Oasis reunion tour draws record 24.7 million music tourists to UK in 2 | UK | News

Oasis’ reunion tour will attract a record-breaking 24.7 million music tourists to UK concerts and festivals in 2025, new UK Music figures revealed today (Friday, July 10).

The Gallagher brothers’ long-awaited reunion saw the Oasis Live ’25 Tour sell out stadiums and help the total number of music tourists in the UK rise by 4.8% from 23.5 million in 2024 to a new record of 24.7 million last year.

These music tourists spent an all-time high of £11.2bn in 2025 at major festivals and concerts across the UK, including Glastonbury, Download, Reading, Boomtown and Wireless. This represents a massive 11.3% increase on the £10bn total spend in 2024, according to figures published by UK Music, the collective voice of the UK music industry.

Of the total 24.7 million visitors to the UK, 22.6 million were music tourists from the UK; This represents a 3.2% increase on the 2024 figure of 21.9 million visitors.

A total of 2.1 million visitors were music tourists from abroad; This number represents a huge increase of 26.8% compared to the total of 1.6 million in 2024.

The increase was due to large numbers of foreign music fans attending popular stadium shows in the UK; some of which were the only European dates of 2025 for artists like Coldplay, Lana Del Rey and Oasis.

A series of Oasis concerts – five at Manchester’s Heaton Park, seven at Wembley Stadium and two at Cardiff’s Principality Stadium – saw revenues rise across the UK. Spending by music tourists in the North West increased by 15.6% to £1.4bn in 2025 from £1.2bn in 2024. Music tourism spending in the capital increased by 27.4% to £3.4 billion last year, from £2.7 billion in 2024.

1975, Neil Young, Olivia Rodrigo and Charli xcx were among the big names at Glastonbury in 2025 ahead of this summer’s fallow year, helping to boost music tourism outside London and the North West. It was a similar story in East Anglia with Ed Sheeran’s shows at Ipswich Town stadium.

Music fans also flocked to concerts staged by Coldplay, Chris Brown and Sam Fender. South Korean artists Blackpink and Stray Kids played their own stadium headline shows in the UK, having previously headlined British Summer Time in London’s Hyde Park; Catfish & The Bottlemen will hit stadiums for the first time in 2025.

Music tourists supported 74,000 full-time equivalent jobs in the live music industry in 2025; this was up 3% from 2024’s total of 71,760. This small increase reflects growth in both direct and indirect employment through the value chain supported by music tourism, particularly at the stadium and arena level. But this does not fully reflect employment trends in the live music sector, and particularly at grassroots level, where employment levels have been hit by higher operating costs and Labor’s NI contributions have increased.

Music tourism expenditure consists of £5.7bn spent directly by music tourists attending concerts and festivals in the UK, including ticket costs, on-site expenses, travel, accommodation and food costs when traveling to events. A further £5.5bn was spent indirectly through the value chain, including costs such as fencing and security or paying for supplies for a restaurant.

However, the UK music industry faces a number of major challenges that threaten its status as a world leader, including rising costs of touring in the UK and abroad, the threat of further closures of smaller and established music venues, and the cost of living crisis facing many music fans; all of which are highlighted in Express’ Strike A Chord campaign.

Barriers to post-Brexit UK-EU touring continue to hinder opportunities for artists looking to build new fan bases in new markets. UK Music continues to campaign for policymakers in the UK and EU to work together and increase cultural cooperation.

UK Music Chief Executive Tom Kiehl said: “The record 24.7 million music tourists who spent £11.2 billion to enjoy the experience of seeing their favorite shows live is a tribute to the 220,000 people working in the UK music industry.

“The billions of dollars spent pose a huge risk to towns and cities across the UK, benefiting hotels, restaurants, pubs, transport companies and thousands of other businesses.

“But the Government must support music fans by delivering on its manifesto commitments to tackle the threat of ticket sellers charging exorbitant prices for resale tickets, which restricts the amount of cash fans have to spend to go to gigs.

“We need to see long overdue action from the Government and the EU to help UK artists and musicians on EU tour who are having to deal with rising costs and red tape post-Brexit.

“We must also see that the music base is protected and nurtured. This includes the artists, venues, festivals, studios and rehearsal rooms in our local communities that are vital to the future prosperity of our world-leading industry. We must ensure that policymakers recognize their vital economic and cultural value and provide the support they need.

“With the right support, we can help the UK music industry continue to stimulate the economy, create jobs and deliver unforgettable experiences for music lovers.”

Creative Industries Minister Ian Murray said: “These record-breaking figures are testament to the things the music industry in the UK does better than anywhere else in the world. “Whether it’s Oasis playing Heaton Park or an up-and-coming artist setting foot on a smaller stage like Dublin Castle or The Troubadour, this is a land of incredible live performances, with world-famous venues backing it up.

“That’s why this Government is committed to supporting the entire music ecosystem in its future plan for music: protecting fans from ticket sales exploitation, supporting community venues and studios that are the lifeblood of our future talent, and working to improve opportunities for UK artists to tour in Europe.”