IQ presents the second part of our Sweden market report, where we discover the festival market in particular is going through seismic changes. Catch up on part one here.

Festivals
If festivals are undergoing an identity crisis across the board, Sweden isn’t the kind of market to keep hammering an old formula.

Late last year, Live Nation confirmed that Lollapalooza Stockholm would “take a break” for ‘24 to give promoters time to “re-evaluate and make improvements across the board.” All Things Live’s Big Slap, which launched in 2013, announced its retirement the same month – with founder Ali Eftekhari telling the city’s Sydsvenskan newspaper it had reached its “maximum limit,” having grown from 15,000 capacity to 52,000 over a decade and welcomed the likes of Justin Bieber, Burna Boy, and Swedish House Mafia.

It has been a few years since FKP closed down Sweden’s then-biggest festival, Bråvalla, after a spate of sex attacks at its 2017 event, but the theme remains: this isn’t a country inclined to get sentimental about bygone good times if things are no longer working out.

“A normal year in Sweden, you could have between five and 15 stadium shows, and then you add in all the big festivals, but we are still only 9m people”

The ultimate issue, David Maloney suggests, is one of finite capacity: a small market can have stadium headline shows or blockbuster festivals, but it can’t easily have both.

“A normal year in Sweden, you could have between five and 15 stadium shows, and then you add in all the big festivals, but we are still only 9m people,” he says. “If you look at it that way, it makes sense that those big festivals will struggle.”

All Things Live’s solution has been to find a different way to play the game. “We do three festivals in Sweden, which are all sold out,” says Maloney, referring to the pop/hip-hop/house music-focused A Day In Lund, Varberg’s A Day At The Park, and Smögen’s Amaze.

“They are 8,500 capacity, but we only have domestic bands playing, we don’t have any international acts. In a way it’s a shame because you want to put the international bands on there, but the costs are double [what] a big Swedish headliner will cost. So our festivals are located in areas where there isn’t that much competition, and the size means you don’t have to spend a month building the set-up.”

If nothing is forever in the Swedish festival firmament, some old names do far better than others. Way Out West, in the 137-hectare Slottsskogen park in central Gothenburg, has run since 2007 and last year reported its highest-ever attendance, with 55,000 punters for three days of meat-free food, gender-balanced lineups (including Blur, Wizkid, Boy Genius, and Caroline Polachek last year, and Fred again.., PJ Harvey, André 3000, Big Thief, and Pulp in 2024) and circular, upcycled merch. The festival was ahead of its time and continues to appeal as the world catches up.

“Hard rock festivals have a steady business all the time. A large part of the audience goes to Sweden Rock every year – people plan their holidays around it”

Sweden Rock, meanwhile, demonstrated the trusty principle that old-school rock festivals are largely immune to the market’s mood swings, particularly in northern Europe, bringing Judas Priest, Alice Cooper, and Journey to southern Sweden across four days for a 35,000-cap crowd.

“Hard rock festivals have a steady business all the time,” says Pihlgren. “A large part of the audience goes to Sweden Rock every year – people plan their holidays around it.”

Newcomers, too, are finding worthwhile patches of ground to stake out. Rosendal Garden Party, which takes place on Djurgården island in central Stockholm each June, recently enjoyed its third year. The Cardigans, Nia Archives, and Grace Jones were among the attractions.

“Rosendal Garden Party is exceeding expectations,” says Borg. “Everyone knows that festivals are a costly endeavour that take many years [to build up]. Rosendal Garden Party is only in its third year and is already sending signals around northern Europe about how to create a world-class experience in a major city.”

Swedish hardcore legends Refused were also booked for what was to be their last-ever Swedish festival show, but their appearance was cancelled after frontman Dennis Lyxzén suffered a heart attack, from which he is now recovering.

The only certainty in Sweden, it seems, is more change, as the market figures out what it wants and promoters attempt to serve it up. And while genres come and go – with international country and hip-hop among the current defaults, particularly in the arena business – the proliferation of smaller, local, Swedish-centric festivals points to something else.

“Three years ago, we had three or four big EDM festivals, and now we don’t have any”

“Three years ago, we had three or four big EDM festivals, and now we don’t have any,” says Pihlgren. “What we do have is city festivals in most cities, some free, some ticketed. That’s maybe another effect of the pandemic – that people like to get together in their local area.”

Venues

In Stockholm this year, the theme at the top is change, but within established parameters. The 15,000-cap Avicii Arena is closed this year for a major upgrade, while the 50,000-cap Friends Arena (likewise part of ASM Global’s Stockholm Live group) is now Strawberry Arena, its new naming partner the 200-strong Nordic hotel chain.

“It is more than a name change on the Nordics’ largest arena, it is a new partnership established with Strawberry,” says the arena’s general manager Michael Yngvesson. “Time will tell, but sharing core values connected to hosting and experiences is a perfect starting point.”

As you would expect, 2024 has been a strong one for the stadium. “It is a fantastic year for us and Stockholm, and without the state-of-the-art venues we have, none of this would have been possible,” he says. “Taylor Swift was for sure something special and an honour to host at the arena. In total, we had over 178,000 guests visiting us to see the shows from 130 different countries – Bruce Springsteen held the old record of 167,000 from 2013.”

ASM Global has been in reshuffle mode, with Tobias Ekman joining as general manager for the four arenas in the Stockholm Globe District – including the Avicii Arena and the 30,000-capacity Tele2 Arena – and Yngvesson expanding his brief, which also includes his role as operations director, Nordics.

“Something we’ve seen over the past decade is a lot more Swedish acts that are making their way all the way up to arena and stadium level, which is very positive”

The Avicii Arena upgrade, funded via an investment of around €80m from its owner, the city of Stockholm, along with €20m from ASM Global, will deliver an entirely new rigging structure and new seat- ing and concourses, updating the 35-year-old venue for the rigours of modern tours while reusing the existing building.

“For ASM, that’s our go-to solution, when it’s feasible – always to invest in existing arenas,” says Marie Lindqvist, ASM Global SVP operations, Europe. “It is much more sustainable. And, of course, having the iconic arenas that we have in our portfolio, both in Sweden, with Avicii Arena, but also Wembley Arena etc, we’re very excited about the opportunities of investing to modernise and adapt.”

Tele2 Arena has flexed to take up some of the shows that might have gone to Avicii Arena. “We have developed a scaled-down version of Tele2 Arena, which has turned out very well for the promoters,” says Lindqvist. “Something we’ve seen over the past decade is a lot more Swedish acts that are making their way all the way up to arena and stadium level, which is very positive. We have had our first Swedish rap artist, Ant Wan, selling out Tele2 Arena, which is fantastic.”

Over at AXS, which tickets the Stockholm Live venues, Sietsema concurs. “Traditionally, international artists would do the stadium and arena tours, and the Swedish artists would do the club tours. But now we’re seeing the promoters taking bigger risks on traditional Swedish artists, putting them in arenas and selling well. And that’s probably something that goes up and down, depending on what artists you have, but it’s also good to see.”

The 8,100-cap Hovet and the 3,400-cap Annexet are also in the Stockholm Live portfolio, along with the Södra Teatern, a theatre venue with a capacity of up to 600, and Mosebacketerrassen, a rooftop terrace that can accommodate around 2,000.

Other key venues in Stockholm include legendary concert and club venue Debaser on the waterfront at Hornstull, where attractions for the remainder of the year include Nor- way’s Okay Kaya, Red Kross, Sleater-Kinney, and Real Estate.

Other notable venues include the Malmö Arena, which has a capacity of 13,000 for sports (predominantly ice hockey) and 15,500 for concerts, and of course, the Ullevi Stadium in Gothenburg, where, on the last of four nights in August 2022, local boy Håkan Hellström beat his own attendance record, with a crowd of 71,977. Laleh, Coldplay, Springsteen, and Metallica have visited since, but the record still stands.

Got Events manages the Ullevi, Scandinavium and Bravida arenas (14,000/6,330) and a number of other entertainment and sports facilities. Before Coldplay’s four sold-out concerts last year, it invested approximately SEK3.5m in modernising Ullevi’s solar cells. A 520m2 solar roof now delivers roughly 110 megawatt-hours a year.

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As one of the world’s songwriting strongholds, Sweden has been a Nordic powerhouse for live music for decades. But nowhere is immune to the challenges of post-pandemic cost increases.

If the comeback from the pandemic meant it was party time in Sweden, as gig-goers poured out of confinement to rediscover the sensation of live entertainment, there is just a touch of a hangover in the air in 2024.

Sweden has had a wobbly time of late, its economy contracting last year and the Swedish krona slipping against not only the dollar and the euro but also the krone of neighbouring Denmark.

Although there is probably no need for a whip-round just yet as Sweden remains one of Europe’s wealthier, more mature markets and a strong destination, even if its buying power has diminished slightly – but for now, Sweden at large is paying close attention to the price tags when it goes shopping.

“Basically, we are having a good year. We have a fair number of international tours – not as many as last year but that’s understood,” says Thomas Johansson, Live Nation’s venerable chairman, international music, who is also chairman of the Nordics and Baltics.

“But the business on some shows – not just Live Nation shows – reflects the fact that people are more aware of ticket prices; basically, because the Swedish krona, not dissimilar to the Norwegian currency, has been at an all-time low versus the pound and the euro and the dollar, so prices are relatively high.”

“If you push the ticket price, people will not buy because they can’t afford it”

The combination of the weak krona, stagnant wages, and high interest rates means the Swedish demand for live fun in 2024 has started to find its elastic limit.

“If you push the ticket price, people will not buy because they can’t afford it,” says Johansson. “You need to be careful with ticket prices – I have always thought that, not just now.”

When you factor in historically high touring costs – not to mention the fear of military engagement with Sweden’s easterly next-door neighbour but one–it all adds up to a slightly delicate moment.

“This is a good year for us,” says AXS general manager Jay Sietsema, adopting the positive-yet-nuanced tone of most Swedish executives just now, “but it’s been up and down across the market. Sweden came out of the pandemic really strong, and then inflation went crazy, and the market really flattened for a while, and now I think we’ve hit a stable point. What I’m hearing from the promoters is that it’s more and more expensive for the artists to come, but I think demand remains steady.”

On the face of it, this is not obviously a market in the throes of austerity. Pink, Bruce Springsteen, and Taylor Swift have been through Stockholm’s Strawberry Arena this year – pre-and post-name-change from its Friends Arena incarnation – along with numerous other international and local tours. Sweden Rock in Sölvesborg went off well in June, and another Live Nation event, August’s Luger-promoted Way Out West in Gothenburg, has plenty of well-earned cachet.

But equally, festivals such as All Things Live’s Big Slap in Malmö and Live Nation’s Lollapalooza Stockholm have opted out this year – the former for good, the latter for a period of reflection. Festivals, of course, are struggling across the continent, but Sweden is too small a market to simply put the show on and hope for a miracle, and consequently, its portfolio of major events remains a little fluid.

“Sweden must be the country that has had the most big festivals close down”

“Sweden must be the country that has had the most big festivals close down,” says All Things Live’s David Maloney. “There’s really only Way Out West and Sweden Rock still going strong after all these years. All the other festivals are gone.”

So, by all accounts, this is a year of adjustment, with plenty of decent business being done against a backdrop of realism. As Svensk Live operations manager Joppe Pihlgren points out, a marginally slower year in Sweden represents a return to normality, coming after two years that were supercharged by consumer savings and unbridled supply and demand. If the going seems a little tougher now, he suggests that’s because the bounce couldn’t go on forever.

“At the end of ’22, when we got free from the pandemic, everybody was very enthusiastic for live shows, and people had saved a lot of money, there was a lot of support, the market was very boosted,” says Pihlgren. “But, if you have a record year, everything has to go up the next year, such as artist fees, and the market can’t support that.”

In the meantime, Sweden marches on – not quite booming but still pretty good. In the three key cities of Stockholm, Gothenburg, and Malmö, there are plenty of shows; ASM Global’s Avicii Arena is out of action this year for a major refurb and will return in 2025; meanwhile, Eurovision came and went in Malmö, striking a blow for gender inclusivity even as it became another conduit for anger at the war in Gaza.

Economic prognoses suggest that the worst has passed for Sweden and that strong fundamentals will keep it clear of further recessionary after-shocks. A slightly cloudy day may already be brightening up.

“There has been a negative perception, with the high interest rates, the inflation, the war, and I think that has stabilised,” says Sietsema. “And we’re seeing that there’s still a huge interest in music, in theatre and events and sports, and that the crowds continue to grow. The demand has not lessened. The challenge is to not let inflation run away with everything so the prices get too expensive. But I’m optimistic for the Swedish market. As I said, the demand is still looking good.”

“Sweden has always been a competitive market”

Promoters
The powerful Live Nation Sweden sits at the heart of the live giant’s Nordic and Baltic network – roughly 90 of its 200 staff in the region are based in Stockholm. Its operations reflect the fact that, while Sweden is a perennially formidable touring market, it also remains one of the world’s most productive pop music hubs.

“Before we did Live Nation,” says Johansson, giving a history lesson few people need, “we looked after a band called ABBA. After that, we did a band called Europe, and after that, we did Roxette worldwide, and we did fantastic business.”

These days, Johansson’s focus is broad, but Swedish talent remains a priority, from Ghost to the newly rebooted Roxette.

“One act in particular that we have worked with for a couple of years is Benjamin Ingrosso,” he says. “We are doing nine outdoor shows for his tour starting the end of July, and he is headlining one of the Way Out West dates. We have sold about 95% of the tickets, sold out the [Olympic] stadium in Stockholm at 31,000, and it’s looking like every show will be sold out at various capacities. But again, the tickets are correctly priced, and people can afford to see it.”

Luger, Live Nation’s ‘indie’ division, also remains busy, masterminding the Way Out West festival and delivering a heavy slate of gigs, with Bright Eyes, Headie One, and The Soundtrack of Our Lives among those doing the rounds this year.
FKP Scorpio has been active in Sweden since 2011, absorbing local indie Woah Dad! in 2019, along with its founders Niklas Lundell and Joel Borg. The promoter is predictably industrious, with recent shows including a Massive Attack tour warm-up at Gothenburg’s Filmstudio and Ne-Yo’s first Swedish concert since 2010 at Hovet in Stockholm, as well as Ed Sheeran shows at Strawberry Arena next summer.

“Sweden has always been a competitive market,” says Borg. “Niklas and I have been working together for over 15 years. We co-founded Way Out West in 2007 while working at Luger/Live Nation, and before that, we ran clubs and magazines. Now, we continue with initiatives like Rosendal Garden Party.”

“One thing is always certain: people will always want to attend a great concert or experience a world-class festival”

This summer, FKP also began hosting live music events at Drottningskärs Citadel, on the archipelago island of Aspö, off the coast of the naval city of Karlskrona, with Petter, Uno Svenningsson and Eric Gadd making up the first set of shows.

“Sweden is still a small country,” says Borg. “The krona has been weak, and the market has struggled with post-pandemic bottlenecks. Prices have gone up, yada yada – same for everyone. But one thing is always certain: people will always want to attend a great concert or experience a world-class festival.”

All Things Live was behind Sweden’s three Taylor Swift shows in May, with each night breaking the previous night’s record for attendance at the then Friends Arena, ultimately drawing 178,679 people in total and making a large contribution to a 3% spike in Sweden’s core inflation rate that month. For all of the talk of mega-tours’ effect on local economies, Maloney doesn’t appreciate the widespread surge pricing that now goes hand in hand with such shows.

“Overall, it is an important show to do – for Stockholm, for the artist, for the audience,” says Maloney. “It is good for everybody, but what is spoiling the market – and this is a problem for all the major shows – is the €100 hotel room that suddenly costs €700. If restaurants and hotels are going to take such liberties, it is going to have a negative effect on sales.

“Secondary ticketing is something we can work on and try to prevent, but when you do a show and the guy running the hamburger joint facing the venue just earned more money than I did because he charged €30 for a burger and a Coke Zero, then that’s not right.”

Healthier, again, is the strength of domestic acts – perhaps one of the more positive legacies of Covid, which of course took international artists off the menu for two years.

“The domestic market in Sweden now is bigger than it’s ever been,” says Maloney. “All the Swedish tours we have done with Veronica Maggio, HammerFall, or Evergrey have done amazing business. That’s something we are really concentrating on now.”

Read part two of the Swedish market report, which focuses on festivals and venues, here.

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