INTERNATIONAL PROFILES
BELGIUM LANGUAGES DUTCH, FRENCH, GERMAN POPULATION (MILLIONS) 11.5 CURRENCY EURO GDP/CAPITA (US$) 46,600 INTERNET USERS (MILLIONS) 9.9 SMARTPHONE PENETRATION % 84 POPULATION % AGED 15-24 11.3 POPULATION % AGED 25-54 40.0 PWC ESTIMATED 2019 LIVE MUSIC TICKET SALES US$MILLIONS 270 PWC FORECAST 2023 LIVE MUSIC TICKET SALES US$MILLIONS 285
© BEN HOUDIJK FOR ROCK WERCHTER
Award-winning Rock Werchter is one of Belgium’s largest festivals.
A
lthough Belgium has a population of just 11 million people, the country is home to some of Europe’s most iconic music festivals and has a history of attracting more than its fair share of international touring productions. Its importance in the European business is not to be underestimated and Live Nation’s recent moves to expand into the venues sector may well signal a new strategy for the company of securing arena contracts then leveraging Ticketmaster to bolster revenues.
PRIMARY TICKETING The influence of Tele Ticket Service (TTS), particularly in the northern region of Flanders, is set to change after Live Nation announced it had acquired the company’s parent company, Sportpaleis Group, in April 2019. Although that deal did not include TTS, nor the group’s ownership of Night of the Proms promoter PSE Belgium, it does include the company’s venue assets – Antwerp’s Lotto and Sportpaleis arenas, the Forest National arena near Brussels, the Ethias Arena in Hasselt, and the Capitole concert hall in Ghent. In Belgium, venues choose their ticketing partner, meaning that Ticketmaster’s market share in the country is set for an imminent boost, and should, in time, propel it to the number-one position in the marketplace. TTS should remain a major player, as it handles tickets for the Proximus Go For Music service of Belgian telecoms network Proximus. It also works with Belgian white-label service Oxynade on the self-service Tele Ticket Easy platform. Vivendi also has a presence in Belgium, where its See Tickets division includes the local Paylogic business, following its acquisition of the Dutch group in April 2018. Paylogic built its business in the open-air dance industry, first under SFX, then as part of LiveStyle, from whom it was acquired by See Tickets. Its long-term Belgian clients include Dour Festival and the giant Tomorrowland event in Boom. Live Nation’s investment in the country’s arenas sector massively strengthens the local Ticketmaster operations, which already hold the ticketing contracts for the Palais 12 arena in Brussels, the Kursaal in Ostend, as well as smaller venues such as the historic La Madeleine in Brussels. Ticketmaster Belgium managing director, Dieter Kraewinkels,
reveals there are other projects in the pipeline, too. “We have the brandnew De Nieuwe Koers Park opening, with the first show, Rammstein, taking place next year – a fantastic venue that will bring many great artists to Belgium,” he says.
DISTRIBUTION OF SALES Like most developed European ticketing markets, the most popular sales channel in Belgium is online, with phone, and bricks-andmortar outlet sales on the decline. Print-at-home tickets are common, while the popularity of mobile tickets is increasing.
SECONDARY TICKETING The resale of tickets has been forbidden under Belgian law since 2009.
INTERNATIONAL/DOMESTIC SPLITS & GENRES Belgium is a nation split by two languages – Flemish in the north and French in the south, meaning that its home-grown stars can have varied success depending where in the country they perform. Kraewinkels notes, “Brussels-based hip-hop is booming within the already strong urban music genre.” Belgium is also home to large pockets of Italian immigrants meaning that Italian acts prove popular, while other international acts make up the majority of venue dates around the country.
CULTURAL ANALYSIS The live entertainment sector has largely recovered over the past couple of years, following terrorist bombings in March 2016 that impacted confidence in the market. The nation’s festival business is incredibly strong, despite the disastrous, high-profile failure of Vestiville in June 2019, with fans from around the world flocking to annual stalwarts such as Rock Werchter, Tomorrowland, Pukkelpop and Graspop Metal Meeting.
TAXES & CHARGES There’s a 6% VAT charge on ticket sales in Belgium, while service fees are typically about 5 to 20% of face value.
INTERNATIONAL TICKETING YEARBOOK 2019 • 27