
Photo: Ollie Millington/Redferns
Report: Music Fans Traveled The World For Live Events In 2018
Music lovers and fans of man other live events dusted off their passports and headed out to international destinations to catch music live in 2018, a new study by StubHub shows.
We’ll remember 2018 not for the shows we saw and the teams we cheered for, but for the people who experienced them with us. pic.twitter.com/NJvCKlFRPa
— StubHub (@StubHub) December 4, 2018
The study, solely based on sales from StubHub, shows roughly 200,000 customers went to a different country to experience one of approximately30,000 live events, according to Rolling Stone. Fans included in the report come from 144 countries that include the United States, United Kingdom, Japan, Canada, Mexico and France. The U.S. and the U.K. are home to the fans most likely to travel for concerts, festivals, sports and other live events.
Perkins Miller, Stubhub’s general manager of the Americas says that all the travel is due to a combination of recent trends and traveling accessibility.
“There are a few industry and cultural factors driving the trends we’re seeing,” Miller told Rolling Stone. “On the industry side, we are seeing artists expand their star power internationally — fans flocked from 80 different countries to watch K-Pop boy band BTS perform — and as a culture, we are traveling further afield to experience live events. The easy availability of apartment rentals and homestays is accelerating this trend. Nothing lets you experience another culture quite like immersing yourself in a live event. In some way, it’s the ultimate way to feel ‘like a local.'”
While many international music fans travel to America each year for concerts, Rolling Stone noted that Americans are visiting the U.K. and Canada the most, but music fans are visiting Italy, Ireland and the Netherlands more than prior years.
Who are the artists fans are going great lengths to see? GRAMMY winner Ed Sheeran, BTS, Elton John, Foo Fighters, Paul McCartney made the top 5. Who would you travel long and far to see live?