By Yadarisa Shabong and Kate Holton
(Reuters) – Britain’s hospitality industry is gearing up for a multi-million pound boost from the Oasis concerts next summer after brothers Noel and Liam Gallagher announced plans to reunite for a series of gigs.
“The Oasis tour is likely to join the likes of Taylor Swift, Harry Styles and Beyonce in delivering record-setting shows in recent years,” said Kate Nicholls, Chief Executive of trade body UKHospitality.
The band, whose debut album “Definitely Maybe” was released 30 years ago, split in 2009 when lead guitarist and main songwriter Noel said he could no longer work with frontman Liam after a number of public spats between the siblings.
Both brothers have enjoyed individual musical success and acclaim since Oasis split up, but always against the backdrop of calls from fans for the band to reunite and tour once again.
Oasis, one of the 1990s rock bands that defined Britpop who became responsible for a generation of haircuts, fashion and swagger, have remained hugely popular, with Spotify saying they still have 21 million monthly listeners.
News that they would play nights in Cardiff, Wales, next July, followed by nights in Manchester – where the band was formed in 1991 – London, Edinburgh and Dublin, prompted fans to fret online about whether they would be able to get tickets.
Cheap hotel rooms appeared to disappear from travel sites in places like Manchester, and the band’s website briefly crashed. Tickets go on sale on Saturday morning.
The concerts could also prompt a generational divide, with life-long Oasis fans vying for tickets with younger fans who only know a few songs.
“Imagine waiting 15 years for Oasis to reform only to lose out on tickets to Chloe, 21 from Stockport who just wants to hear Wonderwall live. #oasisreunion,” said one user on X, Billy Corcoran.
DON’T LOOK BACK IN ANGER
The Welsh government said concerts there would attract thousands of visitors to Cardiff, and provide a substantial economic boost to its hospitality, retail and transport businesses, bringing in millions of pounds.
“It’s great news that Oasis will be kickstarting their comeback in Cardiff,” a spokesperson said.
In Dublin, searches for hotels spiked within minutes of the announcement, Google data showed. Of 12 high-end Dublin hotels with rooms for the night of the first gig on Kayak.com, a third had doubled their prices from the previous week.
Whitbread, whose Premier Inn hotel chains are close to the British venues, is already seeing strong demand across all the planned dates and locations, it said.
“There’s no definitely ‘maybe’ about it, like music fans everywhere we’re mad for the news Oasis are to reunite and are expecting it to be one of our most popular events of all time,” the Whitbread spokesperson said.
A tour in 2025 will mark the 30th anniversary of Oasis’ second album “(What’s the Story) Morning Glory?”, which included the singles “Don’t Look Back in Anger” and “Wonderwall”.
The band is set to release its “Definitely Maybe – 30th Anniversary” album on Friday, according to their Spotify page.
UKHospitality’s Nicholls said the industry expects to see huge demand from fans, both from the UK and from abroad, and the tour “will no doubt deliver a multi-million-pound” boost to the British hospitality sector next year.
(Reporting by Yadarisa Shabong in Bengaluru, Conor Humphries in Dublin and Kate Holton in London)
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