The Town festival was a sell-out
Featured image credit: The Town (Facebook)
São Paulo’s new The Town festival smashed expectations by generating an economic impact of more than US$360m during its inaugural year.
The sister event of the famous Rock in Rio attracted half a million people to the Brazilian city’s Cidade da Música over five days in early September. The Town – backed by Rock in Rio promoter Rock World and Live Nation Entertainment – was headlined by Foo Fighters, Bruno Mars, Maroon 5 and Post Malone.
Data collected by academic researchers from Fundação Getúlio Vargas (FGV) found that the festival generated 1.9 billion reais (US$367m) within the city’s economy, which was around 10% greater than the original estimate of $330m. Furthermore, the festival generated 23,400 direct and indirect jobs.
Among the more than 500,000 people who attended, some 65% came from outside the city of São Paulo. Hotels and accommodation had an occupancy rate of over 85%, according to the Brazilian Association of the Hotel Industry of the State of São Paulo (Abih-SP). That number was 25.5% higher than what was recorded during the same period in 2022.
In terms of communications, The Town reached more than 145 million people, via coverage and other media. The Town’s social networks saw an increase of more than 293,000 followers during the event’s five days. On X, formerly Twitter, there were 224 hours in trending topics and 74 tags in trends.
Organisers said: “With sold out tickets and a line-up with big names, half a million people visited Cidade da Música in five days. In addition to offering an unforgettable musical experience, the festival debuted with impressive numbers.”
The Town sold out three of its five days in the first three hours of sales through Ticketmaster’s Brazilian division in May 2023.
When announcing the event last year, Rock World said the $60m invested in the festival would lead to a direct economic impact of $330m and the creation of more than 27,000 jobs.
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