REGIONAL PROFILES
FRANCE & BENELUX POPULATION: 62.8m (FR); 17m (NL); 11.5m (BE); 594,130 (LU) INTERNET USERS: 57.2m (FR); 15.4m (NL); 9.8m (BE); 567k (LU) GDP/CAPITA: $43,600 (FR); $53,600 (NL); $46,300 (BE); $109,100 (LU) ACTIVE SMARTPHONES: 67.5m (FR); 20.8m (NL); 12.9m (BE); 813k (LU)
T
he boom time for arenas in France, Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg shows no sign of abating. Strong economies and high numbers of tours mean that this is one of the strongest markets in Europe. For the first time, average ticket prices in this region exceeded the usually more expensive Nordics – and yet attendances did not wane. Those arenas that took part in our survey hosted a total of 403 events, selling 2.9million tickets for a total spend of €113.8m.
Attendance
The arenas surveyed saw the second highest average attendance figures in Europe: 7,184, compared to a European average of 6,036. This is despite having the highest average ticket price in Europe, at €53.55.
REGIONAL MAP n = France, Belgium, Netherlands & Luxembourg
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Music dominated the programme, making up 62% of all tickets sold, and selling 1,792,734 tickets. These concerts attracted above average attendance figures of 8,039. Sports events saw above average attendances of 6,819, compared with a European average of 5,471. It made up 32% of the programme and 20% of the total spend. The proportion of family events was 7%, and although almost half the average attendance for music, figures remain above average for the genre, drawing 4,573 people per show compared with a European average for family shows of 3,828. Dance shows drew average audiences of 3,971 (survey average: 3,058), making up 3% of programming and 12% of total attendance. Rotterdam Ahoy (cap. 15,000) is not only an arena but an exhibition and conference space too. “2017 was a good year. We had a good number of events, plus some major refurbishment of the exhibition centre, which is almost finished,” says Peter van der Veer. “People here still like to spend money on entertainment. Of course, there’s competition in every market so it’s important for us as a venue and as an organiser to be competitive.” In Belgium, Sportpaleis Group runs the Sportpaleis (cap. 23,001) and neighbouring LOTTO Arena (8,050) in Antwerp; Forest National (8,000) in Brussels; and the Ethias Arena (18,000) in Hasselt. “We are experiencing probably the best 12 months ever,” says Jan van Esbroeck. “We are lucky to have a couple of good promoters here, which we like to support with our marketing and data intelligence. We run four arenas, one of which is the largest in Europe, Sportpaleis, which enables promoters to offer high guarantees to top artists. And we have, with Forest National in Brussels, one of the warmest venues, with a good mid-sized (8,500) capacity, enabling us to present new talent that is on the edge of breaking through or has just broken through. “Thanks to many strong touring acts we’ve had a busy schedule in all our arenas. The most astonishing is that although in this period we’ve offered