What matters most for global touring?
- Venue capacity is a major limit on international touring as demand grows faster than infrastructure in some markets.
- Local partnerships help promoters and venue developers address the financial and practical challenges of building concert spaces.
- New markets in India, Central Asia and Mexico are attracting tours, but suitable venues and event locations remain unevenly available.
- Purpose-built venues can provide more concert dates when they are designed around music rather than shared with sports tenants.
The global touring market continues to expand, but live entertainment infrastructure has not kept pace, according to industry professionals. Streaming helps artists reach audiences beyond their home countries, while limited concert venues in some markets make it difficult to meet demand. This article explains how promoters and venue developers are responding to that gap.
International tours are often booked years in advance because emerging markets have relatively few venues available. A limited supply of event spaces can constrain tour routing even when artists have audiences in a region.
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“We really need more infrastructure from every country,” OCESA director of international events Guillermo “Memo” Parra said at the 2026 Billboard Live Music Summit on Nov. 10. He said Mexico had been ahead of the curve in South America because of the Olympics and other special events, and already had infrastructure, even if it was old.
On the International Touring Panel, moderated by Billboard co-chief content officer Leila Cobo, AEG senior vice president of global touring Angie Rho said the promoter is seeking to meet demand in Asia but faces a shortage of event spaces. “You might have desire. You might have willingness. You might have fans, but we need venues,” Rho said.
Steve Collins, president of global venue development at Oak View Group (OVG), said only one or two of every 10 buildings the company proposes will come to fruition. Because public funding for concert venues is not a popular model, OVG works with local partners in international markets to develop new buildings.
“Any market outside the U.S. is really tough to get these buildings done,” Collins said. “Whoever our partner is, you’re not going to take the risk. We’ll figure it out. We’ve become really good at commercializing these buildings and making them work standalone rather than putting our hand out as the first measure.”
Collins cited two music-first venues OVG is developing in Dublin and Madrid. Neither venue is planned to have sports tenants, so each is being designed for artists and music fans and is expected to offer more availability for concert nights.
Live Nation global tour promoter Nidhish Varughese said the company has focused on growth in India, where a series of record-breaking shows has taken place in recent years.
“With India specifically, we’re doing more shows there. Traditionally, it was always just a two-market play, whether it’s Delhi or Mumbai. But now there’s multiple markets that artists are trying to perform in,” he said at the panel in Los Angeles. Varughese said Live Nation tested demand with concerts at racetracks in India and found strong interest in more large-scale shows. The company is now working with OVG to find suitable locations for arenas in the country.
“There’s a lot of territories like in Central Asia where governments are realizing [concerts] could be a good vehicle for tourism,” Varughese added, pointing to Shakira’s recent stop in Kyrgyzstan, where the government helped fund the show. “People travel to that region to watch the show. So, it’s a win-win for the artists, where they get to go to a new market. We unlock the new market, discover new audiences and [are] also serving the audiences that have always been there.”
For Rho, Andrea Bocelli’s 2026 performances in Indonesia broadened AEG’s involvement in the country and gave the Italian singer a distinctive experience. “It is a place where one of my colleagues almost stepped on a five-foot snake,” Rho joked. “So, even when you have five-foot snake danger, you are also – the flip side of that coin – producing and putting on these performances that are going to be, in an artist’s mind, he’s going to look back on this as a capstone.”
Mexico is also seeing new tour destinations as artists expand their routing, despite OCESA’s continued growth in the country. Parra said Shakira’s Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran World Tour played in Mexican cities he had never visited.
Parra added that only a handful of acts could achieve what Shakira did in Mexico because of limited infrastructure and the importance of soccer in the country. “They [would] rather have football instead of concerts because the field will get damaged, and they don’t want to move their games,” Parra said. “So it’s hard to do shows in some other parts of Mexico.”
Why are venues limiting international tour growth?
Venue shortages can prevent artists from performing in markets where audiences are already interested in live shows. Promoters say that infrastructure, funding models and competition for event spaces all affect tour routing.
Concert venue availability shapes international tour routing.
- Limited supply: Emerging markets may have too few suitable venues.
- Development risk: Collins said only one or two of every 10 OVG proposals reach completion.
- Competing uses: Sports schedules and concern about damage to soccer fields can limit concert dates.
These constraints help explain why tours may be planned years ahead and why promoters seek local partners or alternative locations such as racetracks.
How are promoters developing new concert markets?
Promoters and venue developers are testing audience demand, working with local partners and looking for suitable sites for arenas and other concert spaces. The approach varies by market, depending on the available infrastructure and local conditions.
Local partnerships connect concert demand with venue development.
- India: Live Nation tested demand through concerts at racetracks and is working with OVG to identify locations for arenas.
- Central Asia: Varughese described governments viewing concerts as a possible tourism draw and cited Shakira’s show in Kyrgyzstan.
- Dublin and Madrid: OVG is developing music-first venues without sports tenants.
- Mexico: Shakira’s tour visited cities beyond the country’s traditional major-market pattern.
Testing demand can reveal where audiences may support larger shows, while venue partnerships address the separate challenge of finding appropriate places to stage them.
What trade-offs affect concert venue development?
Concert venue development involves balancing financial risk, public funding, local partnerships and competing uses of event spaces. The examples in the discussion show that no single development model applies to every market.
Local funding and venue use influence which concert projects proceed.
- Public funding: Collins said public funding for concert venues is not a popular model.
- Local partners: OVG works with partners in international markets to develop buildings.
- Standalone operation: Collins said OVG aims to commercialize buildings so they can work independently.
- Shared facilities: Sports tenants can compete with concerts for dates, while music-first venues can have more concert-night availability.
The choice between a shared sports venue and a music-first building affects how much space is available for concerts, while funding and commercial viability influence whether a proposed project proceeds.
What should readers know about global touring infrastructure?
Global touring growth depends on more than artist demand: markets also need venues, workable development partnerships and event dates that fit local conditions. The examples from India, Mexico, Central Asia, Dublin and Madrid illustrate different ways those needs are being addressed.
Touring infrastructure determines how consistently artists can reach audiences across markets.
The accounts from promoters and venue developers point to a practical distinction: audience interest can be tested, but sustained touring also requires places to stage shows and workable arrangements for developing them.
Common questions about touring markets
Why are international tours booked years in advance? In some emerging markets, the limited number of venues makes it necessary to plan tour dates well ahead.
How is Live Nation testing concert demand in India? Live Nation held concerts at racetracks to assess interest in large-scale shows and is working with OVG to find arena locations.
Why can soccer restrict concerts in Mexico? Parra said some venues prioritize football because concerts can damage the field and disrupt game schedules.
What is a music-first venue? In this article, a music-first venue is a concert space designed for artists and music fans rather than one that also has sports tenants.
How can concerts support tourism? Varughese said governments in some Central Asian territories see concerts as a possible tourism draw and described government support for Shakira’s show in Kyrgyzstan.
