Seatwave Ticket Sales in Europe Increase 87% in 2009

LONDON, ENG (Seatwave) 20 January 2010 – The third annual review of live entertainment ticket sales from Seatwave, Europe’s largest ticket marketplace (1.4 million unique visitors - comScore, July 2009), revealed that this was the year that Britons turned to live entertainment as an antidote to the country’s financial woes. With stadium music and comedy tours continuing to be the top attractions, the volume of live entertainment tickets being exchanged on the Seatwave site increased by 87% on 2008.

U2’s 360o tour was the top grossing event of 2009, with over 40,000 fans from 100 countries buying tickets on the site. AC/DC, Coldplay and Take That also made the grade in 2009 featuring in Seatwave’s Top 10 grossing events list. In the world of comedy, Peter Kay fans had the last laugh as demand for tickets for his 2009 gigs sent him to the top of the stand-up chart with veteran Billy Connolly a close second place.

In sport, the number of tickets sold on the site rose by a staggering 95% on last year’s sales. Cricket was the sport of 2009. The Twenty20 World Cup and the Ashes proved the hottest sports tickets in town as England’s victory over Australia sent demand for tickets soaring. And on the West End stage, Rowan Atkinson and Griff Rhys Jones wowed the crowds as Fagin in Oliver, taking the show to number one in the Top 10 theatre productions chart.

Joe Cohen, CEO and Founder of Seatwave said:

“2009 has been an astonishing year in the live entertainment industry and an increasing number of fans turned to Seatwave for the flexibility, transparency and choice that our site provides. In the last year we’ve seen some amazing bands and artists take to the stage, some for the first time and others who we didn’t expect to see again.”

“We expect more of the same in 2010. With exciting tours and sporting events already on the live entertainment calendar, the ones to watch are the next leg of the U2 Tour and the rumoured return of Robbie Williams who will be keen to emulate the 2009 success of his old Take That band mates.”

TOP 10 grossing events/tours of 2009*
1. U2
2. Depeche Mode
3. Muse Tour
4. AC/DC
5. Green Day
6. Coldplay
7. Beyonce
8. Pink
9. Oasis
10. Take That

Top 10 comedy acts of 2009*
1. Peter Kay
2. Billy Connolly
3. Michael McIntyre
4. Ricky Gervais
5. Eddie Izzard
6. Russell Brand
7. Frankie Boyle
8. Jimmy Carr
9. Al Murray
10. Russell Howard

Top 10 theatre productions of 2009
1. Oliver!
2. Hamlet
3. Dirty Dancing
4. War Horse
5. Mamma Mia
6. Blue Man Group
7. Priscilla Queen Of The Desert
8. Julie Andrews
9. Billy Elliot
10. Ben Hur Live!

Top 10 sporting events of 2009
1. Twenty20 World Cup
2. The Ashes
3. Six Nations
4. UEFA Champions League
5. ATP World Tour Final
6. Rugby Autumn Internationals
7. French Tennis Open
8. England vs Australia One Day Internationals
9. New England Patriots v Tampa Bay Buccaneers
10. British Lions

*All figures based on total Euro volume of tickets sold

About Seatwave

Seatwave, Europe’s largest fan-to-fan ticket exchange (1.4 million unique visitors - comScore, July 2009), is an online marketplace for buying and selling tickets for theatre, sports, music and other live events. The company was launched in February 2007 by Joe Cohen, ex Ticketmaster and ex match.com and early stage Venture Capital firm, Atlas Venture. Seatwave has more than 700,000 tickets on sale at any one time and every ticket purchase is covered by their TicketIntegrity™ and TicketCover™ guarantees. Seatwave is the official ticket exchange for Live Nation’s Mojo Concerts, Fulham FC and many others. The company was recently named Online Business of the Year (Fast Growth Business Awards 2009), VC-backed Business of the Year (Fast Growth Business Awards 2009), Europe’s fastest growing digital media company (GP Bullhound Media Momentum Awards 2009) and the leading Technology Media company (Guardian, Tech Media Invest 100, 2009). The company is based in London. www.seatwave.com

For more information please contact:
Louise Rutter / Jenny Craig
Portland PR
T: 020 7842 0135
E: louise.rutter@portlandpr.co.uk, jenny.craig@portlandpr.co.uk

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