Turkish & UK Live Music Professionals Meet in London to Discuss Industry Growth

Senior figures from the UK and Turkish live music business gathered for a drinks reception at the residence of The Turkish Ambassador in London hosted by H.E. Osman Koray Ertaş, Turkish Ambassador to the United Kingdom, and Zümrüt Arol, CEO of BKM, by its own admission Turkey’s leading live entertainment company.

According to stats from Biletix, the country’s market leader in ticketing, and a Ticketmaster company since 2006, Turkey’s ticket revenues from live entertainment increased by 30% in 2025.

BKM CEO Arol told Pollstar , that demand for live experiences in Turkey remained “exceptionally strong” despite what local news reports are describing as a politically and economically tense climate.

She explained that “Turkey has one of the youngest and most engaged audiences in Europe. Live entertainment is not viewed as an occasional luxury; for many people it is an important part of social life and culture. Whether it is concerts, festivals, musicals or family entertainment, audiences continue to prioritise experiences that bring people together.”

According to Arol, this chimed with other global markets, where “consumers are increasingly choosing to spend on memorable experiences rather than material purchases. The global live entertainment industry continues to grow, and Turkey is participating in that broader trend.”

Another important factor for the increase in ticket sales, Arol continued, “is the maturity of the Turkish market. The audience has become more sophisticated, ticketing systems are more advanced, and promoters are presenting a wider range of international and local content than ever before. As a result, attendance has remained resilient and the market continues to expand. Ultimately, people attend live events because they want to share experiences, discover artists and create memories. That motivation remains very strong in Turkey.”

Attending the London reception were KMJ Entertainment CEO Stuart Galbraith, Kilimanjaro Live’s Head of Promoter Operations San Phillips, Ticketmaster Regional VP EMEA Andrew Parsons, Solo Agency founder and MD John Giddings, The Leighton-Pope Organisation’s founder Carl Leighton-Pope, and Rod MacSween, founder and CEO of ITB.

John Giddings, speaking at the event, said, “I didn’t realize until I came here how many shows I’ve done in your wonderful country. I’ve done The Stones, U2, Madonna, Shakira, Rihanna, Justin Timberlake, Pharrell Williams — it goes on and on and on…And with everything going on in the world, we need you more than you need us, actually, at this stage of the game. I’ve just taken on representation for your wonderful girl band, Manifest, they’ve sold out four nights at the arena there, sold out three nights at their festival, and they’re playing Wembley in October. So please come along. We’re going to make T-pop happen.”

Görgün Taner, the general manager of the Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts, also speaking, said, “The most important thing is that Türkiye has a very young generation. And these young people are following the concerts, the live music events…So we know, we now see that the Türkiye is now on the touring map of the international acts, concerts, musicals, and other events. We want to see more of the artists in Türkiye, and we want to see more artists from Türkiye in your country.”

The June 4 event took place in the week that Turkish pop band Manifest announced their first UK show taking place at OVO Arena Wembley Oct. 16th

Speaking to Pollstar about the Turkish venue infrastructure, Arol said “Turkey’s live entertainment infrastructure is more developed than many international stakeholders realise. Istanbul is the centre of the market and accounts for the majority of major concerts, festivals and international touring activity. With a metropolitan population of more than 16 million people, it offers a broad range of venues, from theatres and performing arts centres to arenas, stadiums and open-air festival sites. Major international productions can be accommodated at every scale, from intimate theatre shows to stadium concerts. Facilities such as Volkswagen Arena, Ülker Sports and Event Hall and Rams Park support large-scale productions and international touring standards.”

Beyond Istanbul, he identified Ankara and Izmir as “the country’s most established secondary markets, each with strong local audiences and growing demand for international content. In recent years, coastal destinations such as Antalya, Bodrum and Çeşme have also become increasingly important, particularly during the summer season when tourism significantly expands the audience base.”

Another promoter on the ground in Turkey, Charmenko’s Nick Hobbs, explained that international touring almost exclusively centered around the country capital of Istanbul, and that it was currently a mixed bag, with some shows selling very well, while others are underperforming. “Local artists, of which there are many,” said Hobbs, “unlike international ones, do tour the entire country. All Turkish promoters specialising in international artists would like to shift the dial so that Turkey was not so Istanbul centric.”

“What makes Turkey particularly interesting,” concluded Arol, “is that it combines a large domestic audience with a substantial tourism market. This creates opportunities for promoters and artists to reach both local fans and international visitors within the same event ecosystem. From an infrastructure perspective, Turkey today has the venue capacity, technical expertise and audience demand required to host everything from club tours and theatre productions to major arena and stadium events. The opportunity now is ensuring that more international artists perform in Turkey.”

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_Originally reported by [Pollstar](https://news.pollstar.com/2026/06/12/we-want-to-see-more-artists-in-turkiye-turkish-uk-live-pros-gather-in-london/)._