European festival bosses are reporting encouraging ticket sales for this summer as events adapt their offerings to keep up with modern trends.

Czechia’s Rock for People has upped the capacity of Park 360 in Hradec Kralove by 25% to 50,o00 for 2025. Guns N’ Roses, Slipknot, Avenged Sevenfold, Linkin Park and Biffy Clyro head its 30th anniversary edition from 11-15 June. It is also planning an exhibition celebrating three decades of the festival along with special programming to mark the milestone.

“Sales are very strong this year,” the gathering’s programme and marketing director Luděk Motyčka tells IQ. “A few months before the festival, we have sold out all categories of four-day tickets and also all Saturday tickets. We are also seeing a growing interest in local and non-English speaking artists.

“Another significant opportunity is working with new artists and developing them, as some of the newcomers have experienced a meteoric rise in popularity.”

Rock for People is also adding a new stage focused on up and coming talent and has expanded its offering of glamping accommodation, with Motyčka observing an increased demand for enhanced “experiences, services and comfort”.

“Premium campsites sold out in 20 minutes, and demand for premium tickets has more than doubled,” he reports.

“Visitors are also more discerning when it comes to dining, they expect a more varied and quality offering – we are increasing the ratio of vegan and vegetarian meals each year. Also, we have introduced a non-alcoholic bar with mixed drinks and non-alcoholic wine.”

“While there’s still strong interest in classic pillars like rock, we’re seeing growing openness to other genres”

Ticket sales are also progressing well at Spain’s 40,000-cap Bilbao BBK Live, which will welcome headliners Kylie Minogue, Pulp, Michael Kiwanuka, Bad Gyal and Raye to Kobetamendi from 10-12 July. Eva Castillo, director of communications for promoter Last Tour, says the new Bono Cuadrilla promotion – which provides six tickets for the price of five – has been particularly well received.

“We’re seeing a positive response, especially for full passes and new formats,” she says.

New features include the launch of late-night club concept GORRIA, with programming curated by collectives like Nítido, En1gma and JUGO3000, while the Basoa forest rave stage is returning to its original circular layout.

“We’re also strengthening our efforts around sustainability and diversity, both in the lineup and the festival environment,” adds Castillo. “We aim to offer a complete cultural experience that goes beyond the concerts.”

Also on the bill are the likes of Alice Phoebe Lou, Amyl And The Sniffers, Bicep presents Chroma AV, The Blessed Madonna presents We Still Believe, Jalen Ngonda, Jessica Pratt, L’impératrice, Makaya McCraven, Nathy Peluso, Obongjayar, Sofie Royer and Wunderhorse.

“Audience tastes have diversified significantly,” notes Castillo. “While there’s still strong interest in classic pillars like rock, we’re seeing growing openness to other genres such as electronic music, emerging pop, and hybrid proposals.

“We’re also noticing that people no longer attend solely for the lineup: they value the setting, the festival narrative, the values it represents, and the chance to discover new artists. Audiences are looking for authentic experiences, emotional connection, and proposals with a clear identity.”

“The sense of community is really strong amongst the public which make them super-keen to attend”

It’s a similar story for Finland’s Flow Festival (cap. 30,000), which will bring Charli XCX, Fontaines D.C., FKA Twigs, Little Simz, Air, Khruangbin, Bicep and Beth Gibbons, among others, to Helsinki between 8-10 August. Artistic director Tuomas Kallio tells IQ that sales are “very strong – actually better than ever before”.

He reveals the festival area is being expanded for this summer’s incarnation, with the site expanding to the courtyards of the Hanasaari power plant, which hosts the event, for the first time. The area will serve as the backdrop for Flow’s biggest DJ/electronic venue Front Yard.

Kallio detects that the Flow audience is getting “even more varied and demographically mixed”.

“As an over 18s-only festival, there are always the new generation of excited young first-timers who just turned 18 and then the Flow veterans who have been going for 20 years and are still going,” he says. “Flow also has a mixture of various subcultures from clubbers to pop fans to foodies or jazz heads that all clash in a positive way.”

Elsewhere in Europe, Switzerland’s Paléo Festival is already a monster success after all 210,000 tickets for 2025 were snapped up last month in just 13 minutes. The Nyon event will host the likes of David Guetta, Queens of the Stone Age, Macklemore, Will Smith, Justice, Simple Minds, Texas, Sex Pistols ft Frank Carter and Skunk Anansie.

“It’s very rewarding to witness the craze and passion of our audience,” says Paléo spokesperson Bastien Bento. “We’re very lucky. It’s hard to decipher for us – I guess the sense of community is really strong amongst the public which make them super-keen to attend.”

“Most festivals need to rethink their business models in order to stay healthy”

Bento details how organisers tinker with the format to keep things fresh – pointing to its Village du Monde project, which is dedicated to Maghreb this year and will showcase 20 artists as well as specific scenography and food and crafts stands from the African region.

“Our lineup this year feels also very eclectic and balanced, so it appeals to a large audience – and the audience reflects this diversity,” he notes. “The preparation is going very well. However, like we usually say internally: just because the stadium is full doesn’t mean the match is already won!”

That is not to say there are no clouds on the horizon for the sector however. Paléo booker Dany Hassenstein notes that in light of the current macroeconomic climate – allied to high headliner fees and production costs – most festivals need to rethink their business models in order to stay healthy and continue offering good value for money.

“This calls for exciting innovations across the industry,” he says. “At the same time, environmental sustainability is becoming an increasingly central concern for the whole events industry.”

Bilbao BBK’s Castillo agrees, adding: “A major challenge is the environmental impact and the need to transform our practices in a real and measurable way. In addition, connecting with new generations demands constant innovation in how we communicate and curate our programmes.”

Kallio acknowledges that rising costs are making life ever-more difficult for the sector, although Flow has been able to ride the storm better than the most.

“Even for Flow it is getting more challenging, but I guess with the very strong fanbase of the brand and sales pattern that breaks records year after year, we might be one of the lucky ones in the industry,” he suggests. “Good overall quality and curation never go out of style.”

“Relying on a single big-name headliner surrounded only by newcomers just doesn’t cut it anymore”

Despite Rock for People’s star-laden bill, Motyčka says a shortage of headline talent due to the popularity of stadium tours is a concern, and also lists challenges relating to the steep rise in production costs, HR costs and artist fees, as well as the impact of the current economic environment.

However, amid the recent ascent of acts such as Travis Scott, Charli XCX, Chappell Roan and Bring Me the Horizon, to name but a few, Hassenstein argues the number of viable headliners is back on an upward trajectory,

“The pool of potential headliners is looking much stronger than it did a few years ago, and it paid off for us in 2025,” he says. “Even though it’s still early, the outlook for 2026 is even more promising.”

Albeit, the overall depth of the programme is of equal importance, adds Hassenstein.

“A strong mix of multiple big names and a diverse lineup across all genres each day is essential,” he contends. “Relying on a single big-name headliner surrounded only by newcomers just doesn’t cut it anymore.”

In conclusion, Castillo is excited about the next evolution of the scene.

“There’s a huge opportunity in rethinking what a festival is and what it can become — turning it into a 360º experience that lives on throughout the year and returns with every new edition,” she finishes. “Embracing more diverse, inclusive and carefully curated proposals allows us to connect with new audiences without losing our loyal base. Digital tools — from data to content creation — help us build community all year round.

“We’re also seeing clear growth in international audiences, opening the door to new collaborations and expansion. Above all, we believe festivals can be platforms for cultural and social impact, with real potential to drive change.”

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Switzerland’s Paléo Festival Nyon has sold out in record time, with all 210,000 tickets gone in just 13 minutes.

“It’s absolutely unreal,” Dany Hassenstein, Paléo’s artistic coordinator and vice president, tells IQ. “I guess there’s no better proof of our strong community or that we’re on the right path.”

The 48th edition of the Nyon-based event will take place on 22-27 July, featuring an eclectic bill based around the theme of “mighty stars, flamboyant riffs and pounding beats”.

David Guetta, Queens of the Stone Age, Macklemore, Will Smith, Justice, Simple Minds, Texas, Sex Pistols ft Frank Carter, Skunk Anansie and more are set to perform.

Paléo Festival Nyon has sold out in advance for 26 years, with exceptionally speedy sellouts in 2024 (21 minutes) and 2023 (40 minutes).

“I guess there’s no better proof of our strong community or that we’re on the right path”

“Our success comes partly from the fact that Paléo is massive in the French-speaking part of Switzerland – bigger than Easter and Christmas,” Hassenstein previously told IQ. “People don’t ask themselves ‘Will I go to Paléo this year?’, they ask themselves ‘Will I be able to get tickets?’. Everybody is ready to buy when we go on sale.”

With a price increase of 5% from last year, a standard day ticket for Paléo 2025 costs 84 francs (€88), while reduced tickets for students, seniors, and unemployed individuals will be available for 69 francs (€72).

Tickets for Wednesday and Sunday are 10 francs extra due to the star-studded lineups featuring Will Smith and Texas, and David Guetta, Rilès, and Nemo.

The festival’s traditional ticket exchange, which is designed to combat the black market, will go live on 2 April, while 1,500 daily tickets will be made available from 9 am on each morning of this year’s event.

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Lollapalooza‘s 2025 lineup is out, with Olivia Rodrigo, Tyler, the Creator, Sabrina Carpenter, Rüfüs Du Sol, Luke Combs, A$AP Rocky, Korn, Gracie Abrams and Doechii topping the bill for the flagship US edition.

Also confirmed are the likes of Dom Dolla, Martin Garrix, Cage the Elephant, Clairo, The Marias, Djo, Dominic Fike, Bleachers, Wallows, T-Pain, Foster the People, Finneas, Royel Otis, Barry Can’t Swim, JPEGMAFIA, Sammy Virji and Chase & Status. Grant Park, Chicago, will host the legendary festival from 31 July to 3 August.

In addition, Switzerland’s Paléo Festival has unveiled the lineup for its 48th edition, based around the theme of “mighty stars, flamboyant riffs and pounding beats”.

Set for 22-27 July, the eclectic bill includes Queens of the Stone Age, Sex Pistols ft. Frank Carter, Macklemore, Will Smith, David Guetta, Justice, Ninho & Niska, SDM, Clara Luciani and Zaho de Sagazan.

Other acts will include Lost Frequencies, Texas, Skunk Anansie, the Lambrini Girls, Simple Minds, Hamza, Rilès, Bamby, Moonchild Sanelly. Julien Doré, Philippe Katerine, Nemo, Charlie Tee, Anetha, Rosa Pistola, Ben Mazué, Jean-Louis Aubert, Pierre Garnier and Santa.

The Netherlands’ Best Kept Secret (13-15 June) has bolstered its programme with 30 new acts. The latest announcement includes Antal, Baby Berserk, Christian Lee Hutson, Cliffords, Daniela Pes, Danilo Plessow (MCDE), Daufødt, Frost Children, Glass Beams, Horsegirl, Iris Jean, Jacob Alon, Kae Tempest, L.A. Sagne, Lael Neale, Long Fling, Lucy Dacus, Maria Iskariot, Merce Lemon, Remy van Kesteren, Rocket, Snapped Ankles, Soulwax, SPELLLING, The Streets, The Vices, They Are Gutting A Body Of Water, Ugly, YĪN YĪN and Youth Lagoon.

Elsewhere, Charli XCX has revealed additional names for her LIDO Festival party girl show in Victoria Park, London, on 14 June. The five-time BRIT Award winner will curate headline the event, backed by hand-selected artists Gesaffelstein, Jodie Harsh, Magdalena May and Yseult. They will join previously announced special guests 070 Shake, A.G Cook, Kelly Lee Owens, The Dare and The Japanese House.

The other LIDO 2025 headliners are Massive Attack (6 June), Jamie xx (7 June) and London Grammar (15 June), as well as Outbreak Fest (13 June).

Scheduled for 8-10 August, Finland’s Flow Festival‘s second wave of acts includes FKA twigs, Little Simz, Air, Underworld, Yung Lean & Bladee, Lola Young, Amaarae, Sam Quealy and Snow Strippers. The Helsinki festival has also added domestic artists Turisti, Ege Zulu, Ruusut, Mirella, Litku Klemetti, Lyttä & Tohtori Getto, Uusi Fantasia, Jore & Zpoppa, Olga, Senya and Aaro630.

Germany’s Nature One (31 July-3 August), which is celebrating 30 years, will bring 350 DJs to Pydna Missile Base in Kastellaun including Charlotte de Witte, Chris Liebing, Eric Prydz, Felix Jaehn, I Hate Models, Paul Van Dyk and Sven Väth.

We are extremely grateful to those who have continuously supported the festival since its inception

Sam Fender, Raye, Fatboy Slim and Becky Hill will headline the 2025 Formula 1 British Grand Prix music lineup, taking place at Silverstone from 3-6 July.

Boomtown Chapter 4: Power of Now (6-10 August) at Hampshire’s Matterley Estate has unveiled its NEXUS stage bill, headed by Bashy, Casisdead, Blanco, MJ Cole Presents: Sincere, Lady Leshurr, Moonchild Sanelly, Rubii, Deyu Does MF Doom, Eva Lazarus, Window Kid and DRS Live.

Meanwhile, POD and Aiken Promotions’ All Together Now, headlined by Fontaines D.C., Nelly Furtado, Bicep Present Chroma AV DJ set and London Grammar has sold out for 2025. The event will be held at Curraghmore Estate, Co Waterford, Ireland, from 31 July to 3 August.

“We are extremely grateful to those who have continuously supported the festival since its inception – our wonderful audience, the thousands of artists, performers, poets and punks who have shared our stages, and all our partners who contribute to the festival’s magic and spirit,” say the ATN team. “We can’t wait to welcome everyone to our sixth chapter, with so much still to be announced, including special guests, new areas and other surprises.”

Curated by the teams behind ATN and Forbidden Fruit, one-day festival In The Meadows is also returning for a second year at the The Royal Hospital, Kilmainham, Dublin, on 7 June, topped by Iggy Pop. The lineup also comprises Slowdive, Billy Nomates, Dr John Cooper Clarke, The Scratch, Gilla Band, Sprints, Warmduscher, Lambrini Girls, Trupa Trupa, Muireann Bradley, Meryl Streek and Really Good Time.

In the US, J. Cole and Dreamville have announced the lineup for Dreamville Festival, which returns to Raleigh, North Carolina on 5-6 April for its fifth and final iteration. Billed as the world’s largest artist-led music festival, it will welcome Lil Wayne with Hot Boys and Big Tymers, as well as 21 Savage to each perform as Saturday headliners, while J. Cole and Erykah Badu will each close out their respective stages on the Sunday night.

It will also feature performances from PartyNextDoor, Chief Keef, Young Nudy, Ab-Soul, Ludacris, Keyshia Cole, Tems, GloRilla, Coco Jones, Wale and BigXthaPlug, among others.

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Paléo’s artistic coordinator and vice president Dany Hassenstein has spoken to IQ about the continued success of the independent Swiss festival.

The 47th edition of the Nyon-based event wrapped yesterday (27 July) after 200+ concerts across six days.

Having sold out in advance for the past 25 years, this year’s event was no exception with 200,000 tickets selling out in just 21 minutes and a further 50,000 sold during the festival.

“It’s spectacular,” Hassenstein tells IQ. “Our success comes partly from the fact that Paléo is massive in the French-speaking part of Switzerland – bigger than Easter and Christmas. People don’t ask themselves ‘Will I go to Paléo this year?’, they ask themselves ‘Will I be able to get tickets?’. Everybody is ready to buy when we go on sale.”

Another reason for Paléo’s sell-out streak is the broad appeal of the programming, which attracts a wide demographic.

“People don’t ask themselves ‘Will I go to Paléo this year?’, they ask themselves ‘Will I be able to get tickets?’

Sam Smith, Burna Boy, Booba, Mika, Sean Paul, Major Lazer Soundsystem, Gazo & Tiakola, PLK, Nile Rodgers & Chic, Patti Smith, The Blaze, Paul Kalkbrenner, Aurora and Royal Blood were among the acts at this year’s festival, which had a budget of CHF31 million (€32.3m).

“In a tiny country like Switzerland, to bring 250,000 people together for six days you need a lot of variety,” says Hassenstein, pointing out that there are also downsides to appealing to the masses.

“If you’re booking a rock festival, then you bring rock acts and the rock audience will be happy,” he explains. “We generate much more frustration with our programming than specialised events. But people also understand every day has to be different because we sell day tickets, not full festival tickets.”

This means the festival is under pressure to book six lineups worthy of standalone events rather than one package and, as Hassenstein points out, “We have to be careful that we don’t get into competition with ourselves with each one”.

Perhaps, the bigger challenge for the non-profit festival is competing with “massively rising” artist fees, particularly for stadium-level headliners.

“Festivals are not considered as important in the development of an artist as they used to be”

To mitigate this, the festival has previously added a seventh day for acts such as Robbie Williams (2015) and Celine Dion (2019), though the latter was ultimately cancelled due to Covid-19.

“We couldn’t afford Williams with a regular festival day so we added a day to the beginning of the festival as the whole infrastructure was already there,” says the Paléo VP.

“Ten years ago, that was an interesting proposition for a stadium act because the gap between a festival fee and a stadium fee wasn’t so big. Now in 2024, even with the possibility of an extra day, the gap is too big.

“Plus, festivals are not considered as important in the development of an artist as they used to be. Artists and management are focused on selling tickets to their own shows.”

A lack of affordable A-list stars has prompted Paléo to take risks on newer, more affordable headliners such as Burna Boy and Rosalía, which have ultimately paid off.

“I’m convinced it isn’t the answer [to alleviating costs]”

“The arrival of new big names is very positive,” notes Hassenstein. “Young festival headliners are breaking very quickly so we need to be reactive and ready to take risks. Sometimes, we need to bank on an up-and-coming name and maybe say no to the fees we might have to raise our ticket prices for.”

Raising ticket prices is something Paléo has rarely resorted to – largely because of the values and bureaucracy associated with being a non-profit organisation. “I can guarantee that if I ask the 150 members of our [non-profit] association to increase the ticket prices, I will get a big fat no,” he says. “It’s not in the interest of our community.”

Even in the current climate where costs are ballooning, Paléo is reluctant to increase margins by passing the costs onto the customers. “I’m convinced it isn’t the answer,” says Hassenstein. “We need to brainstorm and be innovative to come up with solutions.”

A capacity increase is also something organisers are unwilling to do – even though demand for tickets far exceeds the supply – as they are keen to prioritise quality over quantity.

“Our aim is to stay top of the game and continuously offer the quality of infrastructure and acts,” adds Hassenstein.

“We’ve never seen so much of this criminal activity – not just at Paléo but in the wider Swiss industry”

Increasing sponsorship is also not the answer to alleviate soaring costs as “companies do not have the same interest anymore,” according to the artistic coordinator.

“Media revenue could be an idea and is something we might want to share with the artists,” he continues. “Maybe we should be more open to dialogue with labels and artists and managers to see if there is common revenue we could generate to help with artist fees but this is not in the interest of other stakeholders. I think the cost-effectiveness is probably the more interesting way to see things.”

A new and pressing issue for this year’s festival was the “strong increase” in ticket scams, though Paléo’s ticketing offering is almost exclusively digital.

“It’s a nightmare,” says Hassenstein. “People are trying to sell tickets that don’t exist. It’s fraud. We’ve never seen so much of this criminal activity – not just at Paléo but in the wider Swiss industry.”

Though Paléo has hailed yet another banner edition, the VP points out that “its success doesn’t make us immune to the reality of these challenges”.

“It’s tough to be independent in this industry,” he says, “but as long as we have this strong local community and we continue to make strong events, we will survive.”

The 48th edition of Paléo will take place between 22 and 27 July 2025.

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The festival season rolls on this weekend, as IQ returns with our regular preview of what’s going on around Europe.

The UK has a feast of events in store, including Latitude, which runs from 25-28 July in Henham Park, Suffolk. The lineup is headed by Duran Duran, Kasabian, Keane and London Grammar, who are joined on the bill by the likes of Nile Rodgers + Chic, Future Islands, Rag ‘N’ Bone Man, Caity Baser, CMAT, Seasick Steve, Rick Astley, Lottery Winners and The Vaccines.

Also from 25-28 July, Secret Garden Party: Roots will feature more than 350 artists including Unkle, Crystal Fighters, Ren, Chinchilla, Franky Wah, Carly Wilford, Adelphi Music Factory, Jakkob, Omega Nebula, Technobrass and TC & The Groove.

The Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire-based independent event made headlines earlier this week after announcing it will have its main stage set ablaze on Saturday night, symbolising the finale of the event in its current form and a call for change in the UK festival sector.

WOMAD Festival in Charlton Park, Malmesbury, is topped by Young Fathers, Sampa the Great, Alison Goldfrapp, Alborosie, Abadou & Mariam, Gogol Bordello and Baaba Maal between 25-28 July.

Truck Festival will grace Hill Farm, Oxfordshire, from 26-28 July. Topped by Jamie T, Wet Leg and The Streets, the lineup also includes acts such as Idles, Declan McKenna, Soft Play, The Kooks, Holly Humberstone, Sophie Ellis-Bextor, Yard Act and The Snuts.

Sheffield’s Tramlines welcomes headliners Paolo Nutini, Jamie T and Snow Patrol to Hillsborough Park from 26-28 July, backed by a supporting cast including Bombay Bicycle Club, Tom Grennan, The Human League, The Snuts, Sophie Ellis-Bextor, Miles Kane, Example, The Charlatans, Yard Act, Maximo Park, Sprints, Coach Party, Holly Humberstone and Annie Mac.

Germany’s Feel Festival keeps its lineup secret until the start of the event

Fellow Yorkshire festival Deer Shed will bring The Coral, Bombay Bicycle Club, CMAT, BC Camplight, The Go! Team, Los Bitchos, Stornoway and King Creosote, among others, to Baldersby Park, Topcliffe between 26-29 July.

Elsewhere in Europe, Switzerland’s Paléo Festival Nyon is being held from 23-28 July. Acts include Sam Smith, Burna Boy, Booba, Mika, Sean Paul, Major Lazer Soundsystem, PLK, Nile Rodgers + Chic, Paul Kalkbrenner, AURORA and Khruangbin.

In Romania, ArtMania is set for 26-28 July in Sibiu, Transylvania, with artists such as Korn, Spiritbox, Satyricon, Igorrr, Borknagar, Taine and The Flower Kings.

Electronic music spectacular Tomorrowland Belgium returns to Boom, Antwerp, for its second and final weekend across 25-28 July with DJs like Swedish House Mafia, Lost Frequencies, Meduza, Dom Dolla, Armin van Buuren, Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike, Tiësto and David Guetta.

In addition, Italy’s Lucca Summer Festival concert series, which started on 2 June, wraps up its 2024 programme with a performance by Gazelles on 26 July.

Meanwhile, the 30th anniversary of Jazzopen Stuttgart is unfolding in Germany from 18-29 July, starring the likes of Lenny Kravitz, Sting, Sam Smith, The Cat Empire and Jamie Cullum, while the multi-genre Feel Festival, staged in Lichterfeld-Schacksdorf from 25-28 July, keeps its subcultural lineup secret until the start of the event.

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Continuing our weekly preview of European festivals, IQ gives readers a glimpse of what’s in-store this week…

In Switzerland, Paléo is gearing up for a banner edition having sold all 200,000 tickets for the 2024 event in just 21 minutes.

The 35,000-capacity festival will run in Nyon from 23-28 July, featuring acts such as Sam Smith, Burna Boy, Booba, Mika, Sean Paul, Major Lazer Soundsystem, Nile Rodgers & Chic, Patti Smith, The Blaze, Paul Kalkbrenner, Aurora and Royal Blood.

Paléo booker Dany Hassenstein spoke to IQ earlier this year about the festival’s longstanding bond with its audience.

Meanwhile, the stage has been set for Electric Castle‘s 10th-anniversary edition, which will welcome over 230,000 visitors to Transylvania’s 15th-century Banffy Castle.

Paléo is gearing up for a banner edition having sold all 200,000 tickets for the 2024 event in just 21 minutes

The Romanian festival will see acts including Massive Attack, Bring Me the Horizon, Chase & Status LIVE, Sean Paul, Paolo Nutini, and Khruangbin perform between 17–21 July.

Czech Republic’s Colours of Ostrava (17–20) also kicks off today, with Sam Smith, James Blake, Tom Morello, Lenny Kravitz, Sean Paul and Khruangbin among the top-billing acts.

The festival launched in Ostrava in 2002 and has become the country’s biggest international music festival.

Belgium’s biggest festival, Tomorrowland, will also take place this weekend with 400,000 guests.

Tickets for the 20th-anniversary edition sold out in less than a day, IQ reported in February.

The electronic music extravaganza is held across two weekends in Boom, Antwerp, from 19-21 and 26-28 July.

Tickets for the 20th-anniversary edition of Tomorrowland sold out in less than a day

Staged under the ‘LIFE’ theme, more than 400 acts including Armin van Buuren, Amelie Lens, Bonobo B2B Dixon, David Guetta, ANNA, Vintage Culture, Tale Of Us, Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike, Solomun B2B Four Tet and Swedish House Mafia will appear across 16 stages.

In neighbouring Germany, Parookaville is ramping up for another sold-out edition with 225,000 attendees. The electronic music event has been sold out every year since launching in 2015.

Armin van Buuren, Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike, Felix Jaehn, Hardwell, Timmy Trumpet and W&W are among 300+ DJs that are set to perform at this year’s instalment, at Weeze Airport between 19–21 July.

And, elsewhere, the gates to Super Bock Super Rock will open tomorrow, offering headline sets from Måneskin, 21 Savage and Stormzy.

Royal Blood, Tom Morello, Black Coffee, Slow J, Mahalia, Fisher, Vulfpeck and Will Butler are also slated to perform on Meco Beach, South Lisbon, from 18-20 July.

Other festivals due to kick off within the next week include Benicassim (ES), Positivus (LV), Ejekt Festival (GR), Lucca Summer Festival (IT) and Zwarte Cross (NL).

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While the Swiss live music business has always been robust, the recent period of intense consolidation, company mergers, and corporate acquisitions is undoubtedly changing the landscape, with promoters claiming the market is oversaturated and a fierce battle for headline acts. IQ reports.

In a live industry always hungry for wealthy, eager consumers, markets like Switzerland, while small, are to be cherished. In this famously neutral Alpine corner of west-central Europe, there is a billionaire for every 80,000 people – behind only Luxembourg and Hong Kong – as well as one of the lower levels of income inequality among wealthy western nations.

Covid, of course, brought with it grim times that took a while to dispel, but those are emphatically in the rear-view mirror now, having given way to a booming 2023 and a quieter but still prosperous 2024.

“The average ticket prices in Switzerland are significantly higher than in most European countries, while overall expenditure remains relatively consistent,” says Philipp Musshafen, CEO of Zurich’s Hallenstadion, which hosted approximately 100 events in 2023 and welcomed around 800,000 visitors.

“The rebound from the pandemic in the realm of public events has largely dissipated, and subsequent events have taken place. It’s safe to say that a certain level of normality has returned both in the lead-up and planning of events.”

Like everywhere else, production is still a challenge. The mid-market is a hard sell, and no one is quite as certain as they once were of what works. Meanwhile, festivals are losing out to arenas and stadiums for headliners, and maybe a new venue or two would be nice. But all the same, Switzerland remains an extremely good prospect for a show or two.

“I have to say, if I compare to our German colleagues, the market is very small, but it works very well”

The country is small – 8.7m people in all – but urban centres such as Zurich, Basel, and Geneva, globalised and highly cosmopolitan, keep it punching above its weight. Promoters have historically focused on their own parts of the country – either the German-speaking cities, such as Zurich, Bern, Basel, and St. Gallen, or the French-speaking, notably Geneva, Lausanne, and Montreux – though corporate-backed promoters are less likely to recognise such distinctions. Many shows are co-promoted, and very few promoters operate in isolation.

“I have to say, if I compare to our German colleagues, the market is very small, but it works very well,” says Stefan Matthey, co-managing director of DEAG’s newly reconfigured rock specialist Good News Productions. “We talk to each other, sometimes we co-promote. It’s not a war situation like in Germany.”

No surprise that Switzerland tends to be peaceful, possibly helped by the fact that there is plenty to go round. PwC/Omdia’s Switzerland Entertainment & Media Outlook 2023-2027 report puts this year’s projected Swiss live music revenues of CHF430m (from ticket sales and sponsorship) back near their 2019 pre-Covid peak of CHF437m and on a slow climb towards CHF441m by 2027.

“The feeling in the market remains positive globally, although it varies depending on the sector,” says Julien Rouyer, CEO of Lausanne-based Soldout Productions. “Ticketing is doing great, for instance, while production is struggling with cost increases and staff shortages. The key is to find a balanced scale to maintain a positive trend and stay profitable.”

And, of course, a further imperative is to tend to the health of all parts of the market – the smaller shows and towns, as well as the big shows in the big cities.

“The market is generally heathy – especially in the main cities like Zurich, Bern, Geneva, and Lausanne where concert attendance remains strong,” says Mainland Music managing director Derrick Thomson. “Ticket purchases are generally occurring closer to show dates, reflecting shifting consumer behaviour post-pandemic. While this trend may cause initial apprehension among promoters and artists, sales typically ramp up as events approach. However, we’ve observed challenges in smaller markets, particularly for grassroots clubs facing slowed demand.”

“We are at the very beginning of a totally new adventure”

Promoters
Once a stronghold of independents, Switzerland, like so many other markets, bears the heavy stamp of the leading corporate groups these days, with CTS Eventim, DEAG, and Live Nation all strong.

And in a time of adjustment across the promoting sector, some longstanding players are targeting fresh growth, prominent among them long-serving indie TAKK, which last July climbed aboard the CTS Eventim train, before re-launching in its new TAKK ab Entertainment guise earlier this year under three generations of promoters: Swiss industry forefather André Béchir, TAKK founder Sebastien Vuignier, and comparative youngster Théo Quiblier, promoter of Caroline Polachek, the National, and Wet Leg, among others.

“We are at the very beginning of a totally new adventure,” says Vuignier. “Thanks to the advisor agreement with André Béchir, who is a proper legend in Switzerland – the pioneer, with 50 years’ experience – we have access to inestimable knowledge and very strong content. It allows us to have an amazing first year of activity with Taylor Swift, AC/DC, and Pink shows, just to name a few.

“But we haven’t forgotten the DNA of what the old TAKK was – breaking new acts, doing 300-500-cap shows. The Last Dinner Party is the highlight of the start of this year. And we can’t wait to have Idles, Beth Gibbons, Khruangbin, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, and others.”

Vuignier characterises the new company not as a buy-out but as a new venture in its own right – and one that has been a surprisingly long time coming.

“CTS Eventim didn’t buy TAKK Productions, but both companies joined forces to create a new one,” he says. “I first met [CTS Eventim CEO] Klaus-Peter Schulenberg back in 2010, just one year after founding TAKK Productions. I [was] impressed by his personality and what he [had] built up. But I think it was too early for me to join at that time.

“Fast-forward, when we got in touch again in January 2023 and the idea of teaming up with André Béchir came up, it was obvious. A few months later, the company was on its feet. We are now a team of 12, with offices in Zurich and in the French part of Switzerland, and with hundreds of shows lined up.”

“We still have this wonderful service where we take our artists from baby bands to stadiums if we can”

Also in transition has been Good News, which has rebuilt its team from the top down this year with the addition of Christian Gremelmayr and Santosh Aerthott, former joint managing directors of Live Nation’s Mainland Music, as well as marketing specialist Patrizia Demont and artist booker Steven Mandel.

“The company is growing, and we have positioned ourselves as the leading rock promoter in Switzerland,” says Matthey. “We still have this wonderful service where we take our artists from baby bands to stadiums if we can.”

Shows at the Hallenstadion for larger acts including Slash and Five Finger Death Punch, meanwhile, round out the upper end of Good News’s range.

The departure of Gremelmayr and Aerthott, along with fellow co-founder Marc Lambelet, represented an end-of-an-era moment for Mainland earlier this year. Founded in 2012 by a group of independent operators including Gremelmayr, Aerthott, Lambelet and Thomson, Mainland was acquired by Live Nation GSA in 2019 and these days organises more than 650 shows annually from Zurich and Lausanne, with Thomson at the wheel.

“We’ve embraced these changes as opportunities,” says Thomson, who notes that 2023 was Mainland’s most successful year to date. “Talented promoters and staff have stepped into elevated roles, contributing to our success. Our strategy remains focused on expanding our presence across the Swiss market, promoting a diverse range of shows, and further developing our artist roster. Additionally, we’re committed to incorporate more non-music events, including comedy and family shows.”

Forthcoming tours include Olivia Rodrigo, the Jonas Brothers, Troye Sivan, Rod Stewart, Thirty Seconds to Mars, Nickelback, and Karol G – to add to booking responsibilities for Openair Frauenfeld, Gurtenfestival, Openair Gampel, Lakelive Festival, Open Air Lumnezia, Open Air Gränichen, and Big Air Chur.

“”The pandemic has reshaped consumer behaviours, disrupted supply chains and altered business models, making it harder to predict what will succeed in this new landscape”

Another leading Swiss promoter is Gadget abc Entertainment Group, a one-time indie, now one more Eventim-backed big-hitter. “We had a really good 2023 and a very busy summer, with stadium shows of Bruce Springsteen, Rammstein, and Muse,” says Stefan Wyss, director, concerts and touring. “The festivals were very strong in 2023, and overall, the concert and touring business was solid.

“We expect 2024 to be a little less busy – the schedule for the touring segment is a bit less intense this year. A lot of domestic and German artists are taking a break after intense touring in 2022 and 2023, and the focus is more on international artists, which means more competition. The demand is still here, but we feel that it’s getting more difficult to sell out shows with regular touring artists in the middle segment.”

Nonetheless, this isn’t a quiet year for Gadget abc by any standard definition, with two sold-out Taylor Swift shows at Zurich’s Letzigrund Stadium – co-promoted with AEG Presents and TAKK – among the bigger shows. Meanwhile, an ever-expanding festival portfolio now includes Schaffhausen’s Stars in Town festival, in which Gadget abc took a majority stake in March, to add to OpenAir St.Gallen, Summerdays, Radar, Seaside, and Unique Moments.

Sister company act entertainment, meanwhile, runs a widely diversified entertainment business, with big concerts and major festivals alongside exhibitions, motorcycle extravaganzas, circuses, and comedians in various languages.
Promoter and artist booking agency Soldout Productions remains independent 18 years since it launched, and in addition to forthcoming shows including PLK, Freeze Corleone, and Gazo at Arena Genève, it recently acquired its first outdoor festival: the long-established Caribana in Crans, on the shore of Lake Geneva. The promoter’s ranks were also recently bolstered by the arrival of Mainland’s Lambelet.

The market outlook remains a slightly mixed one, according to Rouyer. “It does feel different compared to the pre-pandemic period, with a mix of cautious optimism and lingering uncertainty,” he says. “While there’s been some return of
certainty, predicting market trends remains challenging. The pandemic has reshaped consumer behaviours, disrupted supply chains and altered business models, making it harder to predict what will succeed in this new landscape.

“Other challenges facing promoters include evolving regulations and compliance standards; managing cybersecurity risks in an increasingly digital environment; and addressing sustainability concerns as environmental awareness grows. Additionally, talent acquisition and retention, especially in a highly competitive market, can pose significant challenges for promoters striving to build long-term relationships and maintain effective teams.”

“You can’t start the same way I did 30 years ago. I would even argue that with the density and the speed of the business, it’s no longer possible to start from scratch”

Another stalwart independent, Winterthur’s Sheeran-promoting AllBlues Konzert, marks 30 years in 2024, on the back of a strong year with shows by José González, Brad Mehldau, Joe Satriani, Diana Krall, Ana Moura, Ludovico Einaudi, and others, including the farewell concerts of John McLaughlin, Gilberto Gil, and the Manhattan Transfer.

“Oh yes, 30 years with around 3,000 self-promoted concerts is a long time,” says founder Johannes Vogel. “But it was great, and we are grateful for the privilege of rolling out the concert carpet to such wonderful musicians and artists. And above all, to be economically very successful in our niche, with jazz, world, funk, soul, blues, singer-songwriters – and Ed Sheeran!”

Vogel remains an outspoken indie with strong views on the market as a whole, and he makes no bones about how the market has changed in three decades. “You can’t start the same way I did 30 years ago,” he says. “I would even argue that with the density and the speed of the business, it’s no longer possible to start from scratch. The big ones are getting bigger and bigger, but that’s also the chance for the small ones in the niche like us.”

And while Vogel agrees that the market is strong, he also believes it is over-saturated.

“We have too many shows,” he says. “This may be due to the fact that the majority of the bigger Swiss annual promoters are no longer independent and belong to one of the event giants. Everyone is fighting for every show. Whether it’s working well or not is not that important, as long as you have the show. No wonder, because who benefits from this overplay? The event giants with their ticket companies or vice versa, starting from ticket one.”

Festivals
While Switzerland may be prosperous and packed with festivals, from Paléo and OpenAir St.Gallen to Openair Gampel, Openair Frauenfeld, Greenfield, and Rock the Ring on downwards, it isn’t immune to the currents of the global business.

“Fewer domestic and German artists are touring in 2024. The competition for international headliners was very intense”

“It was a difficult year to book the festivals,” says Christof Huber, director festivals & events at Gadget abc. “Fewer domestic and German artists are touring in 2024. The competition for international headliners was very intense. We were able to get very solid lineups for our festivals, and they are selling well. However, if I look at the European festival lineups, 2024 isn’t as strong as in previous years.”

Nonetheless, Huber professes satisfaction at a job well done in a challenging environment.

“We have finalised the billings for all of our festivals and sales are very good for all of them,” he says. “We are very happy that the beautiful Stars in Town festival is now part of Gadget. That underlines our strong festival stream, with quality brands such as OpenAir St.Gallen, Summerdays, Seaside, Unique Moments, and Radar.

“The rising costs for artists and infrastructure remain the biggest challenge for festivals,” he adds. “We were able to book good lineups with a lot of young domestic and international artists, which attract the young audiences. Besides this, we constantly work on our festival brands with experiences, look and feel, and new attractions. We are less dependent on our billing than some of our competitors.”

Paléo programmer Dany Hassenstein echoes the point. “It’s been a tough year, but we are very happy with the outcome: Burna Boy, Sam Smith, Nile Rodgers, Royal Blood, Patti Smith, Mika, Major Lazer, Sean Paul, Khruangbin, the Blaze, Aurora, and Paul Kalkbrenner are the top international names. And we have major French acts such as Booba, Gazo & Tiakola, and PLK completing the bill. We are in particular very proud of a great second tier of the bill, with most of the hot up-and-coming French acts such as Zaho de Sagazan, Sofiane Pamart, Worakls, just to name a few.”

Hassenstein expects the current trend to be a finite one but nonetheless welcomes the invitation to innovate.

“There’s currently an important lack of available headline acts for festivals and that drives fees to a new max for those available”

“2024 was tough, and 2025 will be, too, but I believe it goes in cycles,” he says. “Ticket sales for headline shows seem to be back to an all-time high, and like everybody else, we can observe all major acts aiming for these tickets and not the festival money. But this can turn around again in a few years. So yes, there’s currently an important lack of available headline acts for festivals and that drives fees to a new max for those available. It’s a bidding situation we are not fully ready to work with. It is pushing us to look out for or create new content. At Paléo, we are doing so in 2024 by opening our stages to new types of performance, humour, crossover opera, and even classical music.”

Montreux was recently added to UNESCO’s Creative Cities Network in the music category, and the town’s world-famous jazz festival is reinventing itself in the heart of the town for this year’s edition. A stage will be built on the lake, below the Place du Marché, while the festival will also make a return to its old home at the Casino, once the site of the 1971 fire memorialised in Deep Purple’s Smoke on the Water. A large number of free stages complete the new layout for this 58th edition, which will accommodate its usual capacity of 250,000 attendees.

In a similarly refined vein, Baloise Session in Basel, with its small-scale, supper-club feel, plots a course through rock, jazz, and world music every October and November. Last year, Norah Jones, Ellie Goulding, Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds, and the opening night of Dave Stewart’s Eurythmics Songbook tour, featuring Joss Stone, were among the more mainstream highlights.

“Last year was extraordinary,” says CEO Beatrice Stirnimann. “We sold our tickets very fast; we had a great lineup,” she adds, though she notes that reinvention is not on the agenda for 2024.

“The design of our event is not going to change, because it is already very special. We have 1,500 seats, with the club tables and the candlelight. People never get bored of that. We just want to bring new artists. We sometimes bring artists back, but there’s so many artists out there, and we just want the brightest variety possible.”

In the past two years, the city of Basel itself has become more directly involved in supporting the festival, which was launched in 1985. “The city is into it – they are our hosting partner. Baloise is an international festival, artists come from everywhere, and they see how it goes out to the world. Maybe it’s a little bit like what happens in Montreux.”

“We aim to preserve the popular and festive spirit of the festival that has made it so beloved while also seeking opportunities for improvement in hospitality”

In February, Soldout Productions announced the acquisition of a majority stake in Caribana Productions, owner of the Caribana Festival brand, taking the promoter into business with festival founder Tony Lerch and artistic director Samuel Galley. The 32nd edition of the 32,000-cap festival will take place in June, with Tom Odell, Birdy, Ofenbach, Bad Omens, Martin Solveig, and Sam Ryder on an eclectic bill, having showcased Lou Reed, Patti Smith, ZZ Top, Katy Perry, and Maroon 5 over the years.

“We’re thrilled about the Caribana acquisition,” says Rouyer. “We aim to preserve the popular and festive spirit of the festival that has made it so beloved while also seeking opportunities for improvement in hospitality, including a new VIP offer and developing measures related to sustainability and environmental responsibility. We’re also looking into enhancing infrastructure, logistics, and overall visitor experience to make Caribana even more enjoyable and accessible for attendees.”

Also on Soldout’s slate in January was a sold-out edition of the Beat Festival at the 9,000-cap Geneva Arena, including French rap superstar Booba among a strong hip-hop lineup.

“We have launched a new edition of the festival that will happen in Lausanne, at the [10,000-cap] Vaudoise Aréna in December,” says Rouyer. “The Beat remains our flagship indoor event in wintertime, while Caribana – our first open-air festival – opens up a whole range of new opportunities during the summer.” Elsewhere, Good News recently entered into a collaboration with rock/metal festival Rock The Lakes – “Switzerland’s most beautiful metal festival” – which takes place at Lake Neuchatel in August.

Meanwhile, CTS Eventim-backed act entertainment launches a new boutique music festival in Zurich this summer. Waterfront Festival will debut at the Kongresshaus Zurich in July, when performers will include Stephan Eicher, Katie Melua, the BossHoss, and the Gipsy Kings.

Other events organised by act include Interlaken’s the Greenfield Festival, which will be headlined by Green Day, Bring Me the Horizon, and the Prodigy between 13 and 15 June.

“Even though there are many cultural offerings in the French-speaking part of Switzerland. It seems that people are happy with our programme”

Venues
Between the Hallenstadion, X-TRA, and Komplex 457 in Zurich, the 9,500-cap Geneva Arena and Lausanne’s Les Docks, Switzerland has plenty of well-known venues. It also added a number of new ones in the years before the pandemic, including the Hall (5,000-capacity) and 3,500-cap Halle 622, both in Zurich.

Lausanne’s Vaudoise Aréna opened in September 2019 – a 12,000-cap arena for ice hockey and concerts managed by ASM Global – and this year, among much sport, it will see André Rieu, Patrick Bruel, and Ana Moura, Soraia Ramos & Pedro Abrunhosa.

Geneva’s biggest concert venue, the Geneva Arena, brings big-name gigs and large-scale entertainment and sporting events, with J Balvin, Patrick Bruel, and Mika all booked in this year among a host of tribute and family entertainment shows. Located next to Geneva International Airport, it draws audiences from both France and Switzerland.

In Lausanne, Les Docks attracts medium to large travelling names to its 1,000-cap hall. This summer’s shows including The Pretenders, Garbage, Fontaines D.C. and Sleater-Kinney.

“This new year is off to a great start, with many sold-out shows – even though there are many cultural offerings in the French-speaking part of Switzerland. It seems that people are happy with our programme,” says director and programmer Laurence Vinclair, who strikes a note of caution about diminishing bar takings but is otherwise optimistic.

“And the coming months are shaping up well, too,” she adds. “June is an incredible month, like it was in the years before the pandemic, partly because we benefit from festival tours. I don’t have any secret, except the fact that our venue is well-renowned in the music business for its high-quality welcome – good food, good PA. Also, I’ve good relations with booking agents from 17 years working here. They trust us.”

In Basel, the St. Jakobshalle arena, refurbished just a few years ago, features 11 halls, including one that accommodates 12,400.

“In 2023, we experienced a very strong second half of the year,” says CEO Thomas Kastl. “Due to our multifunctionality, we were able to accommodate numerous requests. We hosted large-scale events, such as concerts and sports gatherings with thousands of attendees, as well as smaller sports and business functions. “Looking ahead to 2024, our calendar is brimming with exciting events. We anticipate hosting the EHF Euro 2024 Women’s Handball and the European Fencing Championship. Additionally, our lineup includes concerts featuring renowned artists such as Bryan Adams, Laura Pausini, Avenged Sevenfold, Judas Priest, and Hans Zimmer.”

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Organisers of Switzerland’s Paléo have warned of a “strong increase” in ticket scams for this year’s festival.

All 200,000 passes for the 2024 event, which takes place in Nyon from 23-28 July, sold out in just 21 minutes last month, and fans are being urged to only buy resale tickets through the festival’s official ticket exchange.

Paléo Festival is a partner of Swiss consumer protection watchdog FRC (Romande Consumer Rights Federation), which works against ticket touting.

“We are currently observing a strong increase in the number of scams involving online ticket purchases on secondary markets,” says a message to posted to fans online. “We recommend that you only buy your tickets on the official platforms. The festival is currently sold out. The only official resale platform is the ticket market.”

“Any purchase made outside these outlets is not considered authorised and secure, and the festival will unfortunately not be able to intervene in the event of a problem”

In addition to the Paléo ticket exchange, 1,500 daily tickets will be made available from 9am on each day of this year’s festival.

“Any purchase made outside these outlets is not considered authorised and secure, and the festival will unfortunately not be able to intervene in the event of a problem,” adds the post.

Launched in 1976, the event accommodates more than 35,000 fans daily. Artists at Paléo’s 2024 edition will include Sam Smith, Burna Boy, Booba, Mika, Sean Paul, Major Lazer Soundsystem, Gazo & Tiakola, PLK, Nile Rodgers & Chic, Patti Smith, The Blaze, Paul Kalkbrenner, Aurora and Royal Blood.

“We knew from our December pre-sale that demand was very strong,” booker Dany Hassenstein told IQ earlier this year. “All our digital data were showing this same evolution too. I really believe that, together with the very rich lineup, it is our standards and values that makes this success. We have this tremendous level of confidence and loyalty from our guests, and we are doing everything to never put that trust at risk.”

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Paléo booker Dany Hassenstein has hailed the Swiss festival’s longstanding bond with its audience after all 200,000 tickets for the 2024 event sold out in just 21 minutes.

The festival will run in Nyon from 23-28 July, featuring acts such as Sam Smith, Burna Boy, Booba, Mika, Sean Paul, Major Lazer Soundsystem, Gazo & Tiakola, PLK, Nile Rodgers & Chic, Patti Smith, The Blaze, Paul Kalkbrenner, Aurora and Royal Blood.

Launched in 1976, the event accommodates more than 35,000 fans daily. Tickets for the Sunday finale, which started at CHF80 (€82), sold out in a record seven minutes.

“We knew from our December pre-sale that demand was very strong,” Hassenstein tells IQ. “All our digital data were showing this same evolution too. I really believe that, together with the very rich lineup, it is our standards and values that makes this success. We have this tremendous level of confidence and loyalty from our guests, and we are doing everything to never put that trust at risk.”

Last year’s event took almost double the time – 41 minutes – to sell out for a bill starring the likes of Black Eyed Peas, Martin Garrix and Placebo.

For 2024, Paléo is expanding its musical horizons with a mix of pop, rock, rap, dancehall, Afrobeats, reggae, electro, opera and funk, welcoming 130 artists in all, as the countdown begins to its landmark 50th festival in three years’ time.

“We have several new features on track, mainly guest comfort improvements but we will also open our stages to other type of performances, such as humour with an in-house show, a performance by French troupe Murmuration and even opera, hosting tenor singer Roberto Alagna,” says Hassenstein.

“It is a fact that hard tickets are on the rise and acts are focusing on headline tours, not festivals”

Organisers introduced of a raft of well-received changes two years ago, including new stages, blockchain ticketing and a cashless payment system, in what was billed as the festival’s biggest makeover in more than 30 years.

“We had huge changes of the general festival set up in 2022 and we will prepare the next big step for our 50th edition in 2027,” notes Hassenstein.

The festival’s traditional ticket exchange, which is designed to combat the black market, will go live on 27 March, while 1,500 daily tickets will be made available from 9am on each morning of this year’s event.

While the debate continues to rage about the availability (or lack thereof) of headliners across the sector, Hassenstein considers the names of those at the top of the bill to still be “undeniably very important”.

“It’s the essence of a music festival,” he says. “Our challenge was mainly our dates being outside of most of the international touring periods. But it is a fact that hard tickets are on the rise and acts are focusing on headline tours, not festivals.”

Looking to the future, Hassenstein indicates that Paléo will always prioritise quality over potential capacity increases.

“Growth in quality will always be our goal, with sustainability and social awareness being part of this growth,” he concludes. “Growth in capacity is not necessarily a healthy ambition and not really a target for us.”

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Switzerland’s Paléo and Lollapalooza Berlin in Germany head the latest festival lineup announcements for 2024, while Belgium’s Pukkelpop is celebrating a speedy sellout.

Paléo Festival Nyon returns from 23-28 July with a bill headed by Sam Smith, Burna Boy, Booba, Mika, Sean Paul, Major Lazer Soundsystem, Gazo & Tiakola, PLK, Nile Rodgers & Chic, Patti Smith, The Blaze, Paul Kalkbrenner, Aurora and Royal Blood.

Expanding its musical horizons with a mix of pop, rock, rap, dancehall, Afrobeats, reggae, electro, opera and funk, the event will welcome 130 artists in all. Its Village du Monde (Village of the World) will focus on the Balkans, featuring around 20 acts.

Set for 7-8 September at the German capital’s Olympic Stadium and Olympic Park, Lollapalooza Berlin will be headlined by Sam Smith, Martin Garrix, Burna Boy, Seventeen, The Chainsmokers, Niall Horan, Louis Tomlinson, Shirin David and CRO.

Other acts will include Loyle Carner, Nothing But Thieves, Meduza, Tom Grennan, Kenya Grace, Elderbrook, Joel Corry and Alok.

That same weekend will also see Goodlive’s Superbloom take place at the Olympic Park in Munich, which has unveiled its expanded lineup. Joining Calvin Harris on the bill are Burna Boy, Shirin David, Jorja Smith, Milky Chance, Loyle Carner, Loreen and Chappell Roan.

Previously confirmed acts included Sam Smith, The Chainsmokers, CRO, Louis Tomlinson, RIN, Provinz, Tokio Hotel, Nothing But Thieves, Kenya Grace and David Puentez. For the first time, there will also be readings by renowned authors, including Ilona Hartmann and Phia Quantius, with two crime podcasts also represented.

“Ticket sales are going well: we are certainly further ahead than this time last year”

Meanwhile, Pukkelpop, which will be held in Hasselt between 15-18 August, sold out all combination tickets in less than 48 hours, according to organisers.

The event will star the likes of Fred Again.., Stormzy, Sam Smith, Queens of the Stone Age, The Offspring, Charlotte de Witte, Goldband, Raye, Inhaler, Sugababes, The Vaccines, Skrillex, Jorja Smith, The Smile and Denzel Curry.

Also in Belgium, the resurgent Gent Jazz Festival is expanding from ten to 13 days and has confirmed André 3000 among this year’s performers. The 5,500-cap series runs from 5-20 July and will also feature names such as Diana Krall, Laufey, Jamie Cullum, Air, Alexis Ffrench, DJ Shadow, Nile Rodgers & Chic and Rodrigo y Gabriela.

Ghent-based promoter and booking agency Greenhouse Talent took over the international jazz festival last year after previous organiser – the non-profit Jazz en Muziek – went backrupt at the end of 2022.

“For us, the expansion is an essential intervention to guarantee our survival,” organiser Pascal Van De Velde tells De Standaard. “It is difficult for a festival in our niche and with our capacity to break even, and we did not want to save on costs. So we found the solution in extra days: this allows us to spread the basic costs of the festival.

“Ticket sales are going well: we are certainly further ahead than this time last year.”

AIF reports that 21 UK festivals have now announced a postponement, cancellation or complete closure in 2024

Elsewhere, Smash’s Fuji Rock, which will grace Japan’s Naeba Ski Resort in Tokyo from 26-28 July, has added Peggy Gou and Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds as headliners alongside Kraftwerk. Other new additions include Remi Wolf, Hiromi’s Sonic Wonder, Denki Groove, Kid Fresno, Man With a Mission, Sampha, Teddy Swims, Macaroni Empitsu, The Spellbound and Kim Gordon.

And AEG’s BST Hyde Park in London has revealed Morgan Wallen as its final 2024 headliner. The country music superstar will perform on 4 July, completing a lineup which also includes SZA (29 June), Kings of Leon (30 June), Andrea Bocelli (5 July), Robbie Williams (6 July), Shania Twain (7 July), Stevie Nicks (12 July), Kylie Minogue (13 July) and Stray Kids (14 July).

However, trade body the Association of Independent Festivals (AIF) reports that 21 UK festivals have now announced a postponement, cancellation or complete closure in 2024.

Cotswolds-based Nibley Festival has announced that this year’s event will be its last, shortly after Bradford’s Bingley Festival announced that its 2024 edition will not go ahead.

Promoters of both festivals have cited rapidly rising production costs as the reason why running their event is no longer viable. Portsmouth rock and metal festival Takedown also recently postponed to 2025, citing “challenging trading conditions” among other factors.

AIF warns that, without intervention, the UK could see over 100 festivals disappear in 2024 due to rising costs and has reiterated the need for temporary support from the UK government to lower VAT from 20% to 5% on ticket sales for the next three years.

“It’s with grave concern that we again sound the alarm to government upon passing this critical milestone,” says AIF CEO John Rostron. “UK festivals are disappearing at a worrying rate, and we as a nation are witnessing the erosion of one of our most successful and unique cultural industry sectors.

“We have done the research: a reduction of VAT to 5% on festival tickets over the next three years is a conservative, targeted and temporary measure that would save almost all of the festival businesses that are likely to fall by the wayside this year and many more over the years to come. We need this intervention now.”

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