Driift’s Believe in Christmas sells 75,000 tickets

Believe in Christmas, a 12 December online concert event by Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli, has become the most successful classical music live stream to date, selling more than 70,000 tickets (priced at US$25/£25) to fans in 120 countries.

Held at the 1,200-capacity Teatro Regio in Parma, northern Italy, Believe in Christmas featured special guests including Zucchero Fornaciari, Cecilia Bartoli, Clara Barbier Serrano and, in her first public performance, Bocelli’s eight-year-old daughter Virginia, with visuals provided by creative director Franco Dragone (Cirque du Soleil).

Believe in Christmas was promoted and produced by Driift, the UK-based livestreaming business, co-founded by ATC Management’s Ric Salmon and Brian Message, behind a number of previous successful ticketed live streams, including Niall Horan, Kylie Minogue, Nick Cave, Laura Marling and Biffy Clyro.

It is the first show for the company, which recently announced the opening of an office in Australia, outside the UK.

“This was the culmination of everything we’ve learnt over the 15 shows we’ve worked on”

“We are privileged to work with a living legend. Once again Andrea has delivered a masterclass in entertainment, setting a new standard for livestreaming events,” say Francesco Pasquero and Scott Rodger, from Bocelli’s management company, Maverick.

“Following on from his phenomenal Easter concert, this is another fantastic achievement for classical music. […] This has been a coming together of some of the greatest creative minds, working together tirelessly to deliver last night’s stunning performance.”

Salmon, Driift’s CEO, adds: “We are simply overjoyed with the success of Believe in Christmas. The opportunity to work with Andrea was an absolute dream, and having Franco Dragone sprinkle his visual magic on top allowed us to create the perfect festive show.

“For Driift, it was the essence of what we’ve come to understand about this new format, and the culmination of everything we’ve learnt over the 15 shows we’ve worked on over the last six months.”

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