Entertainment giant Live Nation and Korea’s Busan Metropolitan City have revealed plans to develop an arena and multi-cultural entertainment complex in Busan.
The city is South Korea’s second most populous city after capital Seoul and the new entertainment destination will include a 20,000-capacity arena, an exhibition centre, hotels and an educational facility.
There are three potential sites currently being investigated for the complex in Busan City’s projects.
Live Nation will manage the venue while sharing its experience and knowledge of venue planning, design and ongoing operations. The local Live Nation Korea team will also provide expertise on content and concert promotion, to help bring international talent and local artists to the venue.
The new arena and complex will add to Live Nation’s Venue Nation portfolio that already includes a number of venues across the Asia Pacific region, such as Grange Road in Singapore, Spark Arena in New Zealand, and Australia’s Palais Theatre, Festival Hall, Anita’s Theatre, Fortitude Music Hall and Hindley Street Music Hall.
Adelaide welcomed the new 1,800-capacity intimate live music venue Hindley Street Music Hall last year.
The new site will cater to K-pop’s growing popularity across the globe. A study from the Korea Culture and Tourism Institution (KCTI) on K-pop as a global phenomenon found that the economic effect of K-pop group BTS’ three-day tour in Korea was estimated to range between 619.7 billion (£378m/€435m/$471m) and 1.22 trillion Korean won for each concert.
Busan City will assist with the approval procedures relevant to the project site and provide administrative support.
Mayor Heong-Joon Park said: “The arena will become a hub of tourism empowered by K-pop, contributing to the local and national economy. The complex will create many opportunities and synergies with other cultural organisations in Busan including Osiria Sightseeing Complex, Haeundae Beach and local festivals like Busan Fireworks Festival and G-Star. We are looking forward to seeing Busan transforming into a global city full of cultural diversity.”
Live Nation president and chief executive Michael Rapino added: “As we continue to expand our global venue business, Busan will be an important touring hub for global superstars who are touring more of the world, as well as K-pop and local artists. We’re excited to help create more opportunities for artists and fans to connect, while also contributing to the growing tourism in the city.”