The Live Effect: AEG Research Reveals How Live Entertainment Turns Attention into Action

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov 3, 2026--

AEG Global Partnerships, the sponsorship arm of global live sports and entertainment leader AEG, today launches The Live Effect 2026, a new international study demonstrating how live entertainment drives brand awareness, influences purchasing decisions and shapes consumer behaviour across four of the world's largest live entertainment markets.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20261102201463/en/

Building on the success of its inaugural UK study in 2025, the latest edition expands the research to the US, UK, France and Germany, drawing on responses from more than 12,000 live event attendees. The findings reveal a remarkably consistent picture across markets: consumers are highly engaged, emotionally invested and willing to spend both time and money on live experiences, creating significant opportunities for brands to build meaningful connections and drive commercial outcomes.

The research highlights the unique position live entertainment occupies in an increasingly fragmented media landscape. While audiences face constant competition for attention across digital channels, live experiences continue to command focus and generate lasting memories. Eighty per cent of attendees say the atmosphere of a live event can only be experienced in person, while 78% say live events create lasting memories. For brands, that translates into impact, with 58% saying sponsorships at live events are easier to notice than advertising elsewhere.

The study also demonstrates a clear link between live entertainment and consumer action. Nearly three-quarters (74%) of attendees have made a purchase decision after interacting with a brand at a live event, while 87% have taken some form of action following brand exposure. More than half (56%) say brands associated with live events are more likely to stay in their memory, while attendees are significantly more likely to trust, choose, recommend and remain loyal to brands connected with live experiences.

Beyond media effectiveness, the research highlights the significant economic impact of live entertainment beyond the ticket purchase itself. More than half of attendees' total spend occurs outside the cost of admission, spanning travel, food and drink, accommodation and merchandise. The findings reinforce the value consumers place on live experiences, with 77% saying their most recent live event was money well spent and 79% saying they would make the same purchase again. Together, these results highlight the enduring appeal of live experiences and the opportunities for brands to connect with fans at every stage of the wider fan journey.

Speaking on the research, Paul Samuels, President, Global Partnerships, AEG International said: "The Live Effect research reinforces what we've long known to be true: live entertainment offers something increasingly rare in today's fragmented media landscape - genuine attention, emotional connection and measurable action.

After the success of our inaugural report, we wanted to understand whether these behaviours extended beyond the UK. By expanding the research across the US, UK, France and Germany, we've found a remarkably consistent story. Audiences place enormous value on live experiences, creating powerful opportunities for brands to become part of moments people genuinely care about and remember.

Consumers aren't simply attending live events; they're investing in them. From travel and hospitality to food, drink and merchandise, fans are committing significant time, attention and discretionary spend to experiences they value. For marketers and sponsors, that's incredibly powerful. The brands that enhance these experiences are rewarded with stronger recall, greater affinity and a greater ability to influence consumer behaviour."

The Live Effect 2026 is based on responses from 12,098 adults who attended a live event in the previous 12 months. Participants across the US, UK, France and Germany were surveyed in August 2026.

The full report is available to download from AEG Global Partnerships.

Key Findings

About AEG Global Partnerships

AEG Global Partnerships oversees the worldwide sales and servicing of sponsorships for AEG’s entire portfolio of assets. Creating customised and innovative marketing programs for established and emerging brands, it has created some of the most iconic brand partnerships in the entertainment industry, including The O2 in London and Coachella Music Festival.

Overall, the division manages naming rights deals, premium seating and other strategic partnerships. Through its worldwide network of venues, portfolio of powerful sports and music brands and its integrated entertainment districts, AEG entertains more than 160 million guests annually. More information about AEG Global Partnerships can be found at www.aeggp.com.

About AEG International

AEG International creates communities, places and spaces that bring people together through live entertainment and sport, delivering memorable moments and giving the world reason to cheer. A subsidiary of AEG, the world’s leading sports and live entertainment company, its portfolio spans Europe and Asia Pacific and includes live entertainment venues, professional sports franchises, and large-scale arena district developments.

Across Europe and Asia, AEG International owns and operates a portfolio of premier venues, including The O2 in London; major German sites such as Hamburg’s Barclays Arena and Berlin’s Uber Arena, Uber Eats Music Hall and Uber Platz - home to Eisbären Berlin, the most successful club in the Deutsche Eishockey Liga; landmark Paris venues including Accor Arena, adidas Arena, and Bataclan; and leading Asian venues such as UOB Live in Bangkok, Mercedes-Benz Arena in Shanghai and IG Arena in Nagoya. Further arena developments are planned in Edinburgh, Osaka and Bangkok.

AEG International is part of AEG’s global network, alongside AEG Presents, a leading concert promoter and festival producer; AXS, a ticketing and technology platform; and AEG Global Partnerships, which connects brands with AEG’s global network of live entertainment and sports assets.

For more information visit www.aeg-international.com

Paul Samuels, President, Global Partnerships, AEG International.

The Live Effect 2026 finds that 74% of attendees made a purchase decision after interacting with a brand at a live event

The Live Effect 2026 highlights the value fans place on live experiences, with 79% saying they would make the same purchase again.

AEG Global Partnerships launches The Live Effect 2026, an international study examining how live entertainment drives brand awareness, purchasing decisions and consumer behavior.

BERLIN (AP) — Several flights across Europe received alleged bomb threats on Tuesday that ultimately turned out to be hoaxes but prompted searches, diversions and, in one case, an escort by the Italian Air Force until landing, officials said.

The impacted airlines included Polish airline LOT, Scandinavian Airlines, Wizz Air and Ryanair. The incidents came a day after a plane headed for Bulgaria was diverted to Hungary after receiving a similar bomb threat while in the air. No one was injured.

Matthew Borie of Osprey Flight Solutions, which advises airlines on flight threats, laid out several hypotheses for the as-yet unexplained incidents: A single threat triggers copycat incidents; an individual or a group makes multiple threats; or operations of “hybrid warfare” by state actors or their supporters.

Such threats were “not a new phenomenon” and come at a time of increased geopolitical tensions and signs of “disruption,” like attacks on supermarket refrigeration systems, drone incursions in Europe and mysterious triggers to alert apps — even as authorities have warned that hybrid threats abound.

The focus on Europe means "there could be a Russian angle," said Borie, the company's co-founder and chief intelligence officer. "We need to keep in mind, though, that Iranian hybrid warfare is just as active in certain pockets of Europe as well.”

His message for travelers? “Don't be alarmed,” he said, noting “coordinated response mechanisms” by national authorities — including, at times, the deployment of NATO fighter jets to escort such planes.

A Ryanair flight from Lisbon landed in Rome’s Fiumicino airport Tuesday morning after receipt of an email reporting a bomb was on board, according to information provided by a Fiumicino official with knowledge of the events.

Police bomb disposal experts carried out security checks of passengers, crew and baggage and found no explosives.

There was also a bomb threat reported on another Ryanair flight to Rome from Dublin, with no explosives found, the official said. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to speak publicly.

The Italian Air Force confirmed it scrambled two Air Force Eurofighters to “intercept and escort” a plane bound for Rome. It said it responded immediately “following a report of a suspected threat aboard a civilian aircraft flying from Dublin to Rome Fiumicino.”

In Poland, meanwhile, a morning flight by Polish airline LOT from London’s Heathrow Airport to Warsaw’s main Chopin Airport was diverted to nearby Modlin Airport after a bomb threat, Polish press agency PAP reported. Modlin Airport was closed temporarily.

LOT said “nothing was found on the aircraft” after a search of the jet at Modlin. Airport officials said normal airport operations had resumed. They did not give further details on the nature of the threats.

Chopin Airport also received information about a potentially dangerous item on board a Scandinavian Airlines, or SAS, flight inbound from Copenhagen, PAP reported. The airport's communications office told the news agency that standard safety procedures were immediately implemented, and one of the airport’s runways was closed.

“The passengers disembarked, the plane landed normally; it was not an emergency landing,” SAS spokesperson Alexandra Lindgren Kaoukji told PAP. She said the matter has been referred to the Polish police.

Spanish officials on Tuesday ruled out the presence of explosives on a Ryanair plane from Manchester that landed in southern Spain’s Murcia Airport following a bomb threat.

Passengers and crew went through a security check, and the aircraft was inspected, said Francisco Lucas, the Spanish government’s delegate in the Murcia region, on X. The flight had 121 people on board, including crew, he said.

Bulgarian authorities found no signs of explosives on two aircraft at the Sofia International Airport that had both received bomb threats Tuesday while en route, Bulgaria’s Minister of Transportation Georgi Peev said on Tuesday, according to state news agency BTA.

The two planes, originating in Bergamo, Italy, and Dublin, Ireland, were inspected by officers of the Specialized Counter-Terrorism Unit after landing in Sofia. Neither had been diverted due to the bomb threats.

Peev said that the initial information on the existence of one of the bomb threats “was based on a report from the pilot.”

“The pilot received information through his own channels — from the airline — that such a threat existed,” Peev said, adding that Bulgarian air traffic control then followed a protocol for such threats that landed the aircraft safely in Sofia.

The bomb threats came a day after a Wizz Air flight that departed Luton Airport near London was forced to divert to Hungary after a bomb threat received while the plane was in the air.

Hungarian Defense Minister Romulusz Ruszin-Szendi said in a Facebook post on Monday that a Gripen fighter jet from the Hungarian Air Force was scrambled to intercept the Wizz Air flight and escorted it safely to the Liszt Ferenc International Airport in Budapest.

Authorities found no threat aboard the aircraft after conducting an inspection of the plane and its passengers, Wizz Air told state news agency MTI.

On Tuesday, Bulgaria’s acting Interior Ministry Secretary General Lyubomir Nikolov told reporters that authorities were still trying to identify the sender of the threat.

Last month, a flight from Tel Aviv to Vienna made an emergency landing in Bulgaria following a bomb threat.

Greek authorities were investigating a bomb threat against a Panamanian-flagged, Israeli-run cruise ship in the port of the Aegean island of Syros.

No suspicious objects were found in Tuesday's initial search of the cruise ship, the Crown Iris, by coast guard officers with a sniffer dog and a diver, and a specialist diving unit was on its way to conduct further checks, the coast guard said.

The ship, which had been scheduled to sail for Haifa in Israel with 940 passengers and 597 crew on board, was being evacuated as a precaution, the coast guard added.

The presence of the Crown Iris in Greek ports has triggered protests in the past, mainly from activists opposing the war in Gaza.

__

Biller reported from Rome. Associated Press journalists Elena Becatoros in Athens, Suman Naishadham in Madrid, Jamey Keaten in Geneva and Justin Spike in Budapest, Hungary, contributed to this report.

FILE - In this Friday, April 26, 2019 file photo, SAS planes are grounded at Oslo Gardermoen airport during pilots strikes, in Oslo, Norway. (Ole Berg-Rusten/NTB Scanpix via AP, File)