UK stadium gig rush reignites ticket price debate

Valentine’s Day marked one of the biggest mornings of UK onsales in living memory, as fans rushed to snag tickets for stadium outings for the likes of Beyoncé, Black Sabbath and Kendrick Lamar & SZA.

The shows have added to an already jam-packed summer schedule of outdoor shows in 2025, with superstars such as Coldplay, Oasis, Dua Lipa, AC/DC, Lana Del Rey, Imagine Dragons, Guns N’ Roses and Sam Fender also lining up to perform at the biggest venues.

The latest scramble has reignited fan and media chatter about the price of entry for major concerts, with some ticket types for Beyoncé’s upcoming Cowboy Carter Tour seeing hikes of up to 50% from her last outing two years ago.

The superstar returns to London’s Tottenham Hotspur Stadium (cap. 62,850) this June for a six-show run in support of the Award-winning album, with ticket prices ranging from £71-£950. Beyoncé sold out five shows at the same venue two years ago during her Renaissance World Tour (RWT), the second highest-grossing tour of 2023 after Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour.

The run grossed $579.8 million and sold 2.8 million tickets across 56 shows in North America and Europe, according to Billboard Boxscore. That venture took the Grammy Award-winner to 39 cities across 10 countries, while the upcoming trek will only visit eight cities in three countries, seeing Beyoncé play 29 total shows.

While the touring route has tightened up, ticket prices have predictably risen from her outing two years ago. Prices for seated tickets have risen by at least 20%, with the cheapest option available for these dates starting over £71.

Standing tickets took a greater hike, rising by up to 50% from 2023 prices. Fans looking to stand at the Cowboy Carter Tour can expect to pay a minimum of £220, and almost £500 to stand nearer the stage in the ‘club’ option. General standing tickets for RWT ranged from £106.80-£177.50.

“This expansion is driven by increasing consumer demand for live experiences”

Ticket prices are on the rise across all levels of touring, with Pollstar reporting average ticket prices rose 3.91% in 2024 to $135.92 (£107.80), and momentum is showing no signs of slowing.

“This expansion is driven by increasing consumer demand for live experiences fuelled by flagship concerts and residencies of global superstars and the proliferation of large-scale events in general,” said FKP Scorpio CEO Stephan Thanscheidt in a recent interview with IQ.

Featured Artists Coalition (FAC) boss David Martin credits past research by former Spotify economist Will Page for signalling the direction of travel.

“Even back in 2022, it was evident that much of the ‘boom’ that was being witnessed in live music was due to high value, major, large-scale shows,” Martin tells IQ. “Add inflation which impacts both artists’ costs and fans’ wallets, along with the lasting audience impacts of the pandemic and the trend for the biggest artists to host their own events and residencies and it’s easy to see the drivers of increased prices.

“While it is positive to see demand at that level, I’m concerned about the impact on mid-level and grassroots artists. If fans are spending huge sums on one-off events, it appears that there is a real danger that they’ll attend fewer shows elsewhere.”

Some artists are seeking ways to keep costs down for fans. Coldplay have offered a limited number of Infinity Tickets, priced at £20/$20/€20 each plus taxes and fees, across their record-shattering Music of the Spheres World Tour. For their return to Wembley Stadium for a historic 10-night stand in autumn, the band’s second London stint on the same tour, fans could score standing tickets for £112.75.

The rise in general ticket prices for top stadium shows has also been more than matched across premium offerings — Beyoncé’s VIP pit sections in front of the stage come at the price of £850, while Black Sabbath fans seeking a side-stage premium experience could fork out just under £3,000.

“Clearly there’s some quite fascinating trends in our culture right now”

The cheapest tickets available for the “greatest heavy metal show ever” start at £197.50, while general admission standing starts at £262.50. The July reunion will see Black Sabbath’s original lineup – Osbourne, Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler and Bill Ward – top the bill, marking Osbourne’s final performance and the first time the quartet have played together in 20 years. More than 150,000 fans reportedly joined the queue for tickets when they went on general sale at 10am today.

Meanwhile, those looking to see Kendrick Lamar & SZA’s UK/EU outing this summer can expect to spend £75-£750 for tickets, with GA standing starting at just under £160. Other tours set to descend on stadiums across the UK this summer include Linkin Park, Billy Joel, Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band, and Robbie Williams, to name a select few.

“Clearly there’s some quite fascinating trends in our culture right now,” observes Martin. “On one level, there’s an inexhaustible supply of new music, film, video, podcasts, books, substacks, and a whole mass of interesting niches and genres. It’s a complete cultural sprawl. On the other hand, there’s also that kind of ‘Barbenheimer’ effect, where audiences want to participate en masse for events by the likes of Coldplay, Oasis, Taylor Swift or Beyoncé. And they’re prepared to pay a premium for those experiences, even if it’s at the cost of others.”

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