(London) While the upcoming return to the stage of the legendary Britpop group Oasis is making its fans happy, it is also delighting British hoteliers and pub owners who are expecting huge demand in the summer of 2025 and hoping for a “Taylor Swift” effect to boost the economy.
“The appeal of live music is stronger than ever. Hotels will book up quickly as fans buy tickets, and pubs, bars and restaurants will be packed next summer,” predicts Kate Nicholls, chief executive of UKHospitality, the hospitality industry’s trade body.
“We’re expecting huge demand from fans, both in the UK and abroad, and it will undoubtedly provide a multi-million pound boost to the hospitality sector,” she told AFP.
As soon as the dates for the first concerts by brothers Noel and Liam Gallagher were known, in July and August 2025, hotel prices soared in the cities that will host them.
Some angry fans have accused a Manchester hotel of cancelling existing bookings and putting its rooms back on sale at three times the price.
The establishment cited a “technical error”, which did not prevent the consumer association Which? from expressing concern about a phenomenon also denounced by fans in Dublin.
“Staggering increases”
Some establishments “charge the highest possible price when a major event is taking place in their city” and these “make dizzying price increases before the Oasis tour”, notes Lisa Webb, consumer law expert at Which?.
A fan living near Manchester’s Heaton Park, which will host the concerts in the city, even offered in a viral post on X a free camping spot in her garden… to anyone who could find her a ticket.
The tour is expected to “break records, like those of Taylor Swift, Harry Styles or Beyoncé in recent years,” says Kate Nicholls of UKHospitality.
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Liam and Noel Gallagher
The economic impact of American pop star Taylor Swift’s European tour, which ended in London on August 20, went far beyond ticket sales alone.
British bank Barclays estimated in a study published in May that the tour would inject nearly 1 billion pounds ($1.78 billion) into the UK economy, including ticket sales, transport, overnight stays, clothing costs and more.
Several economists also estimated that these events could have marginally pushed inflation upwards.
Oasis have sent fans into a frenzy with the announcement that they will reunite and tour in the summer of 2025 after a 15-year break. Demand is so high that the band added three more shows to their 17-date UK and Ireland tour on Thursday.
400 million pounds
The British group also revealed its ticket prices on Thursday: the most affordable seats are around 75 pounds ($133) in London, Edinburgh and Cardiff, while in Manchester, the Gallagher brothers’ hometown, pit tickets will cost a minimum of 148.50 pounds ($264).
Ticket and merchandise sales, plus a possible film license, could generate £400 million ($710 million) alone, the D.r Matt Grimes, music industry researcher at Birmingham City University.
After deducting expenses and salaries, the Gallagher brothers are expected to pocket around £50 million each, he told AFP.
That’s just the tip of the iceberg: “When a band like Oasis comes to your town, people flock to you. Hotels make money, public transport companies make money, restaurants make money, pubs make money,” he lists.
Tickets go on sale Saturday at 9am in the UK. “They’ll all be gone by noon,” predicts the Dr Grimes, who says fans will spare no expense for a “once-in-a-lifetime event.”