Mumbai: The FICCI EY Report has noted that the organised live events segment is expected to grow from Rs. 145 billion in 2025 to Rs. 196 billion by 2028, reflecting a structural shift towards premium, ticketed experiences and yearround event calendars.
While metros will remain important, the highest growth potential is increasingly expected in the ‘Next 10’ large cities Talent and operating costs are expected to increase Expect an influx of global players and new formats for niche audiences Implementation of the Live Events Development Cell (LEDC) by the Government of India may help reduce friction and spur further growth.
The event segment is expected to grow at 10%. The organised live events segment is expected to grow from Rs. 145 billion in 2025 to Rs. 196 billion by 2028, reflecting the structural shift towards premium, ticketed experiences and yearround event calendars. The report expects a slight dip in 2026 due to a rationalisation in concerts and the absence of an event of the size of the Kumbh Mela. Net of the revenue boost provided in 2025 by the Kumbh Mela, the sector is expected to grow at 18% till 2028, which will make it one of the fastest-growing M&E segments.
Event revenues from ‘Bharat’ will outpace ‘India’: While metropolitan areas will remain important for tapping into the large number of affluent families, the survey of event company CEOs indicated that the highest growth potential lies with the next 10 large cities They also felt that the potential for growth was high across India’s top 40 cities (each with a population of over one million), as consumption growth was faster in those markets, and brands needed to increase their share of voice to gain traction there.
Demand is expected to grow uniformly across event types: Respondents to the survey believed that many events would witness a growth in demand over the next few years. Growth will be driven by weddings and personal events, managed events and concerts. Activations and IP-led properties are also expected to grow, aligned with the shift towards community-led engagement and measurable brand outcomes.
Government events will also continue to grow as India cements its place as the fourth largest economy in the world and takes the lead in areas like AI, technology, mobility, defense, food security, spirituality, creative arts and healthcare.
Talent and operating costs are expected to increase: Event production cost inflation is expected to be widespread over the next two to three years, with the strongest increase expected in payroll and direct variable talent costs. With rising production benchmarks and more event concert days, event companies are likely to face challenges with respect to skilled technical, production and show operations talent. Due to an increase in production and marketing costs, margin resilience will depend on operating discipline, standardised playbooks, and stronger vendor ecosystems.
Expect an influx of global players and new formats: India’s increasing integration into global touring and format ecosystems is expected to continue, with greater interest from international promoters, IP owners and event platforms. This will broaden the format mix (concerts, touring exhibitions, immersive experiences and global entertainment IPs), and raise expectations on production quality, safety protocols and audience experience.
As the ecosystem matures, standardisation across vendors, safety compliance, operating procedures, and revenue and cost audits are expected to increase, which will lead to new event formats being launched, such as:
– Interactive museums
– Interactive cultural and religious monuments (sound and light shows, holograms, 3D content, etc.)
– Family entertainment zones
– Intimate concerts
– Curated exhibitions and Aided shopping
– Customised travel
Live Events Development Cell (LEDC) may help reduce friction: The government’s recent move to create a dedicated mechanism to support the structured growth of live events can help reduce friction across permissions, coordination, safety and city readiness, especially for large-format concerts and exhibitions. The LEDC is expected to position India as a global live entertainment destination by 2030, with the objective to help facilitate events through: Single-window facilitation for event permissions. Cross ministry coordination (union + states) Support for infrastructure, regulatory clarity and industry-wide engagement Standardisation and classification of venues and processes.
In 2025 the live events segment grew 44% in 2025, supported by the Kumbh Mela that added Rs. 25 billion of direct event production spend, and a significant growth in concerts and ticketed events. India’s live events economy is shifting from ad funded formats toward ticketed events. India had over 130 concert days in 2025 with an attendance of 10,000 people per day or more Other media segments – primarily print, radio and TV – invested heavily in events to compensate for falling ad sales revenues.
All types of events grew, led by sports, weddings, government events, religious events and activations. Margins were healthy for most companies, with over 50% of our survey respondents claiming margins of over 10%. Key challenges faced were unorganised competition, talent scarcity and a trust deficit.
India’s live events economy is shifting from ad funded formats toward ticketed events, a significant change from the pre-COVID-19 era, where ticketing revenues were under 15% of total revenues. Sports, music, spirituality and comedy were the top contributors to ticket sales, which were concentrated in the top 10 Indian metros.
Growth in ticketing revenues was due to:
1. Rising disposable incomes among the top 40 to 50 million Indian households.
2. Gen Z and millennials seeking an “experiencef irst” lifestyle FOMO led adoption catalyzing fandom, sales and repeat attendance.
3. An alternative to the cinema experience, where audiences are more watchful and select only films with good reviews and word-ofmouth
Several prominent artists performed at ticketed events in India during 2025:
International artists: Sting, Keane, Goo Goo Dolls, Bryan Adams, Deep Purple, Royal Blood, Backstreet Boys, Jonas Brothers, Halsey, Westlife, Linkin Park, Playboi Carti, etc.
Indian artists: Karan Aujla, Diljit Dosanjh, Arijit Singh, AP Dhillon, Sunidhi Chauhan, AR Rahman, Vishal–Sheykhar, Himesh Reshammiya, Sonu Nigam, etc.
The report believes that there was some unwarranted enthusiasm in the concert business in 2025. During the last quarter, several concerts did not sell out and were canceled or postponed. This exuberance will probably be rationalised in 2026 to focus on more bankable artists
Wedding and personal events: For 62% of survey respondents in 2025 (60% in 2024) personal events remained a key revenue driver, with growth fueled by Wed in India initiative, premiumisation and destination led formats.
Government events: 44% (vis-à-vis 39% in 2024) of survey respondents were focussing on government events, which include policy summits, trade expos, investment forums, cultural and religious gatherings and infrastructure conferences. Activations grew in 2025 as national brands invested in product trial across a larger number of Tier-II and Tier-III cities. Concerts and IP saw significant uptake as well for the reasons mentioned above
Government increased its support for the events segment: The Government of India has publicly positioned live events and the concert economy as a driver of employment, tourism and city branding, repeatedly highlighted by the Prime Minister and Union Ministers at WAVES and Meet-in-India platforms.
The Ministry of Tourism launched the ‘Meet in India’ initiative to position India as a global MICE destination through: Elevating 10 Indian cities into the world’s top MICE destinations Leveraging new venues such as Bharat Mandapam, Yashobhoomi and Jio World Convention Centre1 Live entertainment skills are being considered for inclusion under the National Skills Qualification Framework (NSQF).
Government initiatives include: Revamping 1,000 ITIs to align with AVGC XR, events and creative economy skills Developing Tier-II and Tier-III city talent cluster
Margins were healthy for most companies:
Over half the respondents generated margins between 10% and 30% Compared to previous years, the average margin was slightly lower on account of rising talent and production costs.
Traditional media companies increased focus on events: Media companies are increasingly investing in events and intellectual property (IP) to build durable, monetizable ecosystems, rather than relying only on advertising and subscription revenues. Segments like radio, print and TV are leading the way in creating and monetizing events to bolster falling ad sales revenues Religious and spiritual events grew. Religious and spiritual events emerged as one of the fastest growing formats within India’s events ecosystem, driven by a surge in pilgrimage tourism, large scale religious congregations and central and state government-led cultural events.
Government investment in pilgrimage infrastructure (roads, rail, airports, sanitation, crowd management) under schemes such as PRASHAD and Swadesh Darshan has materially improved access and capacity at major religious destinations. Professionalization of religious events, including organised logistics, digital darshan, online puja services, and curated spiritual tourism packages, has shifted the segment from informal gatherings to structured, large scale events.
Key challenges included unorganised competition and lack of transparency: The growth in events and revenues was accompanied by increased challenges as well.
Competition from unorganised players and from companies with less experience resulted in several implementation issues. These challenges directly influenced pricing discipline, delivery quality, safety, talent costs and client trust — and may eventually force the industry towards much-needed standardization and risk management. Credibility and transparency concerns remain high, reinforcing the need for stronger industry-wide production standards, compliance mechanisms and transparent ROI measurement.
Talent availability was another key challenge, as new companies entering the field poached experienced talent from event companies. The recent increase in GST on event tickets to 28% (including for the IPL) may impact ticketing revenues in 2026.
