Over a million people attended at least one of the 22 concerts that occurred in London this past week.
Concerts that took place in the capital last week included two sold-out Bruce Springsteen shows at Hyde Park, Blur‘s two nights at Wembley Stadium, The 1975‘s sold-out show in Hyde Park as well as acclaimed festival appearances by Billy Joel and Lana Del Rey.
According to research conducted by the Music Venue Trust and City Hall, the gigs “supercharged” the city’s economy with an estimated £320million of ticket sales. Additional spending was attributed to hotel room bookings, eating out as well as public transport travel.
“Music is the glue that binds London together. It’s fantastic to see so many people celebrating the incredible culture of diverse music that is an essential part of our modern British identity,” said Music Venue Trust’s Beverley Whitrick.
Mayor Sadiq Khan, who attended the Springsteen gig on Saturday night with his wife Saadiya, said: “Music inspires in a unique way, bringing together people like nothing else can, and plays a vital role in driving forward our economic recovery.”
He continued: “From our world-class stadiums to grassroots venues unearthing the next generation of talent, London is the undisputed world leader in live music, and there’s a lot more still to come over this summer.”
Other upcoming anticipated gigs set to hit London next month include Stormzy, The Strokes and Haim headlining this year’s All Points East festival in Victoria Park as well as The Weeknd, who recently played to over 100,000 people last weekend at the London Stadium, returning to the city to with a nearly sold out gig at Wembley Stadium.
In other news, Haim spoke to NME about their upcoming headlining set at All Points East as well as the reissue of their debut album ‘Days Are Gone’.
“To play a festival for the people that we love the most, all we want is for everyone to have a good time, to dance and to party. We just want to play every song that they want to hear! They can yell out songs, and we’ll play it. We’re just so excited to play,” said guitarist Alana Haim.
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