Belgian concert venues make the list of top 10 best-selling worldwide

The Sportpaleis in Antwerp and Ancienne Belgique in Brussels have been listed among the most popular concert venues in the world by the American concert industry magazine Pollstar. “Flanders has once again shown it can operate at the top of the world in the music industry,” said Jan Van Esbroeck, director of the Sportpaleis.

The Ancienne Belgique came third in the world list of club-size venues with 236,768 tickets sold in 2013, behind House of Blues in Boston (285,975) and 9:30 Club in Washington D.C. (279,479). “As a Flemish cultural institution, the Ancienne Belgique demonstrates, with this international recognition, how a small region can become a giant in the concert landscape,” said culture minister Joke Schauvliege. “That’s a reputation to which the Sportpaleis also steadfastly contributes.”

Sportpaleis (pictured) came in eighth place in the world ranking for arena venues, with 741,319 tickets sold in 2013. That list is led by the O2 Arena in London on 2.1 million tickets. The Lotto Arena in Antwerp came in 86th place, with the Grenslandhallen-Ethias Arena in Hasselt also making the Top 100 at 94.

“Thanks to their enterprising spirit and openness to innovation,” commented minister-president Kris Peeters, “our Flemish concert halls and concert organisers are famed throughout the world”. 

photo courtesy MM/Sportpaleis