Manchester music tourists generate £140m for local economy

Music festivals and concerts have been bringing happiness to Manchester for decades. Now the economic value of live concerts and events like Parklife and the Manchester International Festival to Manchester through has been quantified in a new report.

The total audience for live music events in Manchester in 2015 was a staggering 1.9 million.

Venues like Band on the Wall, Deaf Institute, Soup Kitchen, O2 Academy and the Manchester Arena, the second most ticketed music arena in the world in 2015 after the O2 Arena, helped attractw fans from all over the world.

The city was visited by 697,000 music tourists to attend a live concert or music festival, contributing a staggering £140 million towards the local economy, and helping to sustain 1,583 full-time jobs within the city.

“From hosting the Sex Pistols in the Lesser Free Trade Hall in 1976 to New Order’s iconic shows at the Hacienda, Manchester has always been at the heart of British music culture,” said Jeff Smith, MP for Manchester Withington and a former DJ and events promoter.

“Today, this proud history continues… Live music is a source of great enjoyment, but also a source of jobs, growth and investment.”

The report, Wish You Were Here 2016, is published by UK Music, the umbrella organisation which represents the collective interests of the UK’s commercial music industry.

UK Music chief executive Jo Dipple said: “The appetite for live music has continued to grow. Last year overseas music tourism increased by 16%, whilst British music events were attended by a staggering 27.7 million people in 2015. What this report shows, unequivocally, is the economic value of live music to communities, cities and regions.”