Portugal’s competition authority has greenlit Live Nation’s acquisition of Lisbon’s MEO Arena, along with promoter Ritmos e Blues (Rhythm & Blues).

It was revealed in April last year that Live Nation was purchasing a majority stake in the venue’s owner Arena Atlântico and subsidiaries including ticketing company Blueticket, in addition to an “indirect controlling stake” in Ritmos e Blues.

The deal was held up by an in-depth investigation by regulator Autoridade da Concorrência (AdC), but has now been cleared, more than 18 months on, after LN proposed “adequate, sufficient, proportionate and feasible” commitments to address potential competition law concerns.

The 20,000-cap MEO Arena opened in 1998 for the Expo 98 World Trade Fair and has hosted superstar acts such as Harry Styles, Dua Lipa, Adele, André Rieu and Travis Scott.

“Lisbon is one of Europe’s most exciting capitals, and we’re honoured to be part of its cultural fabric,” says John Reid, president of Live Nation EMEA. “With this investment, we’re committed to bringing more shows to Portugal, supporting the local economy and creating incredible experiences for fans.”

Ritmos e Blues, which was founded in 1990 by Nuno Braamcamp and Álvaro Ramos, has promoted concerts by the likes of Whitney Houston, Bruce Springsteen, Michael Jackson, Prince, U2 and the Rolling Stones, and was part of the consortium that controlled Arena Atlântico.

“MEO Arena is known nationally and internationally for hosting Portugal’s major shows and events”

LN, whose partnership with the firm dates back to 2011, is also active in Portugal in the promotion of the Rock in Rio Lisbon festival through its Better World subsidiary, and holds a stake in the Rolling Loud festival.

AdC says the commitments put forward by LN include a guarantee of “effective freedom of choice of the ticketing company by the promoter who uses the services of MEO Arena”.

Following the deal, renovations are planned at MEO Arena to upgrade premium seating, skyboxes, dressing rooms and concessions, while Live Nation will also build on current sustainability efforts – focusing on reducing its environmental impact and increasing social benefits in line with its Green Nation pledges.

“MEO Arena is known nationally and internationally for hosting Portugal’s major shows and events,” adds MEO Arena CEO Jorge Vinha da Silva. “With this deal we want to build on the arena’s reputation as a cultural destination, and we feel that Live Nation is the right strategic partner to achieve this. I am really excited to enter this new era, not only for MEO Arena but also for Portugal.”

Daily operations at the venue will remain under its current leadership team, supported by Live Nation’s global network, with the acquisition expected to be finalised in late 2024/early 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.

Lisbon’s Altice Arena will revert to its former name after more than six years, according to local media reports.

The 21,000-cap venue, which is the largest indoor arena in Portugal, is set to become the Meo Arena from 1 February for the first time since 2017.

An official source for telecoms company Altice tells JE Portugal the move had been planned for more than a year.

“At the end of 2022, we began work to reposition our commercial brands,” says the source. “As music is a territory that the Meo brand conquered several years ago, continuing to be part of the communication strategy, it makes perfect sense for Meo to once again give the name to the biggest arena in our country.”

Built in 1998, the venue was originally called Pavilhão Atlântico and recorded the best financial results in its 25-year history in 2022, closing the year with more than €16 million in revenue.

“Portugal seems to now be a trendy place for tourists, which is great because they have more money to spend than the locals themselves”

Its upcoming concerts include Laura Pausini, Depeche Mode, Korn, The World of Hans Zimmer, Dave Matthews Band, Thirty Seconds to Mars and Olivia Rodrigo. It will also host the Evil Live heavy metal festival from 29-30 June, which will feature the likes of Avenged Sevenfold, Megadeth and Machine Head.

Live Nation’s bid to purchase a majority stake in the arena’s owner, Arena Atlântico, is currently the subject of an in-depth investigation by Portugal’s Competition Authority.

Altice’s Meo brand also sponsors Lisbon’s Meo Kalorama festival, which will feature acts including LCD Soundsystem, Massive Attack, Sam Smith, Jungle, Peggy Gou, The Postal Service, The Smile and Death Cab for Cutie from 29-31 August.

According to IQ‘s Global Promoters Report 2023, Portugal registered a record number of foreign visitors in the first half of last year (nearly 8.2m foreigners stayed in Portuguese hotels in the period, up from 6.3m a year ago and 7.4m in the first six months of 2019), leading to major benefits for the live entertainment sector.

“Portugal seems to now be a trendy place for tourists, which is great because they have more money to spend than the locals themselves,” said António Cunha, general manager of promoter UGURU.

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.

Not content with breaking Muse’s attendance record at The O2, Metallica have smashed box-office records across the continent with the first half of the European leg of their WorldWired tour.

The tour kicked off with two record-smashing shows at the Ziggo Dome (17,000-cap.) arena in Amsterdam in September, attracting 16,853 and 16,856 fans on 4 and 6 September, respectively, before continuing to break attendance records at Paris’s AccorHotels Arena (18,896), Cologne’s Lanxess Arena (18,446 and 18,483), London’s The O2 (22,211), Glasgow’s SSE Hydro (13,111), Manchester Arena (20,048), Birmingham’s Genting Arena (15,604) and Antwerp’s Sportpaleis (22,616 and 22,626).

A total of 262,690 people have attended so far.

The Live Nation-promoted European leg of the WorldWired tour – its 11th and last – continues until May 2018, resuming at Lisbon’s MEO Arena (20,000-cap.) on 1 February.

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.

The MEO Arena, Portugal’s biggest indoor arena and the joint-sixth-largest in Europe, is undergoing a revamp of its acoustics.

Owner-operator Arena Atlântico says the project, which relies “exclusively on Portugese know-how”, aims to reduce reverberation time in the arena’s main hall by 50%.

The work will be undertaken by acoustic specialist Jocavi, architect Regino Cruz and the arena’s technical team and involve the installation of a surrounding absorbing element around the hall’s perimeter, acoustic panels in certain areas of the technical towers and thousands of small absorbing panels in the stands.

“This is the first step in our continuous effort to bring the acoustics of the hall to its very best”

Phase one of the project, which will aim initially to reduce reverberation by between 28% and 33%, will be completed in two months, with phase two to follow after its completion and testing. The work will not affect upcoming concerts or events.

Arena Atlântico CEO Jorge Vinha da Silva says the renovation is “the first step in our continuous effort to bring the acoustics of the hall to its very best”.

The MEO, as part of the European Arenas Association (EAA), had a positive 2015, with a total attendance of 14,030,355 across the group’s entire membership.