A debate on emerging markets and how to best navigate them kicked off the second edition of Touring Entertainment Live (TEL) in London as part of the International Live Music Conference (ILMC).

Helmed by Terrapin Station’s Jonathan Shank, TEL – the opening Lands of Innovation session featured SESLive’s Alison Goldsmith, Liz Gonzalez of Golden Peak Live, David Goldberg of TPG and Cirque du Soleil’s David Pitman, in which they discussed the most exciting territories to break through right now, the various challenges they’ve faced in specific markets, and the importance of local feedback and government support.

Goldsmith, whose company has played a leading role in the Middle Eastern live entertainment market since their establishment two decades ago, detailed SESLive’s expansion into other countries within the Gulf region.

“While the UAE is fairly well-established at this point with so many fantastic spaces and a full event calendar all year round, we’ve also been working in Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia in recent years,” she said. “There is a fantastic opportunity to break through in those interesting markets, but it’s just finding the right project at the right time,” also noting how vital it is for them to receive great support from both governmental partners and local enterprises.

Another emerging opportunity arises in India, where Goldberg’s TPG have closely been working with BookMyShow — the country’s largest ticketing & promotions platform — in offering novel live entertainment experiences across a Bollywood-centric market.

“India isn’t there yet when it comes to suitable arenas for extravagant shows”

“It’s still a nascent industry in India,” he recalled. “We had produced Cirque du Soleil’s debut shows in Mumbai and Delhi, brought over the NBA’s first ever games in the country, and ended U2’s Joshua Tree Tour in Mumbai — all taking place between 2018 and 2019. This is a testament to the increasing ease of access of all types of content via streaming and social media platforms.”

However, Pitman — who’s worked with Goldberg in bringing Cirque du Soleil over to India — lamented the lack of viable infrastructure in a developing Indian market.

“India isn’t there yet when it comes to suitable arenas for extravagant shows,” he said, with Goldberg adding that while local authorities recognise the benefit live entertainment brings, more work needs to be done to build arenas that can cater to expansive & large-scale productions. “Not every arena needs to be a Madison Square Garden, but the potential in building a large venue that can house 15,000-plus attendees akin to Manchester’s Co-op Live Arena is possible,” he said.

Such circumstances inspired Pitman to come up with creative solutions on circumventing the lack of spacious indoor arenas in India. “Together with David [Goldberg], we created a “little big top” without all the regular accoutrements that would usually come with our shows, and that ended up being a 1,500-seater extravaganza called Bazzar that was presented in that tent,” Pitman recalled.

Gonzalez, who’s responsible for overseeing the global booking of Pixar’s largest exhibition Mundo Pixar Experience, explained how the Argentine government’s lack of support is a hindrance to exporting domestic talent across Latin America and beyond.

“There is a danger of showcasing too many IP-driven productions such as Disney in a calendar year”

“In Brazil, promoters are able to book free shows for local talents, and the Mexican government throws a lot of support behind the arts,” she said. “However, we never receive this level of backing from the Argentine government, and getting sponsors is incredibly difficult nowadays,” adding that the capital city-centric Argentine market needs to prioritise exporting talent more than anything.

“Alongside trying to get government funding, it is our greatest challenge right now,” she said.

With the Middle Eastern market’s increasingly prominent role in global live entertainment, any issues with infrastructure and government support tend to be minimal for now. However, Goldsmith presented a different hurdle that could be an issue in the near future.

“While 2024 was an amazing year for content, there is a danger of showcasing too many IP-driven productions such as Disney in a calendar year,” she said, also wondering if there could be a potential over-saturation of family entertainment content in the near future. “It’s on us to find that balance.”

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The team behind Disney Jr. Live’s debut international tour have discussed the magic and mechanics of staging children’s first concert experience.

The multi-billion dollar business of touring theatre, shows and exhibitions is going from strength to strength, with the second edition of Touring Entertainment LIVE set for Wednesday 26 February as part of the International Live Music Conference (ILMC) in London.

Disney has put its unique stamp on the family entertainment format with Disney Jr. Live On Tour: Let’s Play! On the heels of a successful run in North America, the immersive concert experience opens in the UK with a “limited engagement” at London’s Royal Festival Hall on 15-16 March 2025, before being rolled out across Asia and the Middle East.

The tour unites production company Terrapin Station Entertainment with Sony Music stablemates Senbla (UK) and Barcelona’s Proactiv, which will handle UK and international promoting duties, respectively.

“This is a perfect example of how several divisions within Sony can all partner to create an unforgettable experience,” Terrapin’s Jonathan Shank tells IQ. “The show has been performed over 400 times in the US in the last handful of years and sold over 700,000 tickets. It has been one of the most successful preschool touring properties over the last decade here in North America.”

“Disney advocated for this tour to go global and has been such a supportive partner”

Disney Jr, Live On Tour features an interactive musical performance that includes singing, dancing, 3D special effects and acrobatics. Tickets start at £19.50 (€23.50).

“It was a long time goal for us to bring this show and all these iconic characters – Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Spidey – to London,” says Shank. “Ollie [Rosenblatt, Senbla CEO] and I have been talking about the idea of bringing this production to the UK since about 2018. Ollie is beyond the perfect partner to help bring this show to the UK, and is perfectly suited to make this into global production, which is what we intend to do.

“Disney advocated for this tour to go global and has been such a supportive partner, so it’s been a big team effort and it’s off to an absolutely incredible start. I feel like that the UK audience is really embracing Disney Jr.”

Shank, who won a Grammy in 2009 for his role in creating the Global Drum Project album, is credited as a pioneer in bringing intellectual property to the live stage, with past productions such as Disney Junior Dance Party On Tour, Peppa Pig Live! and The Fresh Beat Band Live generating more than US$80 million at the box office.

“The work that Jonathan has done in the US is exemplary,” enthuses Rosenblatt, who was elevated to SVP Masterworks Live at Sony Music earlier this year. “You can tell by the number of shows they’ve done, how long it’s been going and the number of tickets sold that it’s a high quality product – and we like dealing with high quality shows and experiences.”

The show features hits from several popular Disney Jr. series, including songs written by Fall Out Boy frontman Patrick Stump

Senbla has become renowned for its work within the films in concert format – most recently with Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, with Avatar the Last Airbender also set to tour in early 2025.

“We have a long history with Disney – we already work with them across multiple film titles – so it made sense for us to try and bring this to the UK as well,” says Rosenblatt. “There has been an enormous growth in the Disney Jr. brand in the UK, mainly through Disney+, which has really helped expand the offering into the UK market because, historically, it was a very US-centric property. Timing is everything with these things and you can’t manufacture that; you have to wait for the right time.”

He adds: “The show deserves to go global. It’s done incredible business, and that is testament to the hard work that Jonathan and Terrapin have done over many years with Disney to grow and develop this brand. So for us to be able to bring it into the UK is a great privilege, and the early signs are that the audiences are delighted it’s here as well.”

The show features hits from several popular Disney Jr. series, including songs written by Fall Out Boy frontman Patrick Stump.

“A lot of the songs featured in the Spidey segments were written by Patrick, which brings a bit of that vibe and energy into the show,” explains Shank. “It’s a very high energy, highly choreographed, acrobatic, high performance skill-type show. It’s just a lot of fun.”

“The beauty of this kind of show is that the characters are evergreen”

A core goal for the tour’s organisers is to give young audiences their first taste of music and theatre.

“It’s magic for the kids to see the character they love up on stage and in some cases, get to meet them, and it’s special for us to be able to bring that opportunity to families,” notes Rosenblatt. “Quality always prevails – if you bring a great show to an audience, there’s no reason why they’re not going to come back – and the beauty of this kind of show is that the characters are evergreen. If you’re enjoying it at the age of seven and eight, you might have moved onto something else by the time you’re nine and 10, but there’ll be another seven and eight-year-old enjoying the characters.”

Furthermore, Rosenblatt sees limitless potential for similar productions in the future.

“The expansion in IP gives a great opportunity to bring things to the stage that people know and love,” he finishes. “A big part of the growth is in being able to find a solution to translating what people see and engage with on screen, onto the stage. But it takes experts and high quality producers like Jonathan to understand the vision and understand what that takes.”

The Touring Entertainment Report (TER) 2024, a resource that puts the global business of touring theatre, shows and exhibitions in focus, is out now.

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