September gave the England & Wales Cricket Board (ECB) and SecuTix a chance to reflect on one of the success stories of the year – the inaugural edition of The Hundred, a tournament that had been postponed from 2020.
In spite of the uncertainties caused by the COVID-19 backdrop, half a million tickets were sold, with 55% of those purchases made by new buyers – a crucial aim for the organisers. The Hundred’s triumph was recognised later in the year at TheTicketingBusiness Awards.
In other news, Live Nation announced it would press ahead with its long-awaited acquisition of Mexican concert promoter OCESA Entretenimiento for $450m (£325m/€381m). The deal was negotiated to secure Live Nation a 51% controlling stake in OCESA. To help finance the deal, Live Nation launched a $450m common stock offering.
Ticketing reseller Viagogo’s merger with StubHub was finally rubber-stamped by the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority, following a number of false-starts. The original $4.05bn (£3bn/€3.5bn) deal had been originally agreed in November 2019. The regulator approved the merger after StubHub agreed to sell its international business and both parties said they would comply with a number of terms.
In another blow for international fans of the Olympics, as it was announced that only those based in mainland China would be allowed to attend the 2022 Winter Games in Beijing. The International Olympic Committee confirmed the decision and said that domestic ticket-holders would need to meet COVID-19 countermeasure requirements.
The announcement came in the same month that Beijing’s first foreign theme park, backed by Universal, opened to huge interest, with among 12 million visitors expected in its first year.