When Balraj Singh, a Delhi-based professor, booked tickets for singer-songwriter Satinder Sartaaj’s Heritage India tour in the capital, he had concerns that stemmed not from how the concert would go, but rather from the hassles that come before and after the show. Nevertheless, he booked tickets and decided to give the concerts another chance.
Singh, who attended actor-singer Diljit Dosanjh’s Dil-Luminati concert in October 2024, recalled his ordeal. He was forced to drive another 20 minutes around the venue just to get to his parking spot. Later that night, he walked for almost an hour trying to figure out how to get to the bus stop on the other side of the flyover and ended up having to take an autorickshaw.
This time, he thought his experience would be different because he pre-booked a parking spot through Blyp, a quick parking app that offered spots around the stadium. However, by the time he reached the designated spot, the Delhi Police had already set up barricades blocking the area and forcing him to look for parking elsewhere. He later ended up at the India Habitat Center parking lot and had to walk 2 kilometers back and forth from the venue.
However, Singh is not the only one who has raised concerns about the difficulty of attending the concert in Delhi. On February 14, the night of Sartaaj’s concert, videos posted online showed people attending his concerts being forced to park their vehicles on the Barapullah flyover near the venue. Parked vehicles on one side of the overpass caused a massive traffic jam in the area.
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For Hersuhail Kaur, head of D2C growth at Rasayanam Nutripharm, the makeshift washrooms that are usually installed in the name of “infrastructure” lacked basic amenities such as a tap for hand washing or flushing. In an interview with Livemint, she said that lack of these basic amenities should not become a new normal for people in Delhi or other Indian cities, despite high ticket prices ranging from ₹1,000 to ₹10,000.
Is this a problem specific to Delhi?
According to Anmol Kukrej, founder and CEO of Skillbox, a ticketing and booking portal for various arts, the country’s concert economy is structurally young and commercially booming. He added that India has moved from “occasional international tours” to a serious touring market within a few years. While demand has exploded faster than regulatory systems, venue design and SOP frameworks are still evolving.
According to Kukrej, the problem is not limited to Delhi-NCR and is a wider Indian challenge. He added that Mumbai struggles with noise control and venue restrictions, while Bengaluru struggles with traffic planning and zoning.
While this may be true, for Coldplay’s ‘Music Of The Spheres’ concert in Ahmedabad in January 2025, the arrangements were flawless according to Shobhit Varshney, Senior Manager, HDFC Bank. Varshney, who had traveled from Lucknow specifically to attend the Coldplay concert at the Narendra Modi Stadium, said everything was perfect, including the washrooms. The site had plenty of parking, but most people opted for the subway, where they were issued a two-way ticket upon boarding. “There were regular queues and management evacuated everyone depending on their station to avoid overcrowding. He added that the security guards were sending a limited number of people to the metro station at one time.
India’s gig economy: The market is ready, the ecosystem has yet to catch up
According to an EY report published in April 2025, India’s concert economy has seen significant growth over the past few years in 2024, with 70 to 80 concert days attracting 10,000 or more spectators. In addition, the organized live events segment in India has grown at an impressive pace and surpassed ₹12,000 crore mark and is projected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of around 19% over the next three years.
The report added that Coldplay’s concert in Ahmedabad on 25-26 January 2025 attracted 222,000 fans and generated an estimated ₹641 crore in economic impact in various sectors. In just two nights, ₹392 million was injected into Ahmedabad’s local economy through spending on accommodation, restaurants, local transport and shopping. Up to ₹72 crore in fiscal contribution to the government through GST has been made.
According to the BookMyShow report, India’s live entertainment sector will grow by 17% by 2025. Last year, the country hosted 34,086 live events, including concerts, theater shows and comedy shows, compared to 30,687 live events, including music concerts, held in 319 cities in India in 2024.
According to a Financial Times report, India aims to establish itself among the world’s top five live entertainment markets by 2030, joining the US, UK, South Korea and the United Arab Emirates.
Are Indian cities ready to host live events from top stars like Shakira?
Kukreja said that Delhi is ready to host artists and mega concerts in terms of demand and audience. “The city has the spending power, the appetite for the brand and a young demographic that consumes global culture,” he said, adding that the gap lies in infrastructure designed specifically for large events.
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According to Kukrej, most of the venues in Delhi-NCR were built for exhibitions, political rallies, weddings or cricket, and not for the 50,000 fans who expect global standards while shelling out money. So, while the market is ready, the ecosystem is still catching up.
Commenting on Shakira’s concert to be held on April 15 at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Delhi, he said that while the city is ready from a consumer point of view, from an operational point of view, Delhi needs to tighten up the implementation. If India is to replicate international routing of global A-list talent, we need:
• Better traffic dispersion plans
• Dedicated concert parks
• Uniform coordination between authorities at the city level
Diljit Dosanjh fumed over the problems of India’s concert infrastructure
This issue has been acknowledged earlier by artists such as Diljit Dosanjh, who announced during his 14 December 2024 concert in Chandigarh that he would no longer perform in the city unless infrastructure was improved. Dosanjh expressed disappointment at the current state of India’s concert infrastructure, pointing out the lack of facilities. He urged governments, both central and state, to focus on the live entertainment sector, noting that it generates substantial revenue and provides employment to many.
Why do organizers fail to provide basic amenities?
Kukreja said there are two main reasons why organizers fail to provide basic amenities. The first is temporary infrastructure, which includes restrooms, parking, crowd flow, and entry and exit systems, which are often retrofitted instead of pre-designed.
And secondly, underestimating fan expectations. Today’s concert goers pay premium prices. They expect airport-level sanitation and stadium-level planning.
Questions sent to the Satinder Sartaaj team were unanswered at the time of publication.
Fragmented responsibility blamed for logistical chaos in Delhi
Explaining the reasons behind the logistical chaos often witnessed in events in Delhi, Kukreja cited “fragmented responsibility” as the main cause. He said mega concerts require centralized command. In India, responsibilities are divided between promoters, venue owners, local authorities, police and municipal bodies. According to him, “large-scale actions require coordination at the military level, not just strong marketing.”
Despite the infrastructural challenges faced by factories in India today, the younger generation does not shy away from spending. Rohit (name changed), a businessman from Delhi who experienced a similar parking situation at two different Satinder Sartaaj concerts, said that once he got inside, he forgot everything and had the time of his life with the artist’s mesmerizing performance.
Infrastructural challenges may not dampen the enthusiasm of Indian concertgoers, but the question is whether these issues will be resolved to get their money’s worth.
