British 2000s sensation 'Coldplay' recently concluded the Asian leg of their 'Music of the Spheres' world tour with flying colours at Ahmedabad on January 26, 2025. Produced and promoted by BookMyShow Live (the live entertainment experiential division of one of India's biggest ticketing platforms), in collaboration with Live Nation, the global producers of the tour, this tour is said to be one of the largest stadium concerts of the 21st century.
Coldplay embarked on the grand world tour on March 18, 2022, with the Asian leg of the tour involving shows in the UAE, India, China and Korea. For India, the band had originally announced two shows at the D.Y. Patil Sports Stadium in Mumbai, beginning on January 18, 2025.
Fans turned out in thousands, leading to constant BookMyShow crashes, as well as foul play by middlemen who extorted large sums of money for the priceless tickets. This led the band to announce one more show in Mumbai, and later on, two more shows at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, all of which were sold out within an hour from their release.
According to a report by EY-Parthenon and BookMyShow, Coldplay's last two concerts in Ahmedabad alone generated an estimated (total) economic impact of over Rs 641 crores, highlighting India's viable customer base for live concerts. Out of the 641-crore figure, Rs 392 crores directly boosted the city's economy.
“It also contributed Rs 72 crores in GST revenue to the Government of India, underlining its powerful fiscal impact. Coldplay's 'Music Of The Spheres' concerts catapulted Ahmedabad onto the global entertainment stage, drawing visitors from over 500 cities spanning all 28 states and 5 union territories,” the report declared.
The concerts had indeed cast a wonderful spell on Gujarat's economy, drawing over 2,22,000 fans to the city over the course of two nights. Flights, trains and buses into the city were packed, with hotels hiking their rates to Rs 1.6 lakhs for two-night stays. Furthermore, shopping patterns shifted, with local businesses and tourism jumping on the bandwagon. Food and beverage sales skyrocketed, as did apparel brands, who raced to produce and/or import concert-inspired fashion trends.
In that regard, the report stated that for every Rs 100 spent on a ticket, attendees contributed an additional Rs 585 towards services like hospitality, travel, local shopping and dining, creating a ripple effect.
The concert also had a notable impact across media formats, with a social media reach exceeding 350 million users, as a result of extensive coverage by influencers, celebrities and leading publications. The concert coverage even reached Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who praised India's ability to conduct world-class concerts.
"In a country with such a rich heritage in music, dance and storytelling, with such a large pool of youth and a massive consumer base for concerts, there are vast opportunities for the concert economy. In the past decade, both the trend and demand for live events have grown. You must have seen the incredible images from the Coldplay concerts in Mumbai and Ahmedabad in recent days. This is proof of how much scope live concerts have in India," he said, addressing the Utkarsh Odisha: Make in Odisha Conclave 2025.
According to BookMyShow CEO Ashish Hemrajani, the event was executed at an exceptional operational scale.
“With approximately 15,000 personnel deployed across event management staff, security, logistics and volunteers, BookMyShow collaborated with multiple government organizations to jointly enable infrastructure enhancements, such as extended metro services and special trains, which ensured seamless transportation and effective management of crowd inside the venue and traffic across the city.”
The report also briefly mentioned the concert's focus on sustainability and actively promoting eco-friendly initiatives. As a result, it successfully diverted over 34,000kg of waste—95% of the total waste generated from the concert—from landfills.
Coldplay’s ‘Music Of The Spheres’ concert demonstrated Ahmedabad’s—and by extension, India's—readiness to host large-scale global events, attracting investments, boosting tourism and enhancing its reputation as a global entertainment hub.
The band will continue their world tour in USA, the UK and parts of Europe, concluding their glorious three-year tour with a concert at London's Wembley Stadium on September 8, 2025.
