2025 Live Experiences: UK Fans Make Events Global Adventures

Coldplay Leads the Charge in 2025’s Live Entertainment Boom

viagogo has unveiled its annual Year in Live Experiences report, offering a deep dive into how fans across the UK and globally celebrated live entertainment in 2025. The findings highlight an unprecedented surge in enthusiasm for live events, with fans traveling farther, seeking out major global moments, and contributing to robust growth in the live event sector throughout the year.

The report showcases the growing popularity of live experiences, which are no longer confined to traditional peak seasons. Fans are increasingly embracing events as a year-round activity, with ticket sales spiking outside the usual summer months. This shift is particularly evident during the holiday season, where November and December saw a 26% increase in ticket sales compared to the same period in 2024.

Coldplay Tops the Charts as 2025’s Most Popular Act

In a year marked by high demand and intense competition, Coldplay emerged as the most popular act of 2025. Their concerts drew more fans across the UK and worldwide than any other artist, with international audiences flocking to see them on their home turf. Even the nostalgia-driven resurgence of Oasis could not dethrone Coldplay from the top spot. While Oasis took second place on the 2025 leaderboard, they found strong support in the north of England, where demand for their tickets was notably higher than in the south.

Top In-Demand Artists in the UK in 2025

1. Coldplay
2. Oasis
3. Billie Eilish
4. Sabrina Carpenter
5. Lewis Capaldi
6. Lana Del Rey
7. Dua Lipa
8. Teddy Swims
9. Lady Gaga
10. Beyoncé

Live Events Go Year-Round

According to viagogo’s 2025 monthly ticket-buying patterns, fans are no longer limiting their attendance to the summer peak. In 2024, the five months from May to September accounted for half of all ticket sales. However, in 2025, ticket purchases in the months outside the summer stretch rose by 10%, signaling a shift toward year-round engagement with live events.

This trend is especially notable heading into the holidays in the UK. November and December have become two of the region’s most active months for ticket sales, suggesting that live event tickets may be among the most sought-after gifts under Christmas trees this year.

Global Travel and Major Sporting Moments

Travel played a significant role in 2025’s live entertainment scene, with a 27% annual increase in UK fans purchasing tickets to international events. Oasis fans were among the most willing to travel globally, journeying thousands of miles to see the band in destinations like Buenos Aires, East Rutherford, Pasadena, and Sydney.

However, it was the 2025 sporting calendar that inspired the most UK fans to travel abroad, with rugby, cricket, and the NFL dominating the top five most in-demand events. The Ashes series, in particular, drew massive interest, with Australia becoming the most visited destination for British travelers. The Melbourne Test emerged as the single hottest sporting event of the year.

Top Five Most Visited Countries by Brits for Live Events

1. Australia
2. Italy
3. Spain
4. USA
5. France

Top Five International Events UK Fans Bought Tickets For in 2025

1. Australia vs England Cricket Ashes Test, Melbourne
2. Washington Commanders vs Miami Dolphins NFL, Madrid
3. Australia vs England Cricket Ashes Test, Sydney (beginning January 4, 2026)
4. Wallabies vs Three Lions Rugby Tour, Sydney
5. Italy vs Ireland Six Nations Rugby, Rome

London Remains Europe’s Live-Event Capital

Even as many Brits traveled abroad, London remained at the forefront of Europe’s live-event scene. The city attracted fans from 164 countries, making it the most visited EU capital in 2025. Spain rounded out the top three, with Madrid and Barcelona taking second and third place respectively.

Top Five Most Visited Cities for Live Events in Europe

1. London, UK
2. Madrid, Spain
3. Barcelona, Spain
4. Munich, Germany
5. Amsterdam, Netherlands

Looking Ahead: Mega-Tours and Global Sporting Moments Shape 2026

Early indicators for 2026 point to a surge in excitement around major world tours and marquee events. Fans are already searching and planning for Bon Jovi, Luke Combs, and Bad Bunny, who are currently the most in-demand UK shows for 2026. Three of Luke Combs’ dates have landed in the top five.

The UK’s appetite for nostalgia remains strong, with upcoming tours from Metallica and My Chemical Romance securing spots in the top 10 most sought-after shows of the year.

Rome is becoming a hub for rugby fans, with the Italy vs England Six Nations match emerging as the most sought-after sporting event in 2026. Before that, the first day of England’s fifth Ashes Test in Sydney also holds a spot as one of the most in-demand events of 2026.

Most Anticipated 2026 Sports Events

1. Italy vs England, Rugby Six Nations
2. Australia vs England Day 1, Cricket Ashes
3. England vs Wales, Rugby Six Nations
4. Australia vs England Day 2, Cricket Ashes
5. Scotland vs England, Rugby Six Nations

Insights from viagogo

“This has been a landmark year for live entertainment – fan enthusiasm is soaring. People are traveling farther, planning earlier, and embracing experiences year-round. Our mission is to make live events more accessible to fans everywhere, and our recent partnership with Booking.com is helping make event-going even more seamless.”

– Hayley DiNaso, Partnerships Manager

Methodology

The insights are based on anonymized, aggregated global data from viagogo from January–November 2025, including ticket order volumes, event popularity indicators, travel patterns, and year-on-year comparisons. Rankings are based on cumulative ticket sales by UK-based fans on viagogo in 2025 as of November.

For more information on the economic impact of the secondary ticketing market, refer to the “Fanonomics” Research, which highlights the contribution of the UK secondary ticket market to local businesses.

About viagogo

viagogo is the world’s leading marketplace to buy and sell tickets to any live event, anywhere. Through viagogo internationally and StubHub, our platform in North America, we service customers in 200 countries + territories in 33 languages and 48 available currencies. With more than 300 million tickets available to events around the world annually — from sports to music, comedy to dance, festivals to theater — viagogo offers the safest, most convenient way to buy or sell tickets to the most memorable live experiences.

As a marketplace, viagogo itself does not sell tickets, it provides a safe and regulated platform that helps fans experience the events they love.