Demand for Live Events Jumps 33% Compared to 2023; Travel to International Events for U.S. Buyers Has Doubled

NEW YORK, Dec. 10, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- As another standout year for live events comes to a close, StubHub, the world's leading marketplace to buy and sell tickets to any live event, has released its annual Year in Live Experiences report, revealing the year's best-selling live music and sporting experiences across the globe, and highlighting the stories and trends that made 2024 distinct. The annual report recaps an incredible year that saw an increase in travel for live events in the states and abroad, a record-breaking year for artists, and sports fandom reaching global audiences like never before.

Key highlights include:

• "Gig-Tripping" Trend Created Wave of Global Tourism: U.S. buyers traveled to international events twice as much as last year and international buyers traveling to U.S. events increased by 32%.
• Final Shows for Big Artists Captured Global Attention: Taylor Swift remains on top in year two of the Eras Tour, Adele's residencies attracted buyers from 134 countries, and Billy Joel's final show of his historical 150-show Madison Square Garden residency broke all his own records.
• Sports United Audiences Worldwide: The Super Bowl saw buyers coming from all 50 states and 21 countries while the Euros and Copa América debut on StubHub's top in-demand sporting experiences this year.
• Gamechangers, Rookies and Record Breakers Stole the Spotlight: MLB superstar Shohei Ohtani incentivized ticket buyers from Japan, and WNBA rookies fueled a 10x sales jump for the league.
• Breakout Stars: Sabrina Carpenter leads the list of rising stars - she's the best-selling female artist globally for events in 2025 as she takes her Short n' Sweet Tour overseas.
• What's Ahead: Legacy acts like Oasis and The Eagles are making a comeback, and WrestleMania 41 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas is the best-selling sporting event of 2025.

"What's incredible about 2024 is the huge influence live events had on global tourism - international travel to live events increased by 62% this year with vacations centered around seeing Taylor Swift, Coldplay, Ohtani in the World Series and Copa America," said Cris Miller, chief business officer of StubHub. "Concert sales broke 2023 records on StubHub while sports like cricket, soccer, and the NFL saw significant growth among international fans."

Top Traveling Countries*

1. United States
2. Canada
3. United Kingdom
4. Germany
5. Netherlands
6. Mexico
7. Australia
8. France
9. Brazil
10. Spain

*Ranking based on the cumulative number of tickets purchased by buyers in that country for 2024 events outside of the country the buyers reside in, for sales on StubHub North America and/or viagogo of December 4, 2024. Sales for events in the U.K. occur on viagogo only.

International Cities That Drove the Most U.S. Buyers*

1. Toronto
2. Madrid
3. Vancouver
4. London
5. Paris
6. Montreal
7. Munich
8. Amsterdam
9. Lisbon
10. Tokyo

*Ranking based on the cumulative number of tickets sold for 2024 events in each market on StubHub North America and/or viagogo international marketplaces, as of December 4, 2024. Sales for events in the U.K. occur on viagogo only.

Top In-Demand Global Artists of 2024*

1. Taylor Swift (116 events)
2. Zach Bryan (85 events)
3. Adele (32 events)
4. Olivia Rodrigo (94 events)
5. Morgan Wallen (38 events)
6. Coldplay (24 events)
7. The Eagles (16 events)
8. The Rolling Stones (20 events)
9. Billy Joel (13 events)
10. U2 (40 events)

*Ranking based on cumulative, global ticket sales on StubHub North America and viagogo international marketplaces for 2024 events, as of December 4, 2024.

2024 Musical Artist Tour Insights

• Taylor closed out the end of an Eras - A global bucket-list phenomenon and the best-selling tour in StubHub history came to an end in Vancouver - her final show was the highest-selling show of 2024.
• Adele belted out her final note in Sin City - Adele had the second-highest average price of tickets sold of all artists, only following Taylor Swift.
• Coldplay conquered the world - Buyers from 148 countries purchased tickets to see Coldplay's tour this year, more than any other artist, and their show in Rome attracted the most buyers from the States (outside of The Eras Tour).

Top In-Demand Global Sporting Events for 2024*

1. MLB World Series: Dodgers-Yankees** (Los Angeles & New York)
2. Super Bowl LVIII: Chiefs-49ers (Las Vegas)
3. European Championship: Semifinals and Final (Dortmund, Munich & Berlin)
4. Copa América Semifinals and Finals (Charlotte, NC, New York & Miami)
5. NBA Finals: Mavericks-Celtics (Boston & Dallas)**
6. College Football National Championship: Michigan-Washington (Houston, Texas)
7. NCAA Men's Final Four Semifinals and Championship (Phoenix)
8. College Football Playoff: Michigan-Alabama (Pasadena, CA)
9. NFC Championship: Lions-49ers (Santa Clara, CA)
10. Canada F1 GP (Montreal)

*Ranking based on cumulative, global ticket sales on StubHub North America and viagogo international marketplaces for 2024 events, as of December 4, 2024.
**Includes all five games in the series

2024 Global Sporting Insights

• College football spurred sales and must-see matchups: College football regular season sales increased 56% compared to 2023, with realigned teams seeing huge sales jumps.
• All eyes on women's sports - This year's NCAA Women's Final Four and WNBA Finals set StubHub records, with the Final Four outselling last year's by 13% and the Liberty-Lynx Finals tripling sales of the previous best-selling Finals.

What's Next: A Look Ahead to 2025

Top In-Demand Global Experiences in 2025*

1. Coldplay
2. Oasis
3. The Eagles
4. Metallica
5. My Chemical Romance
6. WrestleMania 41
7. Sabrina Carpenter
8. Zach Bryan
9. Super Bowl LIX
10. Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band

*Ranking based on cumulative, global ticket sales on StubHub North America and viagogo international marketplaces for 2025 events, as of December 4, 2024.

StubHub is the world's largest marketplace to buy and sell tickets with confidence. Full data and insights from the Year in Live Experiences report can be found at stubhub.com/2024yearinlive.

About StubHub
StubHub is the world's leading marketplace to buy and sell tickets to any live event, anywhere. Through StubHub in North America and viagogo, our international platform, we service customers in over 200 countries and territories, countries in 33 languages and 48 available currencies. With more than 100 million tickets available to events around the world annually -- from sports to music, comedy to dance, festivals to theater -- StubHub offers the safest, most convenient way to buy or sell tickets to the most memorable live experiences, with every order backed by our FanProtect Guarantee and global customer service support.

SOURCE StubHub