How Coldplay's Ahmedabad concert opened new doors for city's transport infrastructure?

Mumbai, May 1 (IANS) The live music landscape of India has opened a new dimension. This can be deduced from the recently held live concert of the British rock band Coldplay in Ahmedabad. The live event pushed a part of the transport sector of the country to enhance its capacity.

The Western division of the Indian Railway to its capacity as the organisers partnered with the Western Railway to introduce special superfast trains between Mumbai and Ahmedabad. The findings have been documented in the recently released report on the economic impact of the event.

The city's airport handled 138,000 travellers during the three-day window, including a record-breaking 47,000 arrivals on the first concert day while the local metro system shattered all previous passenger records, demonstrating how a single event can stress-test and validate a city's entire transportation infrastructure.

Not only this, the hotel rates soared to INR 50,000 to INR 90,000, within just 48 hours of the concert announcement. EY-Parthenon (EY-P), the leading strategy consulting firm and BookMyShow Live, the live entertainment experiential division of BookMyShow, India's leading entertainment destination, have released a comprehensive report, titled ‘India's rising concert economy: Coldplay’s Ahmedabad tour sets the blueprint for India’s next cultural boomtowns’.

It captures the sweeping economic, cultural, workforce, sustainability and tourism impact of live entertainment in India, following India’s largest-ever live entertainment spectacle - Coldplay’s two-night ‘Music Of The Spheres’ concerts in Ahmedabad, produced and promoted by BookMyShow Live.

In a significant endorsement of India’s growing concert economy, Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his address at the Utkarsh Odisha – Make in Odisha Conclave 2025, said, “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”.

Over 80% of attendees shared a positive outlook on the concert experience, with 39% expressing confidence in the city’s preparedness to host large-scale events and 29% hoping to see more such concerts in Ahmedabad. The shift in perception was striking - 78% of surveyed attendees now view Ahmedabad as a major concert city, and two-thirds (66%) expressed strong willingness to return.

Talking about the report, Harsh Sanghvi, the Home Minister, Gujarat, said, "Executing an event of this scale required meticulous planning across security, traffic and emergency measures. With extensive provisions in place, seamless coordination with the organizers ensured clear communication with attendees, aiding smooth movement and overall safety. This collaboration between authorities and event organizers exemplifies how strategic planning and partnership can elevate large scale event execution”.

The concert delivered significant economic windfall, generating an estimated economic impact of INR 641 crore in total including a direct boost of INR 392 crore to Ahmedabad’s economy, with significant spending on accommodation, transport, dining and retail. It also contributed INR 72 crore in GST revenue to the Government of India, underlining its powerful fiscal impact.

The demographic reach was equally significant - nearly 8 in 10 attendees (79%) were under the age of 35, reflecting a powerful resonance with younger audiences who typically drive entertainment spending.

--IANS

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