A record 24.7 million people travelled across the UK to attend concerts and festivals last year, injecting an unprecedented £11.2 billion into the economy as the Oasis reunion tour and major international acts drew fans from across Britain and overseas.
UK Music said the total number of music tourists rose 4.8% from 2024, with the vast majority — 85% — being UK residents who travelled more than three times the average commute distance to see acts including Coldplay, Lana Del Rey, Beyoncé, Dua Lipa and Ed Sheeran. Overseas music tourists jumped 27% to 2.1 million from 1.6 million in 2024, helped by artists including Coldplay, Lana Del Rey and Oasis, who played only in the UK last year.
The Oasis Effect
The report gave particular credit to the Gallagher brothers' reunion tour, where Oasis played for the first time in 15 years, for what it called the most profitable run of gigs in British history — despite a scandal over ticket pricing that saw fans locked out by dynamic pricing systems and resale touts. Oasis fans spent more than £1 billion on the reunion tour, or more than £766 per person across the tour. The band's five shows at Manchester's Heaton Park alone pushed music tourist spending in the north-west up 16% year on year to £1.4 billion.
Other major acts in the UK last year included Chris Brown, Sam Fender and the South Korean artists Blackpink and Stray Kids. Glastonbury, which featured Neil Young, Olivia Rodrigo, Charli xcx and the 1975, also helped fuel a bumper summer.
London Dominates, But Regions Benefit
London's music tourism spending rose 27.4% from £2.7 billion to £3.4 billion, and the capital accounted for more than 30% of total spend last year. But the figures also showed significant regional benefits, with Manchester's Oasis windfall demonstrating how major tours can deliver economic growth beyond the south-east.
The record £11.2 billion spent on music tourism last year was up 11% on the £10 billion in 2024. UK Music said the figure included £5.7 billion spent directly by music tourists on tickets, food and drink, merchandise, travel, accommodation and meals while travelling to events, and a further £5.5 billion spent indirectly on fencing and security at concerts. The report said the record spend was also boosted by inflation and soaring ticket prices.
Tom Kiehl, the chief executive of UK Music, said, "The billions spent are a huge shot in the arm for towns and cities right across the UK." He added, "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."
Government Pledges Action
Ian Murray, the creative industries minister, said, "These record-breaking figures are a testament to what the UK's music industry does better than anywhere else in the world." He added, "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."
UK Music said the number of full-time equivalent jobs in live music rose 3% last year, from 71,760 to 74,000. UK Music said it did not have data for overall gig attendees, but the total would be far higher once local fans were included.
Why This Matters:
The record music tourism figures demonstrate the UK's cultural industries aren't just economically vital — they're engines of regional growth that spread prosperity beyond London. But the Oasis pricing scandal exposed a structural problem: fans are being priced out by touts and dynamic pricing systems that extract wealth without creating value. The government's promised crackdown on ticket resale exploitation is overdue, and ministers must also deliver on pledges to support grassroots venues where future headliners develop. Without action, soaring ticket prices risk turning live music into a luxury good accessible only to the wealthy, undermining the very cultural ecosystem that generates billions in economic activity and tens of thousands of jobs across the country.