With superstars and bands announcing big international tours, there’s been a surge in interest to travel for shows in 2024. Here are some of our top picks for gig tripping this year...
July | Coldplay take over Rome’s Stadio Olimpico
Following their widely publicised UK tour in 2023, Chris Martin and co are storming through Europe in 2024 as their ‘Music Of The Spheres’ World Tour enters its next phase. Coldplay will be returning to Rome for the first time since 2003 at the Stadio Olimpico, performing on 12, 13, 15 and 16 July. Coldplay are set to tour the continent on the back of the upcoming album ‘Moon Music’ – which is slated for release in early 2024 as a sequel to the 2021 LP ‘Music of the Spheres’.
Where to stay:
Hotel Hassler Roma is the only hotel in Rome located at the very top of the Spanish Steps. Holding a Michelin star for the gastronomic masterpieces from Imàgo restaurant with its stunning views, this sophisticated hotel is a fantastic place to explore the eternal city.
Portrait Roma transforms uniform luxury into spontaneous personalisation. Located minutes away from the city’s renowned Spanish Steps, the hotel boasts 14 studios and suites featuring images of Rome during the 1950’s by the great Magnum photographers, along with drawings, sketches and original Salvatore Ferragamo shoes designed for great actresses.
Donna Camilla Savelli is a gorgeous luxury hotel situated at the foot of the Gianicolo Hills in the more intimate corner of Trastevere, the lively heart of Rome. The hotel is undergoing a major renovation offering beautifully updated designs which will be ready this spring.
July | Taylor Swift and Paramore team up at San Siro Stadium, Milan
Taylor Swift’s US Eras Tour was on everybody’s social media feed last summer. This year, Taylor Swift will be crossing the Atlantic for the UK and European leg of the tour and will be having the famed pop-rock band Paramore open for her on every show. Taylor will perform in Italy for the first time since 2011, performing just two nights at San Siro Stadium in Milan on 13 and 14 July. This will no doubt be one of the most highly anticipated concerts in Italy this year, hosted in one of the largest stadiums in Europe.
Where to stay:
Portrait Milano is one of Milan’s hottest and most exciting new hotels. Portrait Milano celebrates the city by recognising two of its special vocations: design and fashion. Thanks to a careful renovation project by the Ferragamo-owned Lungarno Collection, the hotel echoes the design, style and ethos of the creative genius of Salvatore Ferragamo. New to 2024, Portrait Milano’s spa will open its Longevity Suite.
August | Sting Returns to Forte Arena, Forte Village, Sardinia
After the great success of 2018, Sting returns to Forte Arena on Saturday 3 August. The artist and winner of 17 Grammy Awards will perform in Forte Village’s ‘theatre under the stars’ of Santa Margherita di Pula in an exuberant and dynamic performance, proposing his most beloved hits that run through his illustrious career both as a member of the Police and as solo artist against the beautiful backdrop of the pristine Sardinian white coastline. Located on the southern Sardinian coast just 40 minutes from Cagliari Airport, the open-air arena can hold up to 5,000 spectators and is located just steps from the award-winning Forte Village Resort.
Where to stay:
Forte Village is a family paradise located on the sunny southern coast of Sardinia. The resort is widely regarded as a sport resort with an impressive variety of facilities and academies on offer. New for 2024, guests can receive professional training from experts to potentially ignite a new-found passion for pickleball – their newest edition to the extensive academy programmes including fencing, boxing, hockey, football, rugby, rowing and many more
November | The Verbier Festival plus Classical and Jazz programmes at Schloss Elmau
Schloss Elmau is a spa retreat and cultural hideaway, tucked away in the calm of the Bavarian Alps just 100km south of Munich and 1,000m above sea level. Located in a 900-acre valley, it plays host in its magnificent concert hall to many of the world’s greatest living musicians and singers. Showcasing the same calibre of artists as Wigmore Hall in London, Schloss Elmau’s concert hall was built in the same period and with the same magnificent acoustics. Indeed, musicians choose to play at both venues along with Carnegie Hall and are not paid to play there, but instead receive a stay at Schloss Elmau in return.
Schloss Elmau offers an unrivalled programme of classical music and jazz to its guests throughout the year. During the 1950s Schloss Elmau, with the support of the legendary Amadeus Quartet, Jewish artists and conductor Hans Oppenheim, became an internationally acclaimed centre for Chamber Music. This tradition continues today, with more than 200 concerts a year with the ticket price included in the room rate.
One of the most highly anticipated festivals to take place at Schloss Elmau is the annual Verbier Festival, which will celebrate its 15th anniversary this year. The Verbier Festival is one of the world’s most renowned festivals and academies where great musicians and music directors perform each year; it is where Lang Lang, Netrebko, Kissin, Yuja Wang and Daniil Trifonov started their careers. Each year, Schloss Elmau hosts the winter edition and presents the young rising stars on the cusp of their professional careers in fifteen solo, chamber and orchestral concerts under the direction of Gábor Takács-Nagy, Music Director of the Verbier Festival Chamber Orchestra. Artists performing during the 15th Festival, a ‘conservatoire’ of the world’s new generation of musicians include: Elisabeth Leonskaja, Alexander Malofeev, Tsotne Zedginidze, Martin Fröst, Boris Brovtsyn, Yamen Saadi, Marc Bouchkov and Timothy Ridout.
