The Belgian Competition Authority (BCA) has opened an investigation into Live Nation’s acquisition of the Pukkelpop music festival, following instructions from the Minister for Economic Affairs.
Live Nation is a global leader in live entertainment, active in Belgium across the entire value chain for organizing large-scale music events. The company also operates as a global artist management firm. In Belgium, Live Nation provides artist booking services, organizes major festivals—including Rock Werchter, Dour, and Graspop—manages several large concert venues such as AFAS Dome, Trixxo Arena, Forest National, Lotto Arena, and Capitole Gent, and runs the Ticketmaster ticketing platform.
Pukkelpop, held annually in August in Kiewit (Hasselt, Flanders), is one of Belgium’s largest music festivals, attracting around 250,000 visitors. The BCA’s investigation will examine the potential effects of the takeover on competition in the organization of music festivals in Belgium, as well as on the broader live entertainment sector, given Live Nation’s growing integration across related markets.
The investigation will be conducted independently by the BCA’s Prosecution and Investigation Service under Belgian and EU competition law. It will focus on potential infringements of the rules prohibiting anti-competitive agreements and abuses of dominant positions, as set out in Articles IV.1 and IV.2 of the Belgian Code of Economic Law and Articles 101 and 102 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. The inquiry follows the principles established by the Towercast case law of the Court of Justice of the European Union, which clarified the application of abuse of dominance rules to certain concentrations.
The opening of the investigation does not prejudge its outcome. Live Nation will be fully involved in the proceedings.