. This month marks a decade since the launch of Zimmer’s maiden live show at Hammersmith’s Eventim Apollo in London.
“For Semmel Concerts, it’s just wonderful,” says Rosenwald. “We started as local promoter for the tour in Germany, Austria and Switzerland in 2017, then we produced The World of Hans Zimmer together with him and RCI, and it kept moving forward.
“Hans is a super pro and a wonderful human, and he loves to be on tour and to make music. For me, it’s just a great honour. Sometimes I wake up and can’t believe I get to do this kind of work with such a cool artist.”
“The first 17 shows in the US went on sale with a very interesting model – a TikTok presale – and we sold over 80% of the tickets in 48 hours”
Indeed, the relationship has developed to the extent that the German firm is partnering on Zimmer’s current tour of North America.
“We are super-happy that we can do a tour with him in the US and have the next one in Europe already on sale,” says Rosenwald, speaking to IQ from America. “It’s interesting and also a little bit challenging in parts for a European company to tour a US-based artist through the US with Concerts West, even if Semmel Concerts is part of Eventimlive. It’s a quite interesting combination, but it’s a wonderful opportunity and all the shows are almost sold out.
“We went on sale only four or five months before the tour, so I was a little bit nervous because in Europe we normally have six or eight months, or even a year, to sell it, which was our experience in the past with Hans Zimmer Live. But the first 17 shows in the US went on sale with a very interesting model – a TikTok presale – which was pretty cool, and we sold over 80% of the tickets in 48 hours and added another three shows.”
The North American leg, which concludes at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on 12 October, has been an eye-opening experience for the Semmel team.
“Everything is a little bit different in Europe,” smiles Rosenwald, who reveals hopes of expanding the tour to Asia and Latin America. “But here in the US, we have new situations: with unions, with trucking; there is a different kind of mentality when meeting each other. We have part of our European production crew with us working together with the US-based crew.”
“We decided to bring our Ukrainian orchestra to the US because Hans loves them so much”
He continues: “We decided to bring our Ukrainian orchestra to the US because Hans loves them so much, and it was a tricky process to get these visa and work permits done, time-wise. We started that process as soon as we confirmed the tour in January 2024, but some visas were only approved a few days before people had to leave for the US. That was a little bit challenging, but we got there. We had a very good visa agency and they did a marvellous job.”
More than 300,000 tickets were sold for Zimmer’s 2024 European run, The World of Hans Zimmer Tour – A New Dimension, which marked a new chapter in the concert series as the composer participated as the show’s curator and musical director, rather than performing live on stage himself. Previously, his acclaimed 2023 European tour played to almost 400,000 fans in the spring and was completely sold out.
“It’s not a situation where there’s a big orchestra and the composer is doing his thing; it’s more like a rock show sometimes,” reflects Rosenwald. “It’s the genius behind the music of Dune, or James Bond, or The Lion King, and you would think his normal environment is the studio. But then you see him on the stage and you realise that is also his natural environment. That somehow makes it unique.”
Revisit IQ‘s 2022 feature on Hans Zimmer Live here.
Get more stories like this in your inbox by signing up for IQ Index, IQ’s free email digest of essential live music industry news.
Bruce Springsteen expands 2025 European tour
Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band have expanded their 2025 European tour, adding eight new concerts including a pair of rare arena shows in the UK.
Beginning at Manchester’s Co-op Live on 17 & 20, the performances – which are in addition to previously rescheduled dates in Marseille, Prague and Milan – will bring the group to cities they didn’t play in 2023-2024.
New shows are planned across England, France, Germany and Spain, taking in venues such as Liverpool’s Anfield Stadium, Stade Pierre Mauroy in Lille, Deutsche Bank Park in Frankfurt and Estadio Reale Arena in San Sebastian.
The legendary band ranked No.4 in Pollstar‘s Q3 report on the highest-grossing tours of this year so far, garnering $201.5 million from 1.38 million tickets sold for 33 concerts.
This month, they will also travel to Canada for eight more shows beginning on 31 October in Montreal and running through 22 November in Vancouver — which will mark their 114th total show since returning to the road in 2023.
The announcement of new 2025 tour dates arrives shortly before the release of Road Diary: Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band, a Thom Zimny-directed film coming to Hulu and Disney+ on 25 October.
Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band’s full list of 2025 European tour dates is as follows:
May 17 – Manchester, England – Co-op Live
May 20 – Manchester, England – Co-op Live
May 24 – Lille, France – Stade Pierre Mauroy
May 31- Marseille, France – Orange Velodrome (rescheduled from May 25, 2024)
June 4 – Liverpool, England – Anfield Stadium
June 11 – Berlin, Germany – Olympiastadion
June 15 – Prague, Czech Republic – Airport Letnany (rescheduled from May 28, 2024)
June 18 – Frankfurt, Germany – Deutsche Bank Park
June 21 – San Sebastian, Spain – Estadio Reale Arena (Anoeta)
June 27 – Gelsenkirchen, Germany – Veltins Arena
June 30 – Milan, Italy – San Siro Stadium (rescheduled from June 1, 2024)
July 3 – Milan, Italy – San Siro Stadium (rescheduled from June 3, 2024)
Get more stories like this in your inbox by signing up for IQ Index, IQ’s free email digest of essential live music industry news.
Music Saves Ukraine shares Summer Festival Tour results
Music Saves Ukraine has shared the results of its summer tour around European festivals.
Since the start of the full-scale invasion, the team has worked with 40 festivals and numerous large-scale music events. During this time, the initiative has raised over €555,000 for humanitarian needs in Ukraine.
This year, the team visited festivals including Electrum Up To Date Festival (Poland), Provinssi (Finland), Open’er (Poland), Pohoda (Slovakia), DAS FEST (Germany), ARTmania (Romania), Sziget (Hungary), Lowlands (Netherlands), as well as three big shows of the German punk rock band Die Ärzte (Germany).
The team’s presence at events included an information tent which included a photo exhibition of the Liberov family, up-to-date information on the situation in Ukraine, and banners with the names of Ukrainian artists who are fighting and who gave their lives in the struggle for freedom.
Other activities included participation in panel discussions about the war and culture in Ukraine and five screenings of the documentary Music Ambassadors Tour 2024. At every festival, people could buy charity merchandise, all proceeds from which go to humanitarian aid in Ukraine.
“Our team is pleased that the level of interest in Ukraine and Ukrainian music in the third year of the full-scale invasion remains high,” says Mariana Mokrynska, head of the Music Saves Ukraine initiative.
“This is evidenced by the number of festivals that are willing to cooperate with us and invite Ukrainian artists to their stages. Festivals like Sziget in Hungary and Pohoda in Slovakia kept demonstrating their unwavering support of Ukraine. This is reflected in the number of Ukrainian artists at these festivals and numerous actions they employ to help.
“[We are] pleased that the level of interest in Ukraine and Ukrainian music in the third year of the full-scale invasion remains high”
“This season was also notable because we collaborated with Germany’s largest punk rock band, Die Ärzte, which gathered more than 180,000 people in the centre of Berlin for three days in a row, and the team of artists organised a festival for Ukrainian refugees living in the event area (Tempelhof, where the Tempohomes refugee camp is located). They also sent charitable contributions from the invitations to our initiative. However, we hope that next year the reason for our visit to European festivals will change.”
Festivals such as Pinkpop (Netherlands), OpenAir St. Gallen (Switzerland), Les Eurokeennes de Belfort (France), Festival 66 hodin (Slovakia), Positivus (Latvia), Summer Sound Festival (Latvia), Superbloom (Germany) have organised fundraising initiatives on their own, including eco-initiatives for bottle and can recycling, cup deposit fundraising, charity merchandise sales and collected donations from people on the guest lists and accreditation. These initiatives have so far raised more than €60,000 and counting.
Music Saves Ukraine also helped European festivals book Ukrainian artists such as Lucas Bird (at Pohoda Festival), OTOY and Love’n’joy (Positivus), Nina Eba and Morwan (66 hodin), Monoconda and OTOY (Sziget), Mavka (Hoffest) and Postman (Superbloom).
The Hungarian festival Sziget became a record-breaker in terms of booking Ukrainian artists. As a result, 15 Ukrainian artists—mimes, theatre artists, DJs, and singers — were presented at the event over six days.
Many collaborations have been implemented thanks to the Music Ambassadors Tour 2024 project. In March 2024, 12 influential cultural figures from Europe, including festival directors and promoters, visited Kyiv.
After their trip to Ukraine, they began to actively book Ukrainian artists and implement various fundraising initiatives in their respective regions.
This project is presented by the Ukrainian Association of Music Events under the USAID/ENGAGE activity, which is funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and implemented by Pact.
Get more stories like this in your inbox by signing up for IQ Index, IQ’s free email digest of essential live music industry news.