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- There will be a choir and a show: at least 10 Western stars will perform in Russia in 2025
There will be a choir and a show: at least 10 Western stars will perform in Russia in 2025
The organizers of the Moscow concerts of American rappers DaBaby and Offset promised to announce at least 10 more names this year. Other Russian companies are negotiating performances in Russia with Chinese and Korean artists. The k-pop group W24 is coming on tour in April. In addition, their compatriots ALL(H)OURS, French singer Emma Chapplin, and jazz stars are on the calendar for 2025. Representatives of the concert industry say that the political situation is changing, and foreigners are more willing to go to Russia. For more information, see the Izvestia article.
"The phrase about the risk premium has disappeared from communication"
Anna Subcheva, CEO of the Say Agency concert agency, told Izvestia that at least 10 more names will be announced this year. In February 2025, her team organized a Moscow concert by American rapper Jonathan Kirk, known under the pseudonym DaBaby. He performed in Russia for the first time. Next, an April show is planned by another American hip-hop artist Offset (former Cardi B). And after that, a series of other concerts. Unexpected announcements are also promised.
DaBaby performs at the Vewtopia 2020 Music Festival in Miami, Florida
— These are artists of different genres from the USA and Europe. We are planning a couple of tours this year, and we will announce one this week. Unfortunately, I will not be able to name the names before the announcement, otherwise I will violate the terms of the contracts," explained Anna Subcheva. — The political situation is changing, so it's getting easier. The other day, the manager of an American artist contacted me, he wanted us to pick him up here in Russia as part of his European tour.
The trend is also noted by the JG Agency, which promotes and performs concerts by Korean artists.
— The management of the bands, their labels and concert agencies are clarifying the possibility of performances. This is the first time since 2020, since the beginning of the pandemic. The phrase about the risk premium has disappeared from the communication. Previously, it was assumed that the artist risked his reputation by coming to Russia due to the political situation. Now this is not the case, and warming is being felt. It seems that the Russian market is regaining its attractiveness, and everyone understands how important the Russian audience and fans are to them," Jeanne Garber, head of JG Agency, told Izvestia.
Emma Shapplin
Her company is currently negotiating with five major Korean artists. However, they don't risk talking to anyone at JG either.
— These are big K-pop groups, solo artists and famous choreographers, as there are requests for dance performances. I don't want to name names ahead of time, as we have seen in practice that artists first agree, then withdraw documents at the signing stage. The situation is still unstable, so we will make announcements after the contracts are finalized," Garber said.
Last year, for the first time in Russia, the bands Lightsum performed in the summer and X:IN in the fall. Concerts by ALL(H)OURS and French singer Emma Shaplin are expected in the spring, Yanina Tataritskaya, general producer of MTS Live, shared with Izvestia, noting that their venues are booked under high-profile foreign brands.
The Moscow Evenings concert agency reported that several Chinese groups representing synthetic theater and modern choreography are in the works, and since the beginning of the year, artists from Turkey and Europe have already been on the calendar.
Burak Ozchivit
— At the beginning of the year, Turkish TV series star Burak Ozcivit performed in Moscow and Almetyevsk, and Italian singer Alessandro Safin is currently on tour: March 3 at the Kremlin Palace, and events in other major cities will take place in the coming days. Classical artists, such as opera performers, perform periodically. So, Vittorio Grigolo, who is loved by the Russian public, regularly comes to Russia," said Elena Bukhmak, the agency's PR director.
Perhaps the Russian Media Group is also working towards bringing in foreign stars. They promised to respond to Izvestia's request "upon the arrival of the artists or after signing contracts with them."
Concerts of foreign artists in Russia in 2025
Performances by Western musicians in Russia are announced at Igor Butman's "Triumph of Jazz" in March. The festival will celebrate its 25th anniversary, and in addition to our compatriots, Roberto Fonseca (Cuba), Alex Khan and Richie Goodes (USA) will perform on its stage.
Cuban jazz pianist Roberto Fonseca
In April, the Korean boy band W24 will embark on a tour of Russia. The band first came to our country in November 2023 to perform on the stage of the VKontakte Fandom Fest, and was so impressed by the hospitality that they returned several times afterward. Our audience was captivated by the young guys not only with their own songs, but also with covers of hits by Kino, Egor Creed and other Russian artists familiar to different generations. The band will start their journey in St. Petersburg, stop with concerts in Kazan, Yekaterinburg, Rostov-on-Don and other cities, and finish in Moscow. A few weeks after that, on May 14, a concert by the European metal band Ektomorf will take place in the capital. The team will perform in Russia for the first time since 2018.
There is a possibility that in 2025 the famous Italian pop singer Al Bano, known to us from Felicita, Ti Amo and other eternal hits, will come to the capital. In a recent interview with the Ansa news agency, he stated that he had received an invitation to speak on Red Square.
South Korean idol rock band W24
— I received a wonderful message from a man who was my impresario in Russia, he organized four of my speeches in front of Putin. He told me, "Be ready by the end of August or the beginning of September, because we're going to do a concert for peace," the singer said.
According to representatives of the concert industry, everyday riders for foreigners are often even easier than for our stars. The biggest difficulty in organizing their performances is logistics.
Italian pop singer Al Bano
— There are no direct flights to Russia, they travel from 20 to 25 hours, and then you have to go on stage. This is the main difficulty so far," says Anna Subcheva from Say Agency.
In addition, some foreigners are still afraid of reputational risks.
— In addition to the increased costs of fees, logistics and the organization of the event itself, the specifics are that the artists who agreed to perform with us try not to advertise their performances here. Press activity has been minimized: for European artists, coming to Russia is still associated with the risk of being canceled in their homeland," says Elena Bukhmak, an expert on the concert and music market.
When will the big world stars perform in Russia
The risk of "cancellation" stops the big stars gathering stadiums, too. Our public also has a request for global celebrities, but many experts agree that this path is still closed.
— It is absolutely impossible to talk about systematic performances by Western artists while we are under sanctions," Ed Ratnikov, Director General of the T.C.I agency, told Izvestia. — It is still impossible for the vast majority of international artists to come to our country in order to perform in front of an audience and receive money for it. If they do, they will lose their priority markets under the sanctions law.
American musician Jared Leto
Nowadays, Russians often go after foreign idols in other countries. Last October, many of our compatriots were among the audience at the Thirty Seconds to Mars concert in Belgrade. Then the band's lead singer Jared Leto addressed them from the stage and promised: "One day, when these problems are over, we will meet with you in your homeland."
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