Peter Aiken: Shows will be 'cancelled left right and centre' due to oil prices increasing
Peter Aiken highlighted his concerns that increased travel costs and flight cancellations will have a knock-on effect on the entertainment industry within the year. Picture: Chani Anderson
Music promoter Peter Aiken has warned that increased oil prices due to the war on Iran could see some international stars cancel Irish concerts.
Speaking at a media event to mark the beginning of the summer concert season in Cork, which will see Live at the Marquee return for its 21st year and country music star Zach Bryan perform two nights at Páirc Uí Chaoimh, Aiken highlighted his concerns that increased travel costs and flight cancellations will have a knock-on effect on the entertainment industry within the year.
“When you see Lufthansa cancelling 20,000 flights, Aer Lingus cancelling 500, it's going to trickle down to the concert industry eventually,” he said. “I’d say you’ll see shows being cancelled left right and centre. [This year’s Live at the Marquee gigs] are all locked in. But if this goes on, it's going to affect everybody.
“Unless things improve over the next month, I think you will see major tours cancelling worldwide, not just Ireland. It will just cost too much money to go on the road. People are worried sick with all this.”
He said they are taking measures to safeguard an energy supply to ensure the sold-out All Together Now festival over the August bank holiday weekend goes smoothly.
“For All Together now, we’re going to try to get the fuel now because we’re doing a festival in the middle of Waterford and it’s got no electricity. Everything is powered on generators and fuel — everything.”
He said he is extremely anxious about the state of world politics and its impact on everyday life.
“I lived in Belfast during the Troubles, I don't think I was as anxious then as I am now.”
On the latest round of the Cork event centre saga, with three sites currently being spoken about for the venue, Aiken said it is disappointing that it has gone on so long for the much-needed venue to be built.
“This my 21st year doing the Marquee, and I spent 21 years talking about an event centre,” he said.
“It’s so disappointing. We would be held so accountable if I said we’re going to put on Zach Bryan and then not do it. But they can go and turn the soil and say ‘we’re going to build an event centre’ and then nothing happens.
“In the private world you’re held accountable for these types of things but these people can do that. It’s wrong. There should be event centres the length and breadth of Ireland — and they would work.
“The people who built Cork Opera House had vision to build it, but you need that vision now and build an arena. The only person who's built anything in the past 50 years has been Harry Crosbie. Nobody else has built anything, but they've talked about building it. It takes a maverick. You need to get people who say, ‘You know what? It’s going to cost a lot, but we're going to build it.’
“People always talk about the economic benefit of concerts, I’m sick, sore and tired of hearing that. What about the goodness benefit? What about what makes people feel good? What about all the families that enjoy it? Music means more than maybe politicians or people realise.”
Aiken added he believes an event centre near Páirc Uí Chaoimh “would be perfect”. The GAA stadium will host country music star Zach Bryan on June 20 and 21 and Aiken describes the singer as the next Bruce Springsteen.
“There's nobody else writing songs like him at the moment, actually talking about what's going on. People are so afraid of upsetting people. Bruce is doing it, but he's 76,” he said.
He said Bryan is very interested in learning about Ireland too, from music to politics.
“He's as normal as he can be. He's a good guy. We have quite a bit of interaction with him and he keeps his own counsel, but he wants to know everything about Ireland, everything, where it came from, how it happened. I just said, ‘Well, we blame it all on the Brits’,” he laughed.
Extra tickets for Zach Bryan’s concerts in Cork will be released for sale on Monday, April 27 at 10am from Ticketmaster.ie. Live at the Marquee 2026 begins on June 10 with K-Pop Forever! Tribute and the series of gigs will run until July 8, with acts such as David Gray, Paul Weller, Kesha and James Taylor taking to the stage over the summer.
