Norway’s largest festival Tons of Rock has sold out of full festival passes in record time, according to organisers.

Four-day passes for the Oslo-based event were all snapped up before Easter, while day passes are fast running out.

Organisers of the Live Nation-backed event expect 150,000 visitors at the 11th edition of the festival, in line with last year’s record attendance.

Muse, Green Day, Kaizers Orchestra and Avenged Sevenfold will perform at Ekebergsletta Park in Norway’s capital on 25–28 June. Dream Theatre, Sex Pistols, Weezer, Megadeath and Machine Head appear further down the bill.

Commenting on the record sell-out, Tons of Rock general manager Jarle Kvåle told IQ: “I think it’s the combination of people who have had a great time visiting the festival in previous years and a new audience that we’ve managed to recruit.

“We try to invest a lot in the audience experience and it’s great to see that people appreciate it”

“We see that the number of people visiting the festival in recent years and returning is very high, and our customer survey also confirms that a large portion of the audience comes because of the total experience. We try to invest a lot in the audience experience and it’s great to see that people appreciate it. This, combined with the great bookings we have had in the last years, are the key factors, and maybe also the Norwegian audience just loves rock & roll.”

For last year’s 10th anniversary edition, Tons of Rock smashed its attendance record with 150,000 attendees.

It marked a 50% increase from the previous record year, 2023, and saw the festival become the largest in Norway, according to the organisers.

“The max capacity of the festival is 150,000, so to reach that number in 2024 and do it again in 2025 is just fantastic,” says Kvåle.

Tons of Rock was acquired by Live Nation Norway in 2019 following a longstanding partnership.

Since the first edition, they have worked together to secure acts including Slayer, Black Sabbath, Ozzy Osbourne, Alice Cooper, Ghost and Five Finger Death Punch, among others.

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Croatian artist Marko Perković Thompson could break the world record for the largest paid-for concert with his upcoming show in Zagbreb.

The 58-year-old sold 281,774 tickets to his 5 July show at Zagreb Hippodrome, a horse racing track in the Croatian capital spanning 47 hectares.

Tickets went on sale last Friday (28 March) and sold out in less than 24 hours, with 130,000 flying off the shelf in less than six hours.

The concert will reportedly be the largest paid-for concert in history, breaking the record previously held by Italian musician Vasco Rossi, who sold 225,173 tickets for his concert in Modena at the Enzo Ferrari Park in 2017.

Due to the unprecedented demand, Thompson and his team are currently “in talks” with the city of Zagreb to organise a second concert at the Hippodrome on 6 July.

The concert was ticketed by Entrio, a local player founded in 2011 and the second biggest ticketing company in Croatia, according to the International Ticketing Report 2024.

“Entrio is extremely proud of its entire engineering and operations team for handling one of the most complex ticket sales for a single concert in the world”

In a statement, the firm said it was “extremely proud of its entire engineering and operations team for handling one of the most complex ticket sales for a single concert in the world”.

“The Entrio engineering team worked for almost 30 hours straight, during an unprecedented rush of fans to buy tickets, to optimise the server infrastructure, solve a number of technical challenges, maximize sales, eliminate three powerful hacker attacks and ensure that hundreds of other events that we simultaneously sold in three markets were running successfully,” it said.

“All of the above caused occasional difficulties in accessing the system and queues at points of sale, which is entirely expected given the scale of this sale. The pressure on sales lasted all night, hundreds of tickets were sold every minute of the night, and at the quietest moment around 4:30 am there were still over 20,000 people in the virtual waiting room.

“At the same time, our customer support team received thousands of inquiries through various channels, which they continue to diligently respond to so that all of our customers’ questions are resolved as soon as possible.”

Zagreb Hippodrome – which is said to host an unlimited number of standing spectators – has previously hosted several mega concerts.

The Rolling Stones currently hold the record for the largest-ever concert at the venue, drawing 80,000 fans to their Bridges to Babylon show in 1998. This was the first major concert in independent Croatia, coming shortly after the peaceful reintegration of Eastern Slavonia.

Other notable concerts at the venue include Metallica in 2010 (over 30,000 fans), Red Hot Chili Peppers in 2012 (over 35,000), and Ed Sheeran’s 2024 show, which attracted 70,000 people.

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Revenue from live music ticket sales in Spain rocketed 25% year-on-year to generate a new record high of €725.6 million in 2024, powered by tours from homegrown artists.

Spain’s Association of Music Promoters (APM) disclosed the figures today (12 March) at a press conference in Barcelona, heralding the launch of its 2025 Live Music Yearbook.

The numbers represent a third successive annual increase for the market, which earned €579m in 2023. Madrid (€185.4m), Catalonia (€138.6m) and Andalusia (€116.2m) were the top three regions in terms of ticket income, with Madrid, Barcelona, Seville, Valencia and Malaga the leading cities.

Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band claimed the best-selling international tour, shifting 275,885 tickets for their sold out, Doctor Music-promoted five-show run.

Next in the rankings were two Spanish-speaking artists: Colombian Karol G, who moved 219,943 tickets for her four-night, sold out run at Madrid’s Santiago Bernabéu Stadium, staged by Live Nation, and Mexican singer Luis Miguel, whose Iglesias Entertainment-promoted 12-concert tour sold 203,114 tickets.

However, tours by domestic acts led the way – headed by Melendi, who pulled in 501,197 attendees for his 41 concerts, organised by Riff Producciones.

“After the pandemic, the work of national artists is highly valued”

In second place was Estopa (376,805 tickets sold for 25 concerts), followed by Robe (280,901 tickets/37 shows), ING OT23 Tour (143,023 attendees/10 shows) and Rozalén (84,640 attendees for 47 concerts). Also making the top ten were Pablo López (77,581 ticket sales), David Bisbal (74,352 attendees), Malú (72,091), SFDK (69,040) and Manuel Carrasco (65,103).

Concert Studio’s Carlos Pérez previously discussed the Spanish audience’s shift towards native acts in an interview with IQ, attributing it, in part, to the impact of Covid.

“Traditionally, promoters used to hire much more international artists, specifically Anglo-Saxon ones,” he said. “However, after the pandemic, the work of national artists is highly valued.”

Borriana’s Arenal Sound was the most-well attended festival, with organiser The Music Republic reporting 300,000 visitors across the course of the event.

Primavera Sound Barcelona was second with 268,000 attendees – up 20,000 on its 2023 edition – and Villarrobledo’s Viña Rock, also promoted by The Music Republic, was third with 240,000 fans. Mad Cool (221,843) and Benicassim (180,000) rounded off the top five.

The top ten was completed by Sonar (151,000), O Son Do Camino (126,000), BBK Live (110,000), Granca Live Fest (80,000) and Low Festival (69,000).

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ABBA Voyage grossed more than £100 million (€120m) in 2023 after attracting in excess of one million visitors, it has been revealed.

The groundbreaking production pulled in a total of 1,097,597 visitors last year, according to documents filed in the UK with Companies House by Aniara, the firm behind the virtual concert residency.

Over the 12-month period, the show completed 374 performances and attracted 1,097,597 visitors, achieving an occupancy rate of 97.8%. Revenue from ticket sales was £103,665,597, with Aniara declaring a pre-tax profit of £6,065,402 – more than double the £2,990,757 garnered in 2022, when it played for seven months.

Held at the purpose-built 3,000-cap ‘ABBA Arena’ under the direction of producers Svana Gisla and Ludvig Andersson and director Baillie Walsh, the show debuted at London’s Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in May 2022.

“During the period, the group successfully operated the ABBA Voyage show, building on the critical acclaim received following its launch in May 2022,” reads the report. “There is a substantial market demand for ABBA Voyage and the directors anticipate a continued high level of activity throughout 2024.

“The group’s long term strategy is to continue the run of the show in London for as long as it remains commercially viable”

“The group’s long term strategy is to continue the run of the show in London for as long as it remains commercially viable.”

The show has brought the Swedish pop legends – Agnetha Fältskog, Björn Ulvaeus (co-founder of lead investor Pophouse Entertainment), Benny Andersson and Anni-Frid Lyngstad – back to the stage in avatar form, supported by a 10-piece live band. Standard tickets range from £27.50 to £319.50.

Costing £141 million, the entire venture was funded privately from Swedish investors. Turnover for the seven months its was active in 2022 was £97,118,038 from 675,600 visitors across 228 shows, meaning ticket sales revenue topped £200m in its first 19 months of operation.

By the year-end of 2023, Aniara had net assets of £13,886,925, compared to £5,826,001 12 months earlier.

Revisit IQ‘s 2022 interview with producers Svana Gisla and Ludvig Andersson and director Baillie Walsh here. Gisla also delivered a keynote during Touring Entertainment Live (TEL) at this year’s ILMC.

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A new Australian festival has been cancelled just five days after tickets went on sale.

Promise Village, presented by Triple J, was due to take place on 12 October at Langley Park in Perth with headliners Jorja Smith, J Hus and Headie One.

Festival co-founder Emal Naim told Perth Now that the event was pulled because there weren’t enough ticket sales or local government support.

“It unfortunately didn’t hold up to initial expectations and there was not much support to sustain costs, it just wasn’t feasible anymore,” he said. “We’ve made the decision indefinitely to not return to Perth, we’re scared to.”

Presale tickets went public five days ago while the general sale opened two days ago.

“It unfortunately didn’t hold up to initial expectations and there was not much support to sustain costs, it just wasn’t feasible anymore”

When the event was announced last month, festival co-director Naim said: “R&B as a genre now is as strong as ever, and it’s about time Australia gets a live experience dedicated to it. This has been a long time coming.”

The likes of Uncle Waffles, Headie One, Nemzzz, NSG DBN Gogo, Sarz, Jazmine Nikitta and Sasha Fern were also due to perform at the new festival.

The Promise Village line-up shared many acts with the established festival Promiseland – both of which were co-founded by Naim.

The next edition of the event, which was launched in 2022, is due to take place in October on the Gold Coast.

Naim’s company Festco is also behind Souled Out – a new festival that sold 75,000 tickets across five cities in Australasia for its inaugural edition – and Eden Festival in New Zealand.

The cancellation of Promise Village comes days after the Australian Festivals Association pleaded for “the ongoing war on festivals” to end.

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UK concert series TK Maxx presents Live at The Piece Hall is on course to sell out its 2024 season after shifting more than 170,000 tickets for its summer shows so far.

The 34-night series in Halifax, West Yorkshire, gets underway tonight (7 June) with the first of two shows by Blondie, with sold-out concerts by the likes of Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds, Nile Rodgers & Chic, Loyle Carner, Tom Jones, Sheryl Crow, Korn, Biffy Clyro, Fatboy Slim and Bryan Adams set to follow over the next two months.

Co-promoters The Piece Hall Trust and Live Nation’s Cuffe and Taylor say the acclaimed 6,000-cap open-air venue has already smashed the previous box office record of 125,000 tickets, set in 2023, with this year’s sales.

“To have already sold in excess of 170,000 tickets – smashing the previous box office record by almost 50,000 tickets – cements The Piece Hall’s growing reputation as one of the UK’s best outdoor venues, one that is loved equally by audiences and artists,” says Peter Taylor, co-founder of Cuffe and Taylor.

“The series has grown from half a dozen shows just a few years ago to 34 this year. With attendance figures set to eclipse virtually every concert series and major festival in the UK – and with a rich and diverse programme of shows – The Piece Hall is truly one hottest tickets of the summer.”

“People are rightly incredibly proud of The Piece Hall and its growing reputation as a premiere music and events venue, not just nationally but internationally”

Outside of events in London and the south coast, only Glastonbury and Liverpool’s Anfield stadium will welcome more gig goers to outdoor shows in England between June and August.

“People are rightly incredibly proud of The Piece Hall and its growing reputation as a premiere music and events venue, not just nationally but internationally,” adds Nicky Chance-Thompson MBE DL, CEO of The Piece Hall Charitable Trust.

The Grade I-listed The Piece Hall originally opened in 1779 for the trading of ‘pieces’ of cloth produced by Yorkshire’s famous woollen mills and is the only remaining Georgian cloth hall in the world. Now an award-winning contemporary cultural, heritage and live entertainment destination, it has welcomed more than 14 million visitors through its historic gates since it re-opened in 2017.

Cuffe and Taylor, which entered into a co-promoter partnership with The Piece Hall Trust in 2022, will present almost 150 outdoor shows at venues and events this year including Lytham Festival, Scarborough Open Air Theatre, Cardiff Castle, Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod, Summer Sessions in Bedford, Chepstow, Derby, Plymouth and Southampton, and the Forest Live series of concerts.

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The BBC Proms sold a record-breaking number of tickets during last weekend’s 2024 onsale, it has been revealed.

Nearly 103,000 tickets were sold for the classical music series on Saturday 18 May after general booking opened at 9am – the highest number of Proms tickets ever sold online in a single day.

Taking into account telephone and in-person sales, more than 107,000 were sold on Saturday – up almost 36% on last year. When combined with Sunday’s figures and the figures for season tickets, the total number of tickets sold is almost 125,000.

“I am delighted that the 2024 Proms, my last as director, are proving so appealing,” says BBC Proms director David Pickard. “With many of our core classical concerts selling fast, it shows that the public’s appetite for classical orchestral music is as strong as ever. To see such huge audiences for Mahler, Beethoven, Britten, Bruckner, Verdi and Holst reinforces the original vision of the festival – to bring the best of classical music to the widest possible audience.”

Held predominantly at London’s Royal Albert Hall, the 2024 BBC Proms season runs from 19 July until 14 September and features 90 Proms with over 3,000 musicians.

The most in-demand Proms are the First Night of the Proms conducted by Elim Chan (19 July), Everybody Dance! The Sound of Disco (20 July), Sir Mark Elder conducts Mahler’s Fifth (21 July), Verdi’s Requiem (23 July), CBeebies Proms (27 July, two concerts), Yunchan Lim performs Beethoven, Bruckner and Tüür (29 July), Sam Smith (2 August), Anne-Sophie Mutter performs Brahms with the West-Eastern Divan (11 August), Beethoven’s Seventh Symphony (12 August) and Britten’s War Requiem (17 August).

“I am thrilled that this year’s opening on sale weekend has been record-breaking, demonstrating the UK’s passion for live music”

The list also includes Aurora Orchestra performs Beethoven’s Ninth (18 August), Holst’s The Planets (25 August), Doctor Who Proms (26 August, two concerts), Simon Rattle conducts Mahler’s Sixth (6 September) and Florence + The Machine: Symphony of Lungs (11 September).

Tickets for the majority of the 2024 BBC Proms are still available, while up to 1,000 Promming tickets will be released for every single Prom, priced at £8 and available at 10.30am on the day of the concert.

“I am thrilled that this year’s opening on sale weekend has been record-breaking, demonstrating the UK’s passion for live music,” adds Sam Jackson, controller, Radio 3 and BBC Proms. “It’s noteworthy that the 15 best-selling Proms reflect the breadth and variety of what the BBC Proms offers, from international orchestras and star soloists through to family concerts and genre-defying gems.

“While these figures are very encouraging, audiences should be aware that no Prom at the Royal Albert Hall is ever sold out until the day itself, because you can buy standing tickets for every single concert, on the day. And of course, all concerts will be broadcast on Radio 3.”

BBC Radio 3 will broadcast every single Prom, and they will all be available on BBC Sounds. Other BBC Radio networks, including Radio 1 and Radio 2 will broadcast highlights, while 24 programmes will also be broadcast on TV and BBC iPlayer.

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The first 100 tickets for the sequel of the infamous Fyre Fest have sold out, despite a baptism of fire during its first edition in 2017.

Developed by Billy McFarland, the inaugural festival Fyre Fest was originally set to run over two weekends on a private beach in the Bahamas, with the promise of luxury accommodation, gourmet food and music.

However, the event spectacularly collapsed on its first day when ticket-holders arrived to find half-built tents, insufficient food and a dearth of performers.

McFarland was jailed in 2018 and fined US$26 million for his role in the debacle, pleading guilty to defrauding investors and running a fraudulent ticketing scam.

The 31-year-old – who was released from prison last year– announced the return of the festival earlier this year and tickets went on sale this morning.

“FYRE is about people from the around the world coming together to pull off the impossible”

Despite a lack of details about the second edition, the first 100 tickets – which were priced at US$499 – have been snapped up. A further six tiers of tickets, ranging between $799 and $7,999, are “coming soon”.

The sequel’s location, date and line-up have not yet been confirmed, though the founder says it will take place in “the Caribbean” and that his unnamed partners are “targeting Fyre Festival 2 for the end of next year”.

“Since 2016 FYRE has been the most talked about festival in the world. We now saw this convert to one of the highest priced GA [general admission] pre-sales in the industry,” tweeted McFarland.

“FYRE is about people from the around the world coming together to pull off the impossible. This time we have incredible support. I’ll be doing what I love while working with the best logistical and infrastructure partners. In addition, all ticket sale revenue will be held in escrow until the final date is announced. We look forward to surprising the world alongside our partners as we build FYRE and FYRE Festival II into the island adventure of a lifetime.”

In a video posted to his official TikTok account yesterday, McFarland said: “It has been the absolute wildest journey to get here, and it really all started during the seven-month stint in solitary confinement. I wrote out this 50-page plan of how it would take this overall interest and demand in Fyre, and how it would take my ability to bring people from around the world together and make the impossible happen, how I would find the best partners in the world to allow me to be me while executing Fyre’s vision to the highest level…”

“It has been the absolute wildest journey to get here… it really all started during the seven-month stint in solitary confinement”

He added: “In the meantime, we’ll be doing pop-ups and events across the world. Guys, this is your chance to get in. This is everything I’ve been working towards. Let’s fucking go.”

In March this year, McFarland laid out his plans to repay the $26 million (£20.9 million) he owes to investors for the botched debut.

“Here’s how I’m going to pay it back: I spend half my time filming TV shows. The other half, I focus on what I’m really, really good at,” he said on Twitter. “I’m the best at coming up with wild creative, getting talent together, and delivering the moment.”

McFarland previously shared he plans on making a Broadway musical.

He made the announcement on TikTok and in an interview with journalist Adam Glyn. “Instead of like traditional Broadway actors, it’s going to be current music artists, combined with the Broadway format of the play — making fun of me, but also I think sharing some of the good sides as well,” he said of the planned musical, which he has dubbed Fyre Fest 1.5.

Last year, following his release from prison, McFarland also launched a Bahamas treasure hunt venture, called ‘PYRT’. The event was expected to be the subject of a not-yet-released documentary titled After The Fyre.

The press has been somewhat sceptical about a second iteration of the notorious event, with Rolling Stone’s headline on the announcement reading: “Fyre Festival II tickets are on sale now if you’re interested in lighting money on fire”.

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The Weeknd has made history in London again after smashing the ticket sales record at Wembley Stadium.

The Canadian singer-songwriter (real name Abel Tesfaye) sold 87,000 tickets to his 18 August concert, according to Live Nation UK.

The show, supported by Kaytranada and Mike Dean, was the final European date on his ongoing After Hours ‘Til Dawn’ Tour.

It marks the second consecutive time the multi-Grammy-winning artist has broken a record in the UK capital.

“Abel continues to sell at an astounding level across Europe”

Just last month, the Weeknd set a new attendance record for London Stadium, after drawing 160,000 fans over two nights.

“On the heels of an enormous, hugely successful US tour, Abel continues to sell at an astounding level across Europe,” CAA’s co-head of North American touring Darryl Eaton said. “We couldn’t be more proud to work with him and his team on this incredible tour.”

Last year’s North American leg of the global After Hours Til Dawn Tour grossed $148 million (€135m), with the stadium run now having grossed more than $350m to date worldwide.

The After Hours ‘Til Dawn’ Tour will visit Latin America this autumn with shows in Mexico City, Rio de Janeiro, Buenos Aires, among others stops.

 

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The organisers behind Splendour in the Grass, one of Australia’s biggest and longest-running festivals, have reported a 30% drop in ticket sales.

Co-producer Jessica Ducrou says sales are down from 50,000 tickets to 35,000, with only a few days to go until the Byron Bay event.

It comes after last year’s Splendour was hit with the worst weather in its 20-year history, resulting in the cancellation of the first day.

Many campers opted to sleep in their cars to avoid pitching a tent on the swamped campsite. The downpour also caused significant traffic delays, for which the Splendour organisers were forced to pay $100,000 to schools.

“No doubt last year’s experiences have impacted sales,” Ducrou told ABC. “There has been a lot of thought, consultation and consideration to avoid what happened last year.”

“No doubt last year’s experiences have impacted sales”

Ducrou pointed out a range of traffic management measures that have been put in place, including vehicle passes sold to ensure visitors come onto the site via designated directions and at particular times.

The co-producer believes that the drop in ticket sales for this year’s edition is also “a reflection of the current economy”.

“We are seeing a lot of people buying single-day tickets rather than three days and that is very much a reflection on the budget,” she added.

The 21st annual Splendour in the Grass Music and Arts Festival is returning to Ngarindjin/North Byron Parklands from 21 July to 24 July.

Lizzo, Flume and Mumford & Sons top the bill, with support from acts including J Balvin, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Sam Fender, Little Simz, Arlo Parks, Tove Lo and more.

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