Max SteventonTurkey’s growing importance as an international touring market was highlighted this week as UK and Turkish live entertainment leaders met at the Turkish Ambassador’s residence in London to celebrate collaboration between the two sectors.
Hosted by His Excellency Osman Koray Ertaş, Turkish Ambassador to the United Kingdom, alongside BKM CEO Zümrüt Arol, the event brought together senior executives, promoters and agents from across the live entertainment business as Turkey continues to strengthen its position on the international touring circuit.
The gathering comes amid continued growth for Turkey’s live entertainment sector, with organisers citing a 30% increase in ticket revenues in 2025 as demand for concerts and live events continues to rise.
Further research from Deep Market Insights predicts Turkey’s live entertainment market, worth USD 0.98bn in 2025, will grow to USD 1.65bn by 2034.
Among those attending were Kilimanjaro founder and CEO Stuart Galbraith, Ticketmaster regional VP EMEA Andrew Parsons, SOLO founder and MD John Giddings (pictured), Kilimanjaro head of promoter operations San Philips, The Leighton-Pope Organisation founder Carl Leighton-Pope and ITB founder and CEO Rod MacSween.
Speaking at the reception, Giddings highlighted Turkey’s longstanding role in international touring, referencing major artists he has promoted in the market including The Rolling Stones, U2, Madonna, Shakira, Rihanna, Justin Timberlake and Pharrell Williams.
“I didn’t realise until I came here how many shows I’ve done in your wonderful country,” said Giddings. “With everything going on in the world, we need you more than you need us, actually, at this stage of the game.”
He also pointed to increasing export opportunities for Turkish artists, referencing his recent involvement with Turkish pop group Manifest, who recently sold out multiple arena and festival dates in Turkey and are set to play London’s OVO Arena Wembley in October.
Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts general manager Görgün Taner, said Turkey’s young demographic continues to drive demand for live events and international touring activity.
“The most important thing is that Türkiye has a very young generation,” said Taner. “These young people are following concerts and live music events, and we now see that Türkiye is on the touring map for international acts, concerts, musicals and other events.”
The reception took place in the same week that Manifest announced their first UK headline performance, scheduled for October 16 at OVO Arena Wembley, marking another sign of growing cultural exchange between the UK and Turkish live sectors.