Even though it is the fourth most populous city in Brazil, Salvador receives far fewer events of this type compared to the South-Southeast axis
Many music fans complain that large international concerts do not pass through the Northeastern states. Generally, only capitals in the South and Southeast are contemplated, with rare “detours” outside this axis.
Salvador represents one of the most “ignored” cities in this sense. Although it is the fourth most populous municipality in Brazil, with 2.9 million inhabitants, the capital of Bahia does not receive as many events of this type compared to capitals in the South and Southeast, including Porto Alegre and Belo Horizonte, both with fewer inhabitants.
Why does this occur? A report signed by journalist Thais Borges and published by the newspaper People’s Mail seeks to present some answers. The situation in Salvador is considered a priority, since the vehicle is from the capital of Bahia, but the context is the same for other municipalities in the Northeast.
In the case of Salvador, artists such as Beyoncé (2010), David Guetta (2014), Elton John (2014), Paul McCartney (2017), Hanson (2017), Roger Waters (2018) and A-ha (2022) included the city on their routes during recent tours. However, these are relatively isolated cases.
Heard by the report, Alexandre Gonzaga, director of commercial operations at Arena Fonte Nova (a space that usually hosts such events), revealed that there was an attempt to bring Coldplay. The band led by vocalist Chris Martin played a series of shows in São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and Curitiba at the beginning of the year.
It didn’t work out for reasons of, especially, logistics. The executive said that the South and Southeast are usually on the priority route for attractions because they then travel to Argentina and Chile, which are closer.
Lack of structure in terms of equipment and a deficient air network are also aspects mentioned by the sources of the report. Operations director at Zum Brazil Eventos, Bruno Portela says that the price of tickets to Salvador makes other cities more interesting to host this type of event, especially thinking about the public, since a large portion of fans are tourists.
You end up losing to hubs like Recife, which receives many tour shows, because of the issue of the road network to receive tourists. A show of this size is not just for the city, but the public that comes starts to bump into the air network. Today, Salvador has a poor air network and ticket prices are very high.”
other problems
As the report presents more sources, new problems are presented. The event producer Irá Carvalho points out that large events in Salvador “don’t pay for themselves” because the expenses are high, due to all the aspects already mentioned and others, including the price of the services needed to carry them out.
There is also a lack of companies interested in sponsoring such shows, since the preference is also for investing in cities like São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro.
Source: Rollingstone
Earl Johnson is a music writer at Gossipify, known for his in-depth analysis and unique perspective on the industry. A graduate of USC with a degree in Music, he brings years of experience and passion to his writing. He covers the latest releases and trends, always on the lookout for the next big thing in music.
