Shakira has wrapped the first Latin America leg of her Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran Tour, having sold 1.3 million tickets and broken several records.

The Live Nation-produced outing comprised 25 sold-out shows across 11 stadiums in Latin America between 11 February and 14 April.

More than two million fans had registered for the Latin America leg of the tour – the 47-year-old’s first outing since the 2018 El Dorado World Tour – and nearly 700,000 tickets sold in less than two hours of going on sale.

During the tour, the superstar made history by becoming the first artist to hold seven shows at Estadio GNP Seguros in Mexico City, attracting 455,000 fans to the residency.

The Barranquilla-born star also broke records in Colombia by becoming the first artist to perform in six stadiums in her native country.

Shakira will return to Mexico for 13 encore performances in the region

In addition to Mexico and Colombia, the Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran Tour visited Brazil, Peru, Argentina and Chile, generating major boosts to the local economies.

The Mexico residency reportedly generated around 5.5 billion pesos (approximately $275 million), while her two-night stand in Guadalajara had an economic impact of 900 million pesos (€42 million).

In Colombia, hotel occupancy rates soared to 95% in cities like Barranquilla, Medellín, and Bogotá.

The tour also sparked major travel activity, with a 41.5% increase in flight demand and a 47% spike in accommodation searches across platforms like Despegar. In Argentina, searches to attend the show skyrocketed by 400%.

Next month, the WME-repped act embarks on her retooled US and Canada leg, which visits cities such as Charlotte, Montreal, Toronto, Miami, Los Angeles, Las Vegas and more, before wrapping up on 30 June in San Francisco at Oracle Park.

She’ll then return to Latin America for 13 encore performances in Mexico and two in Peru.

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Dua Lipa has revealed the Latin America leg of her global Radical Optimism Tour.

The singer-songwriter, who is represented by CAA for North and South America, will play stadium shows across Argentina, Chile, Brazil, Peru, Colombia and Mexico this autumn.

The eight-show run kicks off on 7 November in Buenos Aires, Argentina at Estadio River Plate and will wrap up with two back-to-back performances in Mexico City, Mexico at Estadio GNP Seguros on 1-2 December. The artist presale begins on 7 April, with the general sale to commence on 10 April.

The dates expand the 29-year-old’s global tour to 77 dates, also encompassing Asia, Australia, New Zealand, Europe and North America.

The full list of Latin American dates to be announced is as follows:

7 November: Buenos Aires, Argentina – Estadio River Plate

11 November: Santiago, Chile – Estadio Nacional

15 November: São Paulo, Brazil – MorumBIS Stadium

22 November: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil – Estádio Nilton Santos

25 November: Lima, Peru – Estadio San Marcos

28 November: Bogotá, Colombia – Estadio El Campín

1-2 December: Mexico City, Mexico – Estadio GNP Seguros

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One million people have attended Shakira’s record-breaking Latin American stadium tour so far, according to promoter Ocesa.

The Colombian star has completed 18 concerts on this leg of her Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran Tour and still has 12 left to go – including four newly added Mexico dates in August and September.

They include an eighth show at the GNP Seguros Stadium in Mexico City on August 29, as well as dates at Corregidora Stadium in Querétaro (2 September), Akron Stadium in Guadalajara (6 September) and Cuauhtémoc Stadium in Puebla (12 September).

This brings her total number of Mexico shows up to 15 and includes a record-breaking seven-night run at GNP Seguros Stadium in Mexico City, which she is currently in the midst of.

With this feat, the 38-year-old surpasses shows by other international figures such as Paul McCartney, Metallica, Coldplay, and Taylor Swift.

The singer earned $32.9 million from 282,000 tickets sold in February

The Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran Tour kicked off on 11 February in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and has so far visited six countries in Latin America. The Mexico City residency will be followed by one date in the Dominican Republic and more shows in Chile and Colombia.

Last month, Shakira was forced to postpone two shows: Estadio Atanasio Girardot in Medellín, Colombia on 24 February due to safety concerns and Estadio Nacional in Lima, Peru on 16 February after being hospitalised with an abdominal issue.

Despite that, the singer topped Billboard’s monthly Top Tours chart for the first time, earning $32.9 million from 282,000 tickets sold in February.

Earlier this month, it was revealed that Shakira’s two-night stand in the Mexican city of Guadalajara had an economic impact of 900 million pesos (€42 million).

The WME-repped act will embark on her retooled US and Canada leg, produced by Live Nation, on 13 May. Stops include Charlotte, Montreal, Toronto, Miami, Los Angeles, Las Vegas and more, before wrapping up on 30 June in San Francisco at Oracle Park.

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Live Nation president/CFO Joe Berchtold says the company’s talks with streaming services highlights the “critical” importance of tickets in the modern business.

LN boss Michael Rapino recently confirmed discussions with Spotify, as well as Apple and Amazon, amid reports that Spotify is considering adding access to presale tickets as a tenet of its rumoured super-premium subscription tier.

In addition, Ticketmaster announced a partnership with SoundCloud that will enable artists to list and manage their live events on the streaming platform.

Speaking yesterday (5 March) in a fireside chat at Morgan Stanley’s Technology, Media & Telecom Conference in California, Berchtold suggested the fact the services were targeting ticketing served as validation of how “critically important the ticket is”.

“That’s a pretty strong statement in today’s world that very diverse technology media companies are focused on the value of the ticket,” he said. “When people say, ‘We want tickets,’ we say, ‘That’s great, we’d love to talk to you.'”

“The conversations now are over an entire cycle… It’s a much more strategic, long-term discussion”

The 40-minute interview also saw Berchtold share his thoughts on the growth of the live industry and the complexities of plotting world tours.

“We have a business that has no barriers,” he said. “The big transformation that we’ve talked about over the last 10, 15, 20 years is the artist is now making all their money on the road. So they need to tour, married with the fact that these digital platforms mean that – through TikTok, through Instagram – every fan, every 15-year-old girl in the world is listening to Beyoncé at the same time. So we have global latent demand.”

He continued: “Coming out of Covid, we invested much more in a central team that is responsible for working with the artists and saying, ‘We can talk about the 40 shows in North America, but really, let’s talk about the three-year plan, because we have the North America run, the Latin America run, the Asia run and the Europe run, the festival run in the US, the festival run in Europe…

“‘Let’s map out the next three years. When do you want to work? Do you have kids [and] want to take summers off? How do we sequence it? When are you releasing new music? How do we integrate that in?’ The conversations now are over an entire cycle… So it’s a much more strategic, long-term discussion, because we built that organisation centrally that has that capability.”

Ticket prices were another area of concern, with Berchtold addressing the thought process when it comes to pricing the house.

“Almost every artist says the same thing: ‘I want any fan to be able to afford to get into the building,'” he said. “That doesn’t mean that they can afford to buy the front row, but it means they can buy a ticket and get in. So the increased sophistication on pricing is letting us start with, ‘What does that artist want to make?’ And then, ‘Okay, so now how are we going to price the back of the house?'”

“We are now positioned to do things we couldn’t have done 15 years ago”

By pricing the best seats higher, Berchtold said artists could both combat the secondary market while subsidising an increased number of lower priced tickets. He noted that over 4,000 tickets per date for Beyoncé’s tour were priced $75, with 14,000 tickets costing $110 or less.

“[Artists are thinking], ‘how do I scale the rest of the house so I achieve my objective of what I want to make, knowing that those tickets are still giving good value to the fans?'” he continue. “They’re saying, ‘I can sell [a fifth row ticket] for $300 and know that the scalpers are just going to figure out how to get that ticket… [So] I can price it at $1,000 because that will let me have another couple of hundred tickets at $75.’

“They’re not looking at it and just saying, ‘How do I get the most?’ They’re saying, ‘How do I balance all the pieces to get what I need, while still serving a lot of fans in terms of making it accessible to them?'”

Berchtold praised Live Nation’s Latin America business as a “big contributor” to its growth, noting that its acquisition of Ocesa, which was completed in 2021, “fundamentally changed our position in those markets”.

“We are now positioned to do things we couldn’t have done 15 years ago,” he said.

“We want to go where the demand exists, but buildings don’t exist”

On the flipside, Berchtold pointed out that employing a “hyperlocal” strategy in the US had been key to growing its fanbase in its traditional heartland.

“We’re expanding the market and building that fanbase in more local areas,” he said. “It’s the same underlying dynamic. It means we can go to Buenos Aires with Coldplay… and we can go with the new alt rock band and play in six spots between San Diego to LA.”

Referencing its new 20-year agreement to operate Finland’s Helsinki Halli, as well as other venue projects in Europe and South America, Berchtold outlined Live Nation’s venue strategy.

“We want to go to where the market isn’t,” he stressed. “We’re not going to go compete in the US and try to build an arena and compete against billionaire NBA owners. We want to go where the demand exists, but buildings don’t exist.”

And in the wake of “live music’s biggest year yet”, Berchtold added: “We’ve now sold over 70 million tickets for shows this year and expectation of double digit AOI growth continues, even with the currency fluctuation. So we’re feeling very good overall.”

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Loud and Live chief Nelson Albareda says Latin music is entering a new phase of its evolution as the Miami-headquartered promoter toasts another stellar year of touring.

The live events, media, marketing, and entertainment firm reports a record 2024, producing more than 200 shows across the Americas and Europe with leading and emerging Latin artists.

Acts included Becky G, Camilo, El Alfa, Gilberto Santa Rosa, Jhayco, Jay Wheeler, Kany Garcia, Laura Pausini, Luis Fonsi, Chyno y Nacho, Jesus Adrian Romero, George Harris, Natalia Jimenez, Ruben Blades and Silvestre Dangond, among others, and Albareda tells IQ the scene has witnessed growth in the variety of genres.

“Where urban was the dominant and successful genre [in Latin music] in the last few years, now you need to follow the consumer trends more closely and be more strategic with the artists and genres that are resonating based on the constantly evolving consumer demand,” he suggests. “These challenges, among others, are forcing us to work harder to drive tickets sales and pushing us to partner more collaboratively with the artist, management and the labels to make sure we’re working closely on the marketing campaigns, choosing the right markets, the right ticket prices and the right timing.”

Loud and Live also successfully expanded its touring business into Europe, taking Dominican singer Juan Luis Guerra to new markets including Spain, the Netherlands and Switzerland.

“We don’t think the Latin music explosion is plateauing; however, it is evolving beyond the more recently dominant urban genre,” reasons Albareda. “For example, we’ve being seeing the resurgence of salsa music for some time now, and that’s more evident today when you see artists like Rauw Alejandro and Bad Bunny integrating salsa sounds and roots into their latest albums.

“In Loud And Live’s case, we continue to bet on salsa, working with legendary artists like Gilberto Santa Rosa and Ruben Blades, as well as emerging artists like Christian Alicea, who we manage booking and touring for.”

“The post-pandemic touring boom, where you saw a historic number of artists have successful global tours at the same time, clearly slowed down in 2024”

Loud and Live also presented the second edition of its Country Bay Music Festival on the grounds of Miami Marine Stadium in November. The country music event featured the likes of Carrie Underwood, Zac Brown Band, Diplo featuring Thomas Wesley, Chase Rice, Duston Lynch and Chris Janson.

“Over the two days, the festival drew over 20,000 fans to Miami and had a record number of partner sponsors,” says Albareda.

Nevertheless, the CEO notes the live business as a whole has had to navigate tricky waters over the past 12 months.

“The post-pandemic touring boom, where you saw a historic number of artists have successful global tours at the same time, clearly slowed down in 2024 as consumers were being more selective on where they spend for live entertainment,” he says.

“Although we think demand will slowly come back after a weaker 2024, we will continue to keep a close eye on evolving musical trends and consumer demands, and being more deliberate and selective with the artists we work with and the tours we produce through 2025.”

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Move Concerts founder Phil Rodriguez has hailed the stadium concert boom as the business gears up for another huge year.

Acts including Coldplay, Oasis, Dua Lipa, AC/DC, Lana Del Rey, Shakira, Ed Sheeran, Guns N’Roses, Linkin Park, Imagine Dragons, Billy Joel, My Chemical Romance, Olivia Rodrigo, Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band are all set for next year’s outdoor circuit.

The list also includes the likes of Robbie Williams, Kendrick Lamar & SZA, Stereophonics, System of a Down, Catfish and the Bottlemen, Stray Kids, Sam Fender and Iron Maiden.

“I’m loving all the stadium tours that are going on and coming up in 2025,” Rodriguez tells IQ. “I remember a few years ago one of the worries in our industry was who would be our future stadium headliners. That’s been answered.”

“We had some great shows in 2024, but I must highlight our tour dates with Iron Maiden – they’re bigger than ever in our markets”

Memorable concerts over the past 12 months for Florida-headquartered Move, which is Latin America’s largest independent promoter, include Iron Maiden’s The Future Past Tour.

Rodriguez marvels at the legendary metal band’s enduring appeal in the region, as well as the growing popularity of another British group, Keane, who played arena headline dates in Brazil, Argentina, Colombia, Peru, Chile and Uruguay.

“We had some great shows in 2024, but I must highlight our tour dates with Iron Maiden – they’re bigger than ever in our markets,” he says. “We had stadium dates selling out in 30 minutes. We’ve worked together for decades, but the speed and volume of sales for this tour were totally unexpected.

“Also, our dates with Keane were not only all sellouts, they doubled the attendance from their last tour – very impressive.”

Move also has offices in Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Peru and Puerto Rico, and Rodriguez notes the “rapid devaluation” of the Brazilian currency, the Real, has provided some cause for consternation.

“We did not expect it to drop as much as it did,” he says. “At the start of 2024 the exchange rate was R$4.85/US$. This month, it is at R$ 6.08/US$ – a 20% devaluation – and it is expected to continue dropping in 2025.”

“Latin music is unquestionably in growth phase. The media ‘hype’ may have settled down, but it is solid and growing”

Nevertheless, Rodriguez insists the market for Latin music remains robust.

“It is unquestionably in growth phase,” he says. “The media ‘hype’ may have settled down, but it is solid and growing.”

Speaking in IQ‘s end-of-year issue, Rodriguez also expressed his admiration for Adele’s “historic” August concert residency in Germany, which saw the singer perform 10 nights at a bespoke 73,000-capacity pop-up stadium in Munich.

“The whole concept of a temporary venue and residency was ambitious, but the execution was flawless,” he says. “I have no doubt this will be a model that may be duplicated in different ways and/or scale in the future.”

Looking ahead to next year, Rodriguez says 2025 is “looking good” for the firm, adding his ambitions are simply “for our Move Concerts family to enjoy good health, continue to have fun doing what we do and to keep our numbers growing”.

“So far, we have a solid number of shows lined up,” he concludes. “Those announced include Katy Perry dates – that kicked off strong – and we’re also partnering on Ado with Concerts West, who quite frankly, convinced us to take the risk with them, and sales kicked off beyond our expectations.”

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Competing with last year’s record edition of Corona Capital was no small feat but lead talent buyer Ricardo Gómez says Mexico’s biggest festival is on an upward trajectory.

The 14th edition of the Ocesa-promoted festival took place last week (15–17 November) at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez racetrack in Mexico City.

The Friday drew 74,000 attendees for performances from the likes of Green Day, Toto and Zedd, while the Saturday attracted 69,000 for a lineup headlined by Shawn Mendes, Melanie Martinez and New Order.

Thanks to a headline set by Paul McCartney, the Sunday drew the largest number of attendees in the history of Corona Capital with nearly 82,000 people. It marked the ex-Beatle’s debut at a Latin American music festival and the grand finale of his tour in the region.

“Having a legend like Paul McCartney playing in the festival was nothing short of a dream come true for many of us,” Gómez told IQ.

“There is an amazing team behind Corona Capital and every year we look for opportunities to improve and ask ourselves how can we make the festival better?” he adds. “Based on the overall experience this year and the feedback we’ve received so far, it seems that we’re moving in the right direction.”

Though Corona Capital is going from strength to strength, the talent buyer is candid about the current challenges in the festival landscape.

“Having a legend like Paul McCartney playing in the festival was nothing short of a dream come true for many of us”

“Although 2023 was a record year for us, we had many important lessons to learn this year, from pricing to bookings, schedules, profitability, marketing, etc,” he says.

“Nowadays, the way most artists approach festival performances from a production perspective is particularly challenging. In the past most non-headliners would feel comfortable sharing a common festival rider. Now every artist from top to bottom wants their own rider for their performance. While we understand that they want to deliver the best possible show for their fans and maximize the event’s success, finding the right balance can be difficult.”

It’s perhaps these challenges that have led to Ocesa hitting pause on sister event Corona Capital Guadalajara, as well as Tecate Coordenada – also based in Guadalajara.

As Ocesa’s head of festivals, Leizer Guss, told IQ earlier this year, the company is “reassessing” its vast stable of events.

“I think we are getting to that saturation point,” said Guss. “Is that saturation point because of festivals or because of festivals plus shows? We are figuring it out. Either way, we’ll take a step back and won’t launch any new festivals in Mexico City next year.

“We’ll also take a very close look at our existing festivals and ask ‘Is this really an annual thing or is it bi-annual or a once-off when the conditions are right’?”

The Live Nation-backed promoter organises 23 festivals across the country including ARRE, Vive Latino, Hera and Coca-Cola Flow Fest – which is taking place this weekend.

Closing the chapter on this year’s Corona Capital, Gómez says: “We’re extremely lucky to have such an amazing group of extremely hard-working people behind the festival, who are so committed and passionate about what they do. Without them Corona Capital wouldn’t be where it is today.”

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To celebrate the hard work of the numerous independent operators that make the live entertainment industry such a vibrant – and growing – business worldwide, IQ is publishing its inaugural Indie Champions list.

Our shortlist of 20 companies were chosen by the IQ readership and have headquarters across 11 different nations but service live events the world over, thanks to their various satellite offices and the artists and partners they work with.

The Indie Champions will become an annual staple of IQ, so if your company did not make it onto this year’s debut list, fear not, as you have a full ten months to prove your credentials to friends, colleagues, and business partners ahead of next year’s nomination process.

IQ will continue to publish entries across all categories over the coming days, and you can find the whole cohort in the latest edition of IQ here. Find part one here and part two here.

LS Events (UK)
Launched in 2004 by Jim King and later joined by Dave Grindle, Loud Sound made its name in the UK festival industry. In 2016, it welcomed Steve Reynolds to the business and has since been able to diversify across a wide range of sectors. Now a 40-strong team with a freelance network of 1,500, the company delivers event excellence across core sectors of live entertainment, sports, public sector, and major ceremonies.

“Our foundations continue to inform a culture of development and personal growth that empowers our employees to thrive,” says co-CEO Grindle. “We have taken time to think about the way that we operate to ensure that our systems and policies are meaningful. We continuously evaluate the ways in which we can support our teams, both professionally and personally. This commitment to looking after our greatest asset – our people – enables us to be adaptable to the ever-changing landscape of events.

The LS client list includes AEG Presents, UEFA, The Greater London Authority, Formula E, LIV Golf, and Pride in London

“Drawing on our expertise, we have refined our creative/operational processes to offer clients unmatched insight when curating, producing, and delivering their event stories. Our commitment to excellence is underpinned by extensive ISO accreditations, which not only hold us accountable to continual improvement but also ensure that we operate to the highest possible standards.”

The LS client list includes AEG Presents, UEFA, The Greater London Authority, Formula E, LIV Golf, and Pride in London.

Marauder (US)
Rev. Moose and his partners formed Marauder in 2015 “to work with people in music who fell between the cracks of the existing American industry.” These were people primarily based outside the US and had needs American companies weren’t set up to handle.

“So many Americans focus on one specific need rather than addressing a project’s overall goals,” notes Moose. “With Marauder, we’re set up to process what each client wants to achieve and create a complete marketing campaign based on what will actually advance a project.”

“What separates Marauder from other companies with similar services is our intention to build through service”

Since its inception, Marauder has worked to give a voice to those supporting their own music ecosystems. This mentality was the catalyst for bringing Independent Venue Week to the US in 2015, which became integral in creating the National Independent Venue Association (NIVA).

Marauder’s core work revolves around building marketing strategies for companies and programmes and executing those ideas in a way that meets their goals. “What separates Marauder from other companies with similar services is our intention to build through service,” says Moose.

“All of our clients, in one way or another, are working to better their communities. We have the market knowledge and professional connections to create meaningful programmes for our clients while focusing on everyone’s core business needs.”

MCT Agentur (DE)
MCT was formed in 1984 by Die Toten Hosen manager Jochen Hülder, Rough Trade Booking Germany chief Dietrich Eggert, and tour manager Scumeck Sabottka. The trio decided to start their own company so that they could not only promote the acts they liked but also “make some real money.”

Sabottka tells IQ, “We were naive and signed deals with experienced agents in the UK that meant we only saw the downside, so in 1986, Dietrich left the company, and we nearly went broke. But I found new partners, parted ways with Jochen, and got new cash into the company.”

However, Sabottka later relied on other independent promoters to keep MCT running. “In the early 1990s, I contacted Marcel Avram through Gary Kurfirst (manager of the Ramones, who we promoted), and he sent his bagman, Bruce Glatman, who brokered for MAMA Concerts and Rau to become majority partners in MCT. I moved to Munich, and we started to make money. So, in early 2000, I bought the shares back from Marcel and Fritz [Rau] and have been independent since.”

“I bought the shares back and have been independent since”

In addition to being concert and tour promoters, MCT (which is now based in Berlin), acts as an agency, as well as managing a number of acts. The company promotes Rammstein in the European Union and Robbie Williams in Germany; it manages Yasmine Hamdan and Die Antwoord; and it is the EU agent for Marilyn Manson, Gus Gus, Hatari, and VÖK.

Its promoting roster also includes Björk, Massive Attack, Moby, New Order, Radiohead, Florence and the Machine, Pearl Jam, Janelle Monae, Four Tet, Beth Gibbons, Okay Kaya, Charlotte Day Wilson, L ́Impératrice, Trentemøller, Gorillaz, Tom Waits, and Tamino.

This year, MCT’s team of 20 full-time staff promoted around 30 Rammstein stadium shows, selling 1.3m tickets in the process. It also sold out shows for Beth Gibbons in Berlin, a Die Antwoord European tour, and sold out Marilyn Manson’s European tour in February 2025.

Mercury Concerts (BR)
Following T4F’s IPO in 2011, Jose Muniz ended his 12-year tenure at the business and went on to join XYZ Live, a company owned by media empire ABC group, which seemed to be a
good project with lots of potential. However, after one year, it tanked, and he decided it was time to bring back Mercury Concerts – a company he founded in 1980 before selling to OCESA in 2000.

After the Mercury relaunch in 2014, the first tour saw Guns N’ Roses playing 14 dates across South America. Other acts promoted by the company include KISS, Aerosmith, Rush, Ozzy Osbourne, Bon Jovi, David Gilmour, Deep Purple, Scorpions, Judas Priest, Megadeth, and Pearl Jam.

Mercury’s Monsters of Rock festival will celebrate its 30th anniversary next year

Unsurprisingly, given that roster of talent, Mercury is also the owner of Monsters Of Rock in the region, which has now expanded to Argentina, Chile, Colombia, and Mexico, and will celebrate its 30th anniversary next year.

With 15 personnel running operations between Orlando and Brazil, Mercury also relies on business with similar infrastructure in other countries, meaning it can offer clients a full team on the road, from day one till the last show of the run, making sure the artists are comfortable with the same level of production in every city of the tour.

Move Concerts (US)

Move Concerts was formed ten years ago in what was essentially a rebranding and restructuring of promoter Phil Rodriguez’s various enterprises, Water Brother Productions, Evenpro Group, and XYZ.

Move has five verticals: concert promotions, artist management, record label, publishing, and an Argentine ticketing company, Livepass. “The artist management, label, and publishing were born during the Covid years, when the live touring business shut down and many of us looked at what else we could do with our resources,” explains Rodriguez. “These were a new challenge for us, but all three are growing at a relatively fast clip, and we have a licensing deal with Warner Latin that is very strong and healthy and will allow our label and management to grow faster.”

On the concerts side, Move works with numerous artists, including Ed Sheeran and Iron Maiden, who have strong fanbases in Latin America, thanks to longstanding relationships with Rodriguez and his company.

Move Concerts will end 2024 with more than 1.1m tickets sold

With offices throughout Latin America and a HQ in Miami, Move Concerts has 53 full-time staff and will end 2024 with more than 1.1m tickets sold.

Noting 2024 tours with Iron Maiden, Paul McCartney, and Karol G, Rodriguez adds, “We had a chance to work with Ne-Yo for the first time this year, and his show is amazing. We’re also doing the LatAm leg for Keane, who are celebrating the 20th anniversary of their debut album, Hopes and Fears, and they’re selling stronger than ever – we had arena dates sell out on the on-sale.”

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International advocacy organisation Global Citizen is set to stage its first large-scale festival in Latin America, it has been revealed.

Global Citizen Festival: Amazonia will take place at the Estádio Olímpico do Pará in Belém, Brazil in November 2025 during COP30. Further information will be announced in the coming months.

First held in 2012, the festival is the world’s longest-running global campaign calling for an end to extreme poverty. The event will mark the culmination of the charity’s latest initiative, Power Our Planet: Take Action Now, which was announced during the Global Citizen NOW: Rio de Janeiro action summit on the eve of the 2024 G20 Meetings in Brazil.

The year-long campaign is calling on world leaders and the private sector to protect the earth, starting with ending deforestation, accelerating a just energy transition, and supporting communities on the frontlines of climate change.

“The issues of climate change and extreme poverty are two sides of the same coin,” says Hugh Evans, co-founder and CEO of Global Citizen. “The climate crisis could push 100 million more people into poverty in the next five years, and 10 years on from the Paris Agreement, we are not seeing the bold ambition needed from political leaders to stop rising temperatures leading to that decline.

“Together, we will mark 10 years since the Paris Agreement with a landmark event that sets the world on a transformative path”

“The only solution is action now — the next 12 months will be vital for securing new funding and radical policy change, and we’ll campaign to ensure it happens.”

Global Citizen Festival: Amazonia is presented by Banco do Brasil and organising partner Re:wild, alongside policy partners Open Society Foundations and Bezos Earth Fund.

“We are proud of Global Citizen’s Power Our Planet campaign, and to host Global Citizen Festival: Amazonia in Belém next November — the first ever impact concert in the rainforest — with the ambitious goal of raising $1 billion and driving forward the climate justice agenda,” says Brazil president Luiz Inácio Lula Da Silva. “Together, we will mark 10 years since the Paris Agreement with a landmark event that sets the world on a transformative path toward a more sustainable and just future.”

Post Malone, Doja Cat, Jelly Roll and Rauw Alejandro headlined this year’s Global Citizen Festival in New York on Central Park’s Great Lawn in September.

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Live Nation and subsidiary DF Entertainment have secured a 40-year deal to operate Buenos Aires’ Luna Park in Argentina.

The companies won an auction to manage the 92-year-old, 8,400-capacity arena in the downtown San Nicolás neighbourhood, and will invest US$34 million (€32m) to increase the venue’s capacity to 13,000 – rivalling the city’s 15,000-cap Movistar Arena.

The agreement is for an initial 20 years, with an option to extend it for a further 20 years. According to La Politica, the firms will pay the stadium owners a $1m premium and guarantee a minimum of $1m in annual profit.

Since 2013, Luna Park has been owned by two branches of the catholic church. International acts to perform at the indoor arena in recent times include Placebo, Interpol, and 5 Seconds of Summer.

Live Nation bought a majority stake in DF Entertainment in 2018

Buenos Aires-based DF was founded in August 2015 by leading promoter Diego Finkelstein. Live Nation bought a majority stake in the company in 2018.

DF, which runs Lollapalooza Argentina, inked an exclusive multi-year deal to promote concerts at Buenos Aires’ River Plate Stadium, aka the ‘Monumental’, in 2023.

It also sold out an unprecedented 10 nights at the 65,000-cap stadium with Coldplay in 2022, staged Taylor Swift’s first ever concerts Argentina last year and is collaborating on Oasis’ upcoming reunion gigs at the venue on 15-16 November.

The next edition of Lollapalooza Argentina, meanwhile, is slated for 21-23 March 2025 at San Isidro Racecourse, also in Buenos Aires. Headliners include Justin Timberlake, Alanis Morissette, Shawn Mendes, Tool, Olivia Rodrigo, Rüfüs Du Sol and Tan Bionica.

Read our lowdown on the Argentina market from IQ‘s 2024 Global Arena Guide here.

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