19 September 2017

London Named Live Music Capital of Europe

London has been named the live music capital of Europe after it emerged that the UK capital hosted more concerts than any city on the continent last year and is set to top the rankings again in 2017.

There were 19,940 total live music events in London in 2016 – more than the entire San Francisco Bay Area (13,672), Paris (11,248) and Chicago (11,224), and almost three times as many as the self-described ‘live music capital of the world’, Austin, Texas (6,781).

London came in third worldwide, behind New York, with 28,529 shows in 2016, and Los Angeles, which only just beat London to second place with 20,843 events, according to a study by gig-finding website Songkick.

Songkick analysed data from 12 major music cities for its study. This also revealed that London has the second highest number of venues (1,780): only Los Angeles (2,002) has more. Austin did come top in one category, the most shows in one day (278, compared to London’s 125 and LA’s 120).

“In London, we have some of the greatest places to catch a live gig – from world-class arenas to amazing grassroots music venues – and it is little wonder that music lovers come from across the globe to enjoy our city’s incredible nightlife,” London Mayor Sadiq Khan told IQ magazine, which was first to publish the Songkick figures.

The new Circus West Village Hall at Battersea Power Station will swell London’s venue numbers by one more for 2017, and further venues will open as the Power Station’s redevelopment goes on.