The price of tickets in general, and festival tickets in particular, has surged over the last couple of years. To get a better view, we compared 10 different festivals in 10 different countries in Europe.
Criteria
To make the comparison as fair as possible, we compared standard three-day admission tickets. We did not include early-bird prices, but instead the standard ticket price available closer to each respective festival. In some cases, camping was included in the ticket price, which is clearly noted below.
For festivals where tickets were sold in currencies other than the euro, we converted the price to euros using Wise’s historical currency calculator and the exchange rate on the first day of the festival. In the case of Leeds Festival, which has not yet taken place and uses British pounds, we used the current exchange rate at the time of writing (August 19). Converted prices were rounded to the nearest euro.
We are aware that the festivals compared host different numbers of artists and stages, so the list should not be seen as a strict comparison but rather as a general overview of festival ticket prices in Europe.
Festival prices (2026):
1. Lowlands – Biddinghuizen, Netherlands – €365 (Camping spot and shuttle bus included)
2. Primavera Sound – Barcelona, Spain – €350 + booking fees
3. Leeds Festival – Leeds, England – ≈ €346* (£295)
4. Syd For Solen – Copenhagen, Denmark – ≈ €341 + fee (2550 DDK)
5. Way Out West – Gothenburg, Sweden – ≈ €316 (3495 SEK)
6. FM4 Frequency (3-day pass): €280 (camping spot and parking included)
7. Flow Festival – Helsinki, Finland – €259
8. NOS Alive – Lisbon, Portugal – €199
9. Rock en Seine – Paris, France – 3-day pass – €199
10. Bilbao BBK Live – Bilbao, Spain -: €180 + fees
*converted using the current exchange rate.
What does this list say?
If we take a quick look at the list and try to get some insights, we could conclude that the festivals in southern Europe seem to be cheaper than those in central, western and northern Europe. In fact, several sources state just this. For instance, The Way Out West festival in Sweden has seen a near 70 % increase in just 10 years. Lowlands Festival in the Netherlands has nearly doubled its ticket prices in the same period. By contrast, Flow Festival, which lies in the Finnish capital of Helsinki, has only raised the ticket price by 57 %.
Does festival ownership affect ticket prices?
Lowlands and Way Out West have one thing in common, both are connected to the entertainment giant Live Nation. Several other festivals near the top of the list are also linked to major live-entertainment companies. Syd For Solen, for example, is a part of FKP Scorpio’s festival portfolio.
Another interesting common thread among the festivals is the involvement of private-equity and investment firms. Since 2018, 29 % of Primavera Sound has been owned by the American private equity firm Yucaipa Companies. Flow Festival has a similar connection. In 2018, its founders entered into an investment and partnership agreement with Superstruct Entertainment. The company was later acquired by the global investment firm KKR. The trend extends far beyond just these festivals. A 2026 study found that more than 150 of the EU’s largest festivals are linked to just four major groups (Live Nation, CTS Eventim, AEG and Superstruct).
Interestingly, the two cheapest festivals on the list, NOS Alive and Bilbao BBK Live, are not part of the major entertainment groups mentioned earlier. It should also be noted that Bilbao BBK Live receives substantial funding from the local savings bank, from which its name also stems. NOS Alive also gets funding from the Portuguese government to advertise to foreign tourists, which stands for a big part of the festival’s visitors.
Conclusion
We compared ticket prices at ten major festivals across Europe. Through this, we found two noticeable patterns. Firstly, festivals in southern Europe tended to have lower ticket prices than the ones in central, western and northern Europe. Secondly, many of the more expensive festivals were connected to major international live-entertainment groups or investment firms. The sample size of only ten festivals, which themselves differ in size, lineups and operating costs, is not large enough to establish a clear relationship between ownership and ticket prices. In fact, the sample is too limited to draw any clear conclusions.