“Portugal has a fantastic music market and Lisbon is a very vibrant city and we weren’t in the market yet and we’re happy. It’s a substantial investment. We weren’t in the market, so it was worth it. Not at any price, but it’s worth being in Lisbon and in the Portuguese market,” shared John Reid, the company's head of Europe.

John Reid, who oversees Live Nation's operations in Europe spoke to Lusa on the day that the Competition Authority (AdC) gave the North American company the 'green light' to buy “an indirect controlling stake” in the promoter Ritmos & Blues and also in Arena Atlântico, which manages the Meo Arena, and “respective subsidiaries”.

Live Nation Entertainment presents itself as "the largest live entertainment company in the world" and operates on several fronts in this industry, producing shows, promoting artists, operating venues and selling tickets.

According to the AdC, in Portugal, Live Nation “is active in promoting the Rock in Rio Lisboa festival”, through its subsidiary Better World, “and also has a stake in the Rolling Loud festival”, which took place in Portimão.

The North American company will now hold a “majority stake” in Meo Arena and will also enter the local production and promotion business through Ritmos & Blues.

Regarding the company’s entry into Portugal, John Reid spoke of a “unique opportunity”, highlighting its presence in Lisbon.

“It’s a vibrant city, it’s booming. It’s always been international, but it’s more international than ever. Artists love coming to Lisbon. We want more international artists to want to play there,” he said.

Reid added that Live Nation may also invest in Portuguese artists.

“We can do work for Portuguese music like we do, for example, with Latin music around the world, or with K-pop. Half of our work is to export local talent as well, it’s not just about bringing artists, it’s also about investing in local Portuguese talent,” he said.

Live Nation's operations director in Europe, Paul Antonio, stated that “some money” will be spent on renovation and modernisation work at the concert hall, without having to close it.

“And we will try to bring more content to the building. Putting all this together, we hope to create a full and vibrant calendar that reaches fans in Portugal and the economy in Lisbon”, he said, considering that the concert hall is “an iconic building”.

Meo Arena was built in the eastern part of Lisbon as part of Expo'98 – it was named Pavilhão Atlântico – and has a maximum capacity of 20,000 people and is suitable for hosting congresses, fairs and cultural and sporting events.

This arena has been one of the stages of the Web Summit, and has hosted the MTV European Music Awards ceremony, the Eurovision Song Contest final and hundreds of shows with big names such as Madonna, Bob Dylan, Leonard Cohen, Metallica, Beyoncé, Lady Gaga, Xutos & Pontapés, Carlos do Carmo, comedian Ricky Gervais, André Rieu and Cirque du Soleil.

“We need to have more shows. We have spent a lot of money, as you can see. Our agenda is: 'More and better shows'”, summed up John Reid, without revealing the investment value planned for this acquisition.

When asked about the impact of Live Nation on the Portuguese market, Reid believes that “it will be good for Lisbon and Portugal”.

"We will do more business there, which means more artists, more work for the local economy, for stage companies, for promotion. Everyone can benefit."

Regarding the increase in ticket prices for shows in recent years, John Reid recalled that “those who set ticket prices are the musicians and their teams”.

“Prices have gone up over the last few years, no doubt because of inflation, the costs of this business, but the shows are better than ever. Unmatched to ten or five years ago. We try to make sure the artists keep most of the money,” he said.

In a statement, Live Nation said that the deal to acquire Arena Atlântico, which manages Meo Arena, and “respective subsidiaries” – which includes the Blueticket ticketing system – should “be completed in late 2024 or early 2025”.

This Live Nation operation had already been announced in April 2023, but was the subject of an “in-depth investigation” by the AdC, because the acquisition “could result in significant obstacles to effective competition in the national market or in a substantial part of it”, says that authority in a statement.

According to the AdC, Live Nation presented several guarantees for this acquisition, namely “the access of all promoters to the MEO Arena based on fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory conditions”, “the immediate reduction of access prices to the Arena” and “the freezing of prices for the next 5 years”.

In 2012, the government at the time announced that it intended to sell Pavilhão Atlântico and the company that held its concession, as part of the restructuring of the State's business sector.