Adele's 10-date August residency in Munich, which opened on Friday night (August 2), could be her biggest concert ever, both in terms of attendance and ticket sales. It almost certainly represents the biggest gamble anyone has made in the live music industry this year.
The shows, promoted by Germany's Live Nation and Austrian group Leutgeb Entertainment, take place in a purpose-built 74,000-seat venue and are reported to have cost more than $100 million to produce, including construction costs. The 220m wide screen alone, said to be the largest in the world, is said to have cost tens of millions of dollars. And that's before the string section, fireworks and logistics involved in Adele World, which includes a Ferris wheel, a garden and a merchandise business the size of a large boutique.
The engagement, which runs two days a week throughout August, could break the Billboard Boxscore attendance record for a concert, currently held by Coldplay, who drew 627,000 fans over 10 shows in Buenos Aires in 2022. It could also break U2's record of nearly $110 million in tickets for their first 17 shows at the Sphere in 2023. (Adele hasn't reported overall concert revenue on Billboard Boxscore, so the records may still stand or otherwise.)
Adele, who performs weekends with the Adele Residency at the Colosseum Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, hasn't played in continental Europe since 2016 and hasn't booked a gig there, so the Munich gigs are a destination event. She had no plans to play anywhere this summer, until Klaus Leutgeb pitched her manager, Jonathan Dickins, to the residency idea.
Adele performs on stage at Messe München on August 2, 2024 in Munich, Germany.
Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for AD
Concert Residences are becoming increasingly popular, but are primarily an Anglo-American phenomenon. In this case, Munich is a relatively small city by international standards, with a population of about 1.5 million in a metro area just under four times that. (By comparison, Los Angeles has 3.9 million in a metro area of 13.2 million.) That means most concertgoers come from outside the city or country. (Anecdote, Advertising sign I met fans from all over Germany at the show, as well as some from Holland, UK and Ireland.)
All this tourism will bring a huge amount of money to Munich. The city's top financial official, Clemens Baumgärtner, said Adele's residence would bring in 560 million euros ($614 million). The city is an ideal place to live given its relative proximity to Austria, Italy and Switzerland. it's easy to get anywhere in Germany by train and anywhere in Europe by plane.
The promoters told the German music publication Music Woche that 95 percent of the tickets had been sold. (Live Nation Germany did not respond to questions about sales, and the shows did not sell out, although the first show appeared close to capacity.) Even if only 85 percent of tickets are sold, that commitment would break the attendance record by Coldplay. Tickets were available at various prices, from 79 euros ($87) to more than a thousand euros for premium VIP packages, with some tickets available for 35 euros ($38) on the day of the show. at 85 percent capacity, an average price of 160 euros ($176) would also make it the top earner. (Some tickets appear to be available for less than face value on the secondary market, and a half-dozen audience members were trying to sell extras before the first show, but organizers apparently sold them out first.)
