Photo Credit: Sandra Tan
Oasis, Beyonce, and Dua Lipa helped attract a record number of music tourists to events across the UK, pushing music tourism spending to a new high.
Oasis, Beyonce, Dua Lipa, Coldplay, Lana Del Rey, and Kendrick Lamar helped attract a record 24.7 million music tourists to concerts and festivals in the UK in 2025, new figures from UK Music revealed on Friday, July 10.
The long-awaited Gallagher brothers’ reunion saw the Oasis Live ‘25 Tour sell out stadiums, helping boost the total number of music tourists in the UK by 4.8% from 23.5 million in 2024 to a new record of 24.7 million last year.
Those music tourists spent an all-time high of £11.2 billion in 2025 across the UK at major festivals and concerts like Glastonbury, Download, Reading, Boomtown, and Wireless. The figure marks a huge 11.3% increase on the 2024 total spend of £10 billion, according to figures published by UK Music.
Of the 24.7 million total number of visitors, 22.6 million were music tourists from the UK, a 3.2% rise on the 2024 figure of 21.9 million visitors.
A total of 2.1 million visitors were overseas music tourists—up a huge 26.8% on the 2024 total of 1.6 million. The increase was driven by the large number of overseas music fans heading to popular stadium shows in the UK, some of which were the only 2025 European dates for artists like Coldplay, Lana Del Rey, and Oasis.
The new figures have been welcomed by UK Music Chief Executive Tom Kiehl and Creative Industries Minister Ian Murray, who hailed the UK as a world leader in live music.
The 1975, Neil Young, Olivia Rodrigo, and Charli XCX were among the big names at Glastonbury in 2025 and helped boost music tourism outside London and the North West. It was a similar story in East Anglia with Ed Sheeran’s run of shows at Ipswich Town’s stadium.
Music fans also poured into concerts staged by Coldplay, Chris Brown, and Sam Fender. South Korean artists Blackpink and Stray Kids played their own stadium headline shows in the UK, having both previously headlined British Summer Time in London’s Hyde Park.
Music tourists supported 74,000 full-time equivalent jobs in the live music sector in 2025—up 3% on the 2024 total of 71,760. This small increase reflects growth in both direct and indirect employment through the value chain supported by music tourism, particularly at the stadium and arena level. However, this is not necessarily reflective of employment trends across the live music sector, and particularly at the grassroots level, where employment levels were hit by higher operating costs.
Music tourism spending is made up of £5.7 billion spent directly by music tourists attending concerts and festivals in the UK, including the cost of a ticket, on-site spend, travel, accommodation, and meals while travelling to events. A further £5.5 billion was spent indirectly through the value chain, including costs such as fencing and security, or a restaurant paying for ingredients.
However, the UK music industry faces a number of major challenges that threaten its world-leading status, including the rising cost of touring in the UK and overseas, the threat of more closures to smaller and grassroots music venues, and the cost-of-living crisis facing many music fans.
Barriers to UK-EU touring post-Brexit continue to hamper the opportunities of artists seeking to build new fanbases in new markets. UK Music continues to campaign for policymakers in the UK and the EU to work together and boost cultural cooperation. In 2025, UK Music co-founded the Cultural Exchange Coalition to unite MPs and MEPs to remove the obstacles to touring the EU.
According to the Association of Independent Festivals, a total of 43 UK festivals were cancelled, postponed, or shuttered entirely in 2025, following a record 78 festivals that did not proceed in 2024.
“The record 24.7 million music tourists who spent £11.2 billion to enjoy the experience of seeing their favorite acts live is a tribute to the 220,000 people who work across the UK music industry,” said UK Music Chief Executive Tom Kiehl.
“The billions spent are a huge shot in the arm for towns and cities right across the UK and benefit hotels, restaurants, bars, and transport firms, and thousands of other businesses.”
“However, the Government must support music fans by delivering on their manifesto pledge to tackle the menace of ticket touts who charge exorbitant prices for resale tickets—squeezing the amount of cash fans have to spend on gig-going.”
“We need to see long overdue Government and EU action to help UK performers and musicians touring the EU who have to deal with soaring costs and red tape post-Brexit,” Kiehl continued.
“We also need to see music’s grassroots protected and nurtured. This includes the artists, venues, festivals, studios, and rehearsal rooms that are embedded in our local communities and who are essential to the future prosperity of our world-leading industry. We must make sure that policymakers recognize their vital economic and cultural value and deliver the support they need.”
“With the right support, we can help the UK music industry continue to boost the economy, create jobs, and give music lovers some unforgettable experiences,” Kiehl concluded.
“These record-breaking figures are a testament to what the UK’s music industry does better than anywhere else in the world. Whether it’s Oasis playing Heaton Park, or an up-and-coming artist finding their feet on a smaller stage like the Dublin Castle or The Troubadour, this is a nation of incredible live performance, with world-renowned venus to support it,” added Creative Industries Minister Ian Murray.
“That’s why this Government is committed to backing the entire music ecosystem in its upcoming plan for music: protecting fans from the exploitation of ticket touts, supporting the grassroots venues and studios that are the lifeblood of our future talent, and working to improve opportunities for UK artists to tour in Europe.”
