Global stars eye India, but show needs fine-tuning

With Coldplay and Ed Sheeran among the superstars who have played to packed-out crowds in India recently, there is increasing talk that the world's most populous nation could soon become a mainstay of the global touring schedule.

However, a lack of world-class venues to host big-name events has left fans wanting, with complaints ranging from filthy conditions, poor security and technical problems among the issues causing headaches for organisers.

Booming demand from young affluent Indians looking to splurge on new entertainment experiences are drawing international acts as well as hugely popular homegrown stars.

Big-name stars have in the past overlooked the country, given the historically low spending power of its consumers.

But while per capita income remains low at $2 500, investment bankers Goldman Sachs estimate that the number of Indians with annual earnings of more than $10 000 has jumped from 24 million in 2015 to 60 million in 2023.

That has helped attract the sort of talent unthought of just a decade ago, with Dua Lipa playing to packed crowds last year and US chart-toppers Maroon 5 playing their first gig in the country.

Robin Hood crooner Bryan Adams played a number of sold-out venues across country in 2024, while other artists like Green Day and Shawn Mendes will perform later this year.

"A decade ago, India was not on their radar," said Deepak Choudhary, event management entrepeneur and founder of EVA Live.

"It's a hungry audience sitting across the country," he said, adding that he believes India's music event industry is on track to catch up with markets such as Britain, Japan or Germany within three to five years.

"You give them good content and they are happy to explore."

The number of live events in India rose almost a fifth last year, according to the country's largest ticketing platform BookMyShow, which called music tourism a "defining trend".

Coldplay last month performed what the band called its "biggest-ever show", at a huge cricket stadium named after Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Ahmedabad.

Their tour prompted a wild scramble for tickets, which were priced from around $30-$420.

"As soon as they announced the concert dates, I booked my flight ticket, I booked my stay because I wanted to get there first," said Monica Sawant, 36, who travelled from Bengaluru to see them in Mumbai.

But demand was so high she was forced to purchase from ticket touts.

"I caved in... I thought I would not make it," she explained, paying $125 for a $55 ticket.

After the Coldplay show, Modi praised what he dubbed the "concert economy", saying "India has a massive scope for live concerts".

However, not all cities have the infrastructure needed to host massive live events, with BookMyShow's CEO Ashish Hemrajani likening the experience economy boom in an interview to "starting an airline but not having an airport".

Fans complain that makeshift venues can have poor sanitation, non-existent crowd-control measures and terrible traffic to reach the venue with little parking space.

"It was awful," said Ruchi Shukla, 27, describing her experience at a show last year in Gurgaon, a satellite city of New Delhi.

"You had to fight to get into the venue, fight to get out, and even during the concert you had to fight to hear the singer."

Other performers ranging from Punjabi singer Diljit Dosanjh to South African comedian Trevor Noah have publicly complained about Indian venues .

Noah in 2023 performed to sellout crowds in New Delhi and Mumbai, but scrapped shows in tech-capital Bengaluru as the audience could not hear him.

In January, US band Cigarettes After Sex also cancelled a concert in Bengaluru owing to "technical difficulties" blamed on "local production".

Avid concert-goer Sheldon Aranjo grabbed public attention in December by writing a public post after wetting himself at a Bryan Adams show, saying there was a lack of toilets.

"We are bringing international acts, we are paying on par with people abroad," he said. "Why can't I expect an international quality event?"

But organisers such as Tej Brar, who oversees one of India's biggest music festivals, NH7, said they were "teething issues".

"These are just growing pains, as we come into our own as an industry," Brar said.

And EVA Live's Choudhary was confident success will bring investment and help India "move past infrastructure challenges".

Economists at Bank of Baroda estimate the spate of shows could translate into annual spending of up to $918 million, as organisers pump money into local economies and consumers shell out on everything from hotels to flights.

It is a bright spot in an otherwise sluggish economy.

"We are opening a door for something that is new," said Bank of Baroda economist Jahnavi Prabhakar.

"This is a big boost, something like we've never seen before. It's a big boom for us." - AFP