Today’s
blockbuster live events
are bigger than ever
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The live events industry is roaring back, with people more eager than ever to come together IRL and share big cultural moments in person. Several blockbuster music tours in the past year set the stage for a 2024 summer jam-packed with travel-worthy live events, and this year’s summer of sports, music festivals and concerts has brought millions of fans together. Live events are expected to bring in $68.7 billion in 2024, up from pre-pandemic revenues of $66.6 billion in 2019.
As these bigger-than-ever crowds descend on host cities, they bring welcome increases in tourism dollars, but also huge surges in demand for WiFi and 5G bandwidth — the same communications infrastructure local residents and businesses rely on every day. Accommodating these fans requires intensive preparation by host cities and venues and a communications network powerful enough to handle the demand and keep day-to-day services running.
Here come the fans
Managing the sheer number of spectators and fans swelling city populations in the days leading up to, during and after blockbuster live events requires careful planning to ensure host cities have the capacity to handle the influx. Visitors need places to stay, food to eat, transportation to get around the city, and fast, reliable digital connectivity every step of the way — all without disrupting WiFi and 5G networks for locals.
✧ Must-see soccer matches. The world’s biggest international soccer tournaments attracted record-breaking live crowds of more than 4 million people in 2022.
✧ A tidal wave of tennis fans. More than 2 million fans attended live tennis tournaments in the U.S. in the summer of 2023, with some events breaking all-time attendance records.
✧ The spectacle of summer sport. More than 30 million fans attended this summer’s biggest sporting events around the world.
✧ Data usage on the rise. Globally, data usage at sports venues has increased by 67 percent year over year as fans use their mobile devices to access services, explore, document, create and share while at the venues.
Pre-game prep
Host countries and cities for the world’s largest and most popular live events often need to invest in new state-of-the-art venues and purpose-built infrastructure to create the experience fans, athletes and performers expect. That includes constructing venues for games and concerts to take place, as well as expanding transportation routes, lodging options and other services to meet visitors’ needs.
✧ Turning streets into racetracks. Around the world, motor racing competitions often need to build tracks from scratch. Major infrastructure overhauls can include reshaping and repaving roadways to turn major thoroughfares into racetracks, building temporary bridges so that pedestrians can continue to move around cities over newly installed tracks, and building temporary tracks inside already established stadiums. In one example, workers had to put down nearly 14,000 cubic yards of asphalt — equivalent to the maximum load of 5,600 standard pickup trucks — to make a temporary track and protect the stadium’s grass at the same time.
✧ Building for the beautiful game. Many host countries are required to build entirely new transportation networks and stadiums to host live sporting events. Qatar spent over a decade and around $220 billion constructing facilities and infrastructure to host world-class soccer matches, along with hotels, an airport expansion, new public transportation and energy infrastructure to accommodate millions of live spectators. Qatar renovated one stadium and built seven new ones, equipping them with state-of-the-art outdoor air conditioning systems to keep fans and players comfortable in the desert heat.
Powering the tech-driven
fan experience
Fans expect a seamless, connected, secure experience driven by their mobile devices, including apps for wayfinding and in-venue deals, AR- and VR-based entertainment, geolocation features for finding friends or places to go after the show, livestreaming, and, of course, as many selfies as they can share. For example, according to a recent report, half of Gen Z fans use social media while watching a sporting event. Stadiums need built-in tech to create the interconnected physical plus digital experience fans demand, as well as a network that can handle sudden strains on capacity. AT&T 5G+ using high-band spectrum delivers super-fast speeds and unprecedented performances in high traffic areas. The network increases the amount of available connectivity for in-venue audiences, speeds up average data rates and even can decrease the amount of battery power required by devices searching for a WiFi connection.
✧ Fans are now broadcasters. On AT&T’s network, fans can upload videos and post content to social media faster than ever, and event broadcasters can incorporate fan footage to complement their coverage. At the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, AT&T fiber connectivity makes it possible for 75,000 fans to livestream from an event, while the AT&T Portal, powered by 5G, lets fans pose for photos with holograms of players and team icons, which they can then share.
✧ The best tech-powered seats in the house. The Mercedes-Benz Stadium also features the AT&T Perch, a 15,000-square-foot space open to everyone at an event. Fans can watch the action in hi-def on the Media Cube, a digital media column covered in two giant screens showing the game, as well as other sporting events happening that day. Fans can also take a break in the Quiet Lounge, fully equipped with USB charging stations, comfortable seating and an 11-by-16-foot video screen displaying multiple games at a time.
✧ The fan experience of the future. At the 5G installation at AT&T Stadium in Dallas, fans can view live game-day stats, submit their own video reactions and cheers for live in-stadium broadcasts and pose for selfies with their heroes via eight-foot interactive, immersive columns that display virtual versions of athletes.
“Whether fans are scrolling on social media or ordering concessions on their device, a high level of connectivity is essential for a positive stadium experience. Our network is well equipped to handle surges when major events occur, all while prioritizing high speed and reliability for both fans inside and outside the stadium.”
Gearing up for game day
A good example of how venues are handling blockbuster happenings: a recent major sports event where AT&T helped equip the stadium for game day. The venue was filled with nearly 68,000 fans who were ensured reliable connectivity wherever they were seated, while athletes and media had the service and speed they needed to keep up with the game, as did staff charged with keeping operations running smoothly.
✧ Seamless connectivity during the game. Coverage at the stadium was boosted with numerous wireless network antennas and small cells, plus miles of new fiber and power cables inside and outside the stadium, as well as a dedicated Band 14 spectrum for public safety teams.
Game on!
Fans take over huge swaths of host cities when they arrive, making their mark through their sheer numbers, game-day gear and creative concert-night outfits, as well as bursts in economic activity for local businesses and transportation providers.
✧ More trains for sports fans. New York City added five additional daily trains to its 7 line service to help fans get to and from matches for a sports championship in summer 2023. Ridership spiked from an average of around 10,000 up to 40,000 passengers per day during the tournament.
✧ Getting from one match to the next. During a recent tournament in Qatar, an average of 707,032 daily passengers took 9.19 million trips on the Doha Metro and Lusail Tram networks — about five times more than the average.
✧ Swarming in for the show. One major pop concert in summer 2023 drove up the host city’s hotel occupancy rate by an unprecedented 97 percent.
Fans send data usage
skyrocketing
As fans make their way around host cities, they gobble up network bandwidth as they go. But the real surges occur as the live events are happening, with stadiums full of mobile phone users capturing and sharing their experience.
✧ AT&T users broke data records at live events. At a single performance of one of 2023’s most popular concert tours, AT&T customers used 28.9 terabytes of data — the equivalent of 5.7 million selfies. (A single terabyte is enough to stream over 750 hours of music.)
✧ Matches on mobile. At a recent soccer tournament, fans used 2,000 terabytes of data on 5G infrastructure across the four-week tournament’s various stadiums and fan parks.
✧ A sudden spike in data usage. At a major 2024 sports event, attendees scrambled to share and post pics when they spotted a famous fan in the audience. At that moment, data usage jumped to a high of 34.8 terabytes, with a peak of 31,206 devices accessing the network simultaneously.
As live events seem set to draw ever-bigger crowds, their impact is also growing. In-the-moment, in-person experiences live on through social media shares and viral posts, connecting people who were there with the rest of the world. Host venues reap long-term benefits from infrastructure enhancements designed to attract and accommodate fans. And every new fan experience creates opportunities for what’s to come. Making all this possible while staying ahead of advances in how fans enjoy their favorite sports and performances requires a robust, resilient network with the scope to handle huge jumps in demand, deliver the high-speed connectivity fans expect, and prevent disruptions to each host city’s everyday needs.
“When it comes to experiencing live events, fans are becoming increasingly reliant on technology. As the fan experience evolves, the network must evolve too which is why we continuously strive to provide seamless connectivity powered by the latest technology.”
Sources: Entertainment Weekly; The Hollywood Reporter; AT&T Business; Sports Illustrated; Yahoo Sports; Forbes; Deloitte Insights; MTA; Qatar Tribune; Bloomberg; The Verge; Broadband Now; Sandvine; Extreme Networks