Oasis reunion helps draw record 25m ‘music tourists’ to UK concerts

Fans from Manchester queue to watch Oasis at Heaton park. Photograph: Christopher Thomond/The Guardian View image in fullscreen Fans from Manchester queue to watch Oasis at Heaton park. Photograph: Christopher Thomond/The Guardian Oasis reunion helps draw record 25m ‘music tourists’ to UK concerts Gigs by Gallagher brothers, Coldplay, Lana Del Rey and Beyonce gives £11bn boost to the economy Big name artists including Oasis with their highly anticipated reunion tour, Coldplay and Beyoncé helped to attract a record number of fans to travel to watch live music last year, helped by a surge in overseas visitors at UK gigs. A report from the industry body UK Music estimated that 24.7 million “music tourists” attended concerts and festivals last year, up 4.8% on 2024 , leading to an unprecedented £11.2bn of spending across the UK economy. The vast majority (85%) were UK music fans designated as “domestic tourists” because they travelled more than three times the average commute to go to an event. The number of overseas music tourists soared by 27% to 2.1 million, well up on the 1.6 million in 2024. Several major artists, including Coldplay, Lana Del Rey and Oasis, played only in the UK last year, helping drive overseas music tourist numbers. Music UK did not have data for overall gig attendees, but it is likely to be far higher when local fans are included. View image in fullscreen Lana Del Rey performs at Hampden Park, Glasgow, in June last year. She was among several major artists to perform only in the UK. Photograph: Roberto Ricciuti/Getty Images The report gave particular credit to the Gallagher brothers’ reunion tour – where Oasis played for the first time in 15 years – despite a scandal over ticket pricing for the most profitable run of gigs in British history . The band’s decision to play five gigs at Manchester’s Heaton Park led to music tourist spending in the north-west rising 16% year on year to £1.4bn. Other major acts to play in the UK last year included Dua Lipa, Ed Sheeran, Chris Brown, Sam Fender and the South Korean artists Blackpink and Stray Kids. The perennial popularity of Glastonbury, which featured Neil Young, Olivia Rodrigo, Charli xcx and the 1975, also helped fuel a bumper summer. View image in fullscreen Charli xcx at the perennially popular Glastonbury festival last June. Photograph: Scott A Garfitt/AP 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. “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.” The record £11.2bn spent on music tourism last year is up 11% on the £10bn in 2024. The figure includes £5.7bn spent directly by