London has been hailed as the “undisputed capital of music” with a summer line-up of superstar gigs that includes Beyonce, Billie Eilish, Oasis and Coldplay.
Recent analysis of ticket sales by Live Nation has revealed that 61 per of fans had travelled from across the UK to London for gigs so far this summer, with 16 per cent from abroad.
By the end of the summer, more than 3.6 million fans will have seen a stadium or arena concert in London, according to Live Nation.
The figures come ahead of the first of six sold-out gigs by Oasis at Wembley Stadium on Friday – more than any other city on their reunion tour.
Next month and into September, Coldplay will perform for 10 nights at the national stadium.
Last month Lana Del Ray was among the headliners, while in June Dua Lipa played her first headline show at Wembley.
London mayor Sir Sadiq Khan said: “This summer, some of the world's biggest music stars are performing more times in London than anywhere else – showing why we are the undisputed capital of music.
“Our world-renowned venues are drawing more than 3.6m people to enjoy unforgettable experiences and boost our hospitality industry, from Beyoncé’s exclusive performances at the Tottenham Stadium and Billie Eilish’s six-night run at the O2 to Coldplay’s upcoming dates at Wembley Stadium.
“At the same time, our incredible grassroots venues continue to provide a wide range of performances every night of the week for music fans to enjoy.”
It is not known whether Sir Sadiq will be at Wembley to see Oasis. He was at the stadium last summer to see Taylor Swift. He recently returned from a five-day trade tour of Africa.
The live music industry is worth an estimated £2.7bn a year to the capital.
Beyonce performed six times at the Tottenham Hotspur stadium in June – though failed to sell out – while Billie Eilish concluded six nights at The O2 arena in North Greenwich last week.
Earlier this year Usher performed 10 nights at The O2.
BST Hyde Park saw more than 500,000 people attend eight sold-out shows, which included Neil Young.
The Hyde Park shows also saw Noah Kahan playing his largest headline show to date and Zach Bryan and Sabrina Carpenter playing their biggest ever UK shows.
AEG Europe, which owns The O2, said the venue was on track for its biggest year yet, with 1.4m tickets sold already this year.
However there have been ongoing issues with the use of London’s parks for summer concerts - including protests about the condition of Finsbury Park, and a court case involving the use of Brockwell Park.
There are 179 grassroots music venues in London. According to City Hall, in the last year, they have welcomed more than 4.2m gig-goers and staged performances by more than 328,000 artists.
Justine Simons, London’s deputy mayor for culture, who was recently at Glastonbury, said: “From tens of thousands singing along to their favourite chorus to intimate crowds discovering a new act for the very first time, music has incredible power to bring people together.
“Nowhere else is that shown more clearly than in London, where this summer music fans can unite to enjoy so many genres of music across a huge variety of venues.”
Tom Kiehl, chief executive of UK Music, said: “London is a global superpower when it comes to the strength and incredibly diversity of our music industry.
“Our latest UK Music figures show that a total of 7.5 million domestic and overseas music tourists came to London in 2024 and spent £2.7 billion enjoying stadium-filling acts like Taylor Swift, festivals like All Points East and British Summer Time and our iconic grassroots venues.
“The Oasis reunion and Beyoncé tour means that London has another spectacular summer lined up for music fans.”
John Langford, chief operating Officer of AEG Europe, said: “In the first half of this year alone, The O2 arena has sold over 1.4 million tickets and hosted 115 performances.
“As we celebrate The O2’s 18th anniversary and top the Billboard mid-year charts for both shows and attendance, it’s clear: London is not just participating in the global music scene — it’s leading it.”
Denis Desmond, chairman of Live Nation UK & Ireland, said: “This year marks Live Nation’s busiest summer season ever in the UK with over two million attendees in London alone.
“This summer we’re particularly pleased to see artists that we’ve worked with since the beginning of their careers, like Beyonce, Dua Lipa, Imagine Dragons, Kendrick Lamar, Lana Del Rey, Post Malone, Guns N Roses, and Coldplay all performing at stadium level.”
