O2 Arena

The O2 Arena. Photo Credit: Henry Ren

It’s been a “historic record-breaking 2025” for the O2 Arena – according to the London venue’s AEG owner, which is touting double-digit performance-volume and ticket-sales growth.

AEG Europe highlighted these and other 2025 stats in a brief release, pointing specifically to 239 shows (up 19% year over year) delivered at the O2 this year. Included in the figure are concerts from 55 first-time O2 performers (up 34% YoY), among them Pitbull, Sabrina Carpenter, and Tate McRae.

Meanwhile, the O2’s 2025 ticket sales came in at north of 2.9 million, for an 11.5% YoY boost, according to AEG. And Radiohead stretched the 20,000-capacity arena’s attendance ceiling to the limit by attracting a record peak of 22,355 guests, the company relayed.

“Welcoming more events and more fans than ever before is a powerful reflection of both the continued strength of the live entertainment sector and the relentless dedication of our team, who work tirelessly to deliver best-in-class experiences for the millions of guests we are proud to host each year,” Steve Sayer, the O2’s SVP and GM, added in part.

Of course, there’s more to the state of live than the strong results of market leaders – referring in large part to the ongoing operational woes of grassroots venues.

Multiple individuals and entities have spoken out about the difficulties, and the Live Music Society has distributed millions to small venues thus far. Additionally, it was only earlier in December that the O2 agreed to put up “a direct donation to [the] Music Venue Trust each time a new artist headlines the arena for the first time as part of a wider three-year commitment.”

In other words, record-breaking financials are just one piece of the crowd-based-entertainment puzzle heading into 2026. Another testament to the mixed live bag: The fact that 2025 brought blockbuster tours, huge merch revenue for certain acts, several shelved or dialed-back concert series, and festival cancellations alike.

The dominant positioning of Live Nation and AEG hasn’t been lost on investors – or the federal government. To date, the media spotlight has shined brightest on the Justice Department’s ongoing antitrust suit against Live Nation.

But over the summer, reports suggested that Live Nation and AEG were staring down a criminal antitrust probe over alleged refund-related ticketing collusion during the early days of the pandemic.

Today, Bloomberg, citing anonymous sources, indicated that September had seen prosecutors recommend against slapping Live Nation or CEO Michael Rapino with criminal charges.