Mumbai, Bangalore and Gurgaon see a flood of international artists headlining events and festivals but that hasn’t been the case for the capital. Why?
LACK OF PARKING SPACE
Lack of parking space seems to be one of Delhi’s biggest hurdles in organizing large scale shows. Concerts also lead to long traffic congestions that the city already suffers enough of. The crumbling parking and traffic infrastructure often forces promoters and artists to choose other venues over Delhi leading Gurgaon and Noida into become the preferred choices.
LOGISTICS
Diljit Dosanjh recently voiced his concerns over the logistical challenges faced during concerts by both the artist and attendees alike. Without the aid of good logistics even the best artists suffer. Cases of concert cancellations in Delhi owing to this have been aplenty.
The Smashing Pumpkins cancelled their debut tour of India owing to logistics just recently.
LICENSING & RED TAPE
The cost of getting licenses and approvals in Delhi are higher than anywhere else in the country. It’s almost impossible to get through many of these hurdles. Rentals for stadiums in Delhi are also extreme. Add the cost of red tape over all this and you have an exorbitant impossibility to pull.
OPERATIONAL COMPLICATIONS
‘Delhi’s events require navigating multiple administrative bodies, potential delays in police permissions, noise and time restrictions and higher compliance costs. Production and venue rentals can be significantly more expensive when compared with relatively streamlined operations in Bengaluru or the corporate driven event infrastructure in Mumbai and Gurgaon. Delhi is perceived as a more complex and uncertain market for international touring.’ Nibras – Operations Manager at Space Sessions, a music organizing company based in Delhi – tells me.
‘Delhi is not avoided due to lack of culture. It is overlooked due to uncertainty. Reducing financial and operational risks will be crucial for making Delhi a primary stop for international talent once again.’ He adds.
SPONSORSHIP ALLOCATION FAVORS OTHER CITIES
‘International tours today rely heavily on brand partnerships, especially from alcohol, technology, and lifestyle sectors. These brands prioritize Mumbai for its media visibility and Bengaluru for its affluent young workforce with proven ticket-buying behavior.’ Nibras points. ‘Sponsorship confidence in Delhi is lower because brands rarely see consistently strong returns on live music-oriented campaigns in the city.’
CONSUMER BEHAVIOR & CONVERSION CHALLENGES
‘Industry experience suggests that in Delhi audiences tend to delay purchases until the last minute and often expect complimentary access through guest lists, influencer networks, or artist associations. This makes early sales forecasting difficult and increases promoter risk. Even high interest does not always translate into robust revenue.’
FRAGMENTED AUDIENCE SEGMENTS
‘Unlike Bengaluru, where there is a unified culture of attending live performances across genres, Delhi’s audience is segmented into distinct communities with varying levels of willingness to pay. This fragmentation leads to lower predictability in event attendance, particularly for niche genres. The lack of consistent cross-genre turnout discourages promoters from taking big financial risks.’
There is an oversupply of events but limited reliable demand.
‘Delhi has a high concentration of venues, promoters, agencies, and local artists. However, this has led to saturation without proportional growth in paying audiences.’ Nibras cites – ‘For large-budget international acts, promoters face significant challenges in securing guaranteed ticket revenues. Although the market appears vibrant, the actual conversion of awareness to ticket sales can be unpredictable, making Delhi a financially risky choice.’
HISTORY OF BAD PROMOTERS
Delhi suffers from a bad repute that often drives artists away to Mumbai, Bangalore and the like. There’s a notoriety to a lot of the promoters in Delhi scene and a history of concert cancellations at last moment. Promoters are opaque about deals and cover important details to flesh money out for themselves. Venues too end up doing the same.
‘We had a show with another band in this club in Green Park.’ Deepankar – the lead singer of Dirty Class tells me. ‘None of the two bands were paid their dues.’ He points out that such cases have been plenty. ‘We’re thinking of filing a case.’ He says after hurling a couple of slurs.
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Organizers have realized that it’s much easier to drive audiences from Delhi to other states for a music festival than to do the same in Delhi. The logistics of doing a festival in the middle of nowhere seem much more feasible in comparison to doing the same in capital…
‘Demand often exists but monetization does not match the scale required to justify international artist fees.’ Nibras feels that. ‘Delhi is not avoided due to lack of culture. it is overlooked due to uncertainty. Reducing financial and operational risks will be crucial for making Delhi a primary stop for international talent once more.’
WHY CHANGE IS INCOMING?
Artists are slowly coming to realize how viable of a market India is. With the emergence of multiple event management and organizing brands such as BookMyShow & SkillBox and the entry of multiple festivals – the shift in scene towards something much more credible is happening.
The live music industry is riding on a wave of unparalleled growth with 2026 posed to become its biggest year yet. India is quickly emerging as one of the most important hotspots in this surge. After Coldplay – concert culture has finally found a footing in our country.
DELHI GOVERNMENT ANNOUNCES CUT IN STADIUM RENTALS
In a bid to ease entry of global acts into the capital the decision to slash stadium rentals by almost 50% has been announced by Delhi government.
The booking charges for JLN main arena will be reduced from ₹50 lakh to ₹25 lakh per day. The overall booking charges for JLN will be reduced from ₹71.8 lakh to ₹50 lakh per day. For Indira Gandhi Sports Complex booking amount has been reduced from ₹20 lakh to ₹16 lakh per day.
The booking charges have also been reduced for Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium, Dr Karni Singh Shooting Range, Syama Prasad Mookherjee Swimming Pool Complex and Talkatora Indoor Stadium.
Previously high rentals forced organizers to choose other locations over Delhi but after this decision the capital could really be pushed as a major player in the global live music scene.
Glass Beams, Passenger, Steven Wilson, Jon Batiste, Jacob Collier, Akon, DJ Snake and Travis Scott were some of the big names that performed in Delhi in 2025.
2025 also saw the coming of Linkin Park, Dream Theater, Enrique Iglesias, Post Malone, Yungblud, The Script, Playboy Carti, Wiz Khalifa, Denzel Curry, Swae Lee and more to cities other than Delhi.
Guns N’ Roses, Maroon 5, Cigarettes After Sex, Ed Sheeran, Shawn Mendes, Dua Lipa have recently completed successful shows in the country.
This decision by the Government to reduce stadium rentals in the capital comes at a golden moment since the resurgence of live music in the country is ongoing at large.
WHAT’S THE FUTURE?
India is slowly positioning itself as a cultural epicenter for live music. The entrance of brands such as Lollapalooza and Rolling Loud has spurred a meteoric rise in the number of international acts coming to India.
Propelled by rising disposable incomes and a taste for choosing experiential entertainment over material – audiences in India are investing steadfastly into live music.
Concerts are already a ₹1000 crore industry in our country. A report by BookMyShow from 2024 indicated an 18% increase in live entertainment consumptions.
Since Coldplay – government has started to take more interest in concerts. This has made getting permissions and dealing with other logistical challenges easier.
As the second largest streaming market in the world – India’s scope for live music is exorbitant yet unexplored. Telangana Tourism has recently signed a MOU with BookMyShow to facilitate international scale concerts in the state.
Delhi Government’s step couldn’t have come at a better time. The future will see the coming of major headliners and entry of big festivals into the capital. Delhi may soon surpass Mumbai and venture out into becoming the go-to for organizers and artists alike.
