Going to see our favourite music acts perform live is one of the most thrilling experiences, surrounded by thousands of other music fans, singing along to their favourite tracks, it has to be one of the most euphoric feelings in the world. These experiences, of course, come with a price tag for fans hoping to see their favourite musicians.
In the UK alone the live music economy is worth £1.33 billion, which is big business for musicians looking to perform to adoring crowds. This huge market for live music, also saw Taylor Swift last year surpass $1 billion on her Eras World Tour in 2023, which was the first tour in the world to do this. Her fans are also influencing global travel trends, with the demand to fly to Warsaw, Edinburgh, Liverpool and Paris up a respective 339%, 176%, 133% and 108% in the timeframe around upcoming Swift concerts in May and June.
Skyscanner announced that ‘Gig-Tripping’ is one of their top travel trends for 2024, according to their travel report. Gig tourism isn’t something new, however, due to Taylor Swift’s influence it has become an ever-growing trend. With the demand for tickets, as well as rising costs of living, more music fans are looking to travel to catch their beloved acts in other countries, in a bid to save money, and the opportunity to enjoy a holiday too.
To discover the best places to travel to save money to see musicians perform live this year, global storage company Radical Storage has found out the average cost of gig tickets across locations in Europe, as well as which artists are the most expensive, and which are the cheapest to support.
Milan is the most expensive location in Europe for live music, with the average ticket costing £322 (€376) per gig. This is 28% more than the next most expensive, Marbella.
Milan is known as the fashion capital of Italy, with its luxury high-end fashion label houses such as Versace, Dolce & Gabbana, and Prada. It is also one of the most expensive cities in Italy to live in, perhaps making it no surprise to locals how expensive their gig tickets are when compared to other cities.
Marbella, Spain, is the second most expensive, well known for its music and being a party destination, average ticket prices for concerts are £255 (€296).
Nottingham, UK is the cheapest city for gig tickets in Europe with average prices at £58 (€67). This Midlands city is known for the legend of Robin Hood, stealing from the rich and giving to the poor, and the city is staying true to form. Seven out of the top ten cheapest cities in Europe are in the UK for gig tickets.
Antwerpen, Belgium comes in second with average tickets at £76 (€88), a city well known for its musical connection. Followed closely by Birmingham, another Midlands city to hit this list, with the average price of tickets at £78 (€90).
Kicking off the European leg of her world tour, the Shake it Off singer’s average ticket prices are an eye-watering £375 (€439) each! This average ticket price is £146 (€169) more than the second most expensive tickets for musicians Coldplay.
After performing the hugely successful American leg of her world tour, and breaking the record for grossing over £1 billion, the European part of this tour has also sold out. Millions of Swifties are expected to flock to stadiums across Europe this summer from May 2024, to catch the singer in all her sequin-adorned costumes – despite the hefty price tag.
Stevie Nicks, known for being the frontwoman of Fleetwood Mac and being a solo artist since 1981, is on tour this summer across Europe. Tickets on average cost £185 (€217) to see the Dreams singer, and is the third most expensive artist on our list.
The Take Me to Church singer kicked off his new world tour in America in April 2024, heading over to do the European leg of his tour in June this summer, and has the cheapest tickets on average of the musicians on tour this year. Tickets on average to see the singer live are £48 (€56), which is £327 (€349) 82% less than tickets for Taylor Swift.
Hozier recently released a new album this year ‘Unheard EP’ which features tracks such as Too Sweet, and Farewell, which has prompted his new world tour this year.
Sting is the second least expensive artist for gig tickets this year, with tickets on average costing £51 (€60). Known as the frontman of the band Police, who rose to fame in the late 1970s, Sting has been working as a solo artist since 1985.
The Jonas Brothers and The 1975 are the third least expensive acts respectively to see live, with tickets costing £56 (€66) on average each.
Despite forming in 1990, Take That are showing no signs of slowing down. Jetting off on a European tour this summer consisting of 41 shows. The band are performing more than any other music act in Europe this year, with remaining members Gary Barlow, Howard Donald, and Mark Owen.
We started by looking at 769 artists’ concert venues for 2024 to find out which artists are touring across Europe. This list was then reduced to 33 performing in the UK and Europe through 2024. Any city with less than 3 concerts was removed, as artists may be performing one-off festivals which would skew the data.
Getting average prices from the tickets from these tours to create a ranking for both artists, as well as the cost of tickets in locations across the UK and Europe.
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