Event industry trends and predictions for 2025: Predictions, insights & data from Ticket Tailor

From Gen AI’s impact on event discovery to Gen Z’s hunger for experiences – 2025 is already shaping up to be an interesting year for the events industry. Things are looking, on the whole, bright for event creators (we’ve got the stats on optimism levels). And it’s not hard to see why, when the aforementioned hunger for experiences is helping the live events industry to thrive. 

In a world of mind-boggling marketing jargon, small-and-medium events are keeping it simple with one particularly effective promo tactic. And, despite being worried about rising costs, a significant proportion of event organisers plan to keep their ticket prices the same. Read on for our full take on event industry trends 2025. 

👀Compare this year’s round-up with our 2024 event industry trends article to see how things have shifted over the past year. 

💫 Event creators are feeling optimistic 

Our 2024 end-of-year survey reveals that almost two thirds event creators (62%) are feeling confident about the year ahead. And around a third say they expect the coming year to be similar to last year. 

It’s amazing to see such positivity among event creators – a clear sign that the industry is well and truly bouncing back after some incredibly turbulent times. Those who feel the coming year looks bright may have Gen Z and Millennials to thank, who’s enthusiasm for experiences over things shows no sign of fizzling out. (More on this below.)

It’s worth noting that 7.5% of respondents feel they could or definitely will have a worse year than last year, though. Our hearts go out to you guys, we know the peaks and troughs of event planning can be tough. 

📈 Ticket prices – what’s the outlook?

Just under a third of event organisers (31%) plan on increasing their ticket prices by 1-10% in the coming year. And a small proportion (4.3%) of event organisers plan to increase their ticket prices much more considerably, by over 25%.

On the flipside, almost half of event organisers (40%) say their ticket prices will stay the same. We’re sure ticket-buyers will be pleased about the overall ticket-price outlook for 2025, then, which feels kinder than a lot of other areas of expenditure right now.

💸 Challenges will include rising costs and audience growth 

24% of event creators are concerned about rising costs in 2025 – a significant drop from 2023’s 69%. It’s a healthy reduction, although it’s not really surprising that around a quarter are still worried about expenditure; inflation has fallen but, naturally, we’re all still reeling from the fact it hit 10% in the not-so-distant past. 

While 15% of event creators are worried about marketing spend, and 13% are worried about cash flow, not all challenges for the coming year are directly related to finance. In fact, just over a quarter of event creators (27%) are worried about growing their audience. 10% are concerned about finding a venue, and 6% are worried about hiring staff. 

🙏 Giving back shows no sign of slowing down

Event creators are raising more money than ever through our donations feature. In 2024, we were inspired to see a huge £4.2m collected for charity through our platform – a 29.5% increase from the previous year. 

We predict that we’ll continue to see steady growth in this respect across 2025. Not only is it apparent that more and more event creators are committed to doing good, this recent YouGov consumer survey shows consumers genuinely care about giving back too. For example, almost half of consumers are more likely to buy from a brand that gives a cut to charity. Interestingly, it’s younger generations (aged 18-24) that are more likely to purchase from brands that give to charity than their older counterparts. 

🍁 Seasonal and cultural events to remain steadfast

October was our strongest month for ticket sales in 2024 – again! When the summer season is officially over, we generally always see a big spike in activity on our platform, demonstrating the steadfast popularity of cultural, religious, and seasonal events. Think: Bonfire Night, Halloween and, of course, the run up to Christmas. We predict 2025 will be no different – event creators will jump on the festive bandwagon once more, in creating a whole host of creative, fun, and interesting events for the autumn/winter season. Ticket Tailor’s Head of Marketing, Olivia Parker, says:

“Our data shows that October consistently tops the charts for ticket sales — time and again — proving how keen we all are on cultural, religious, and seasonal events. From Bonfire Night and Halloween to the run-up to Christmas, consumers show an insatiable appetite for festive experiences. 

For event creators, the best way to stand out in this busy season is by offering memorable, immersive experiences — whether it’s handing out themed freebies (like branded t-shirts that double as walking billboards), serving up signature treats like pumpkin spice lattes and eggnog, or even setting up a cosy fire with marshmallows. 

Don’t forget engaging brand touch points like photo opportunities and free face-painting for the little ones, too. Looking ahead, 2025 is shaping up to follow suit, making early preparation essential for harnessing the autumn and winter buzz. While events may peak in autumn, the savviest organisers know success really begins months earlier!”

👀 Trending marketing tactics for small and medium events

We’re lucky enough that we get to regularly interview the amazing event creators that use our platform. Over the past year, we’ve noticed two marketing tactics in particular get mentioned time and time again.

First up, word-of-mouth – a tool many of our interviewees highlight as being invaluable when it comes to attracting an audience for their events. “Engaging with our community and leveraging word-of-mouth recommendations are [...] key components of our marketing strategy,” says John Swasey, Chairman of Anime Dallas – a thriving, Texas-based fan convention.

Julien Clancy, Founder of The Dublin Story Slam, describes how, “Word of mouth is our biggest marketing tool to date. People come to a show and then come again but they bring their best friend, date, parents or even grandparents to a show – I really love that about our audience.” 

And Gong Practitioner, Martyn Cawthorne, says, “Honestly, I think word of mouth has been the best promo for me,” when talking about marketing his sessions. 

In a world of endless marketing tools and integrations, it can be the simplest things that have the biggest impact when it comes to growing an event audience; a trend we predict will continue to thrive in 2025. 

👀 Tip: Read our article to learn how to get the word-of-mouth marketing machine working for your event >

Another marketing tactic that (unsurprisingly) gets mentioned again and again is social media. “I’ve been extremely grateful over the years for the likes of Facebook Events, Instagram, Meetup and YouTube,” Martyn Crawthorne says. And Averil Huck of Prague Feminist Tours tells us: “So far, I’ve relied heavily on social media, mostly Instagram, to promote my tours and reach new audiences. When asking tour participants how they found my project, Instagram is usually the top answer.”

And the stats are out there to back all of this up. This recent consumer behaviour report highlights that 53% of Gen Z consumers bought new products through social media in 2024, up from 46% in 2023. And that 45% of Millennials purchased from new brands via social media in 2024, up from 35% in the previous year.

Tip: Our blog is full of useful social media marketing guides for event creators. Here are a few that might be worth checking out:

• How to engage attendees on social media before an event
• Using TikTok to promote events – your handy intro guide
• How to get the most out of video marketing as an event creator

💥 Let’s call it a live events boom – especially among younger generations

Consumers increasingly seek to spend money on experiences over things – a trend picked up on several major publications in 2024. One Forbes article claims, for example, that travel and live events will drive experience-economy growth in 2025. “Modern consumers — especially Gen Z and younger millennials,” the author writes, “are collecting memories through unique adventures and events, finding fulfillment in moments that matter.”

A 2023 survey by Experian revealed that almost 60% of millennials would choose to spend money on an experience or event rather than buying something desirable. 

The takeaway? Gen Z’ers and Millennials are driving the live events industry forward, because they want to make memories, rather than accrue possessions. One article on recent Millennial buying habits muses that, unlike their Boomer and Gen X parents, many young adults have entered working life with far less buying power when it comes to things like owning a home or a nice car. Hence, they’ve been forced to focus on spending the money they do have on experiences that will create lifelong memories.

🌍 Environmentally conscious event organisers stand to gain

Sustainability was (thankfully) never a trend that was just going to go away. Maybe we shouldn’t call it a trend as such, then – but it’d be remiss not to mention the fact that the environment is very much on the minds of consumers as we roll into 2025. 

Sustainability is a critical factor in purchasing decisions for 64% of consumers, in fact. And 62% of consumers support brands who actively try to combat food waste. 

This definitely provides food for thought (sorry) for event creators, who may think about seeking out new opportunities for reducing food waste and enhancing their sustainability practices. Not only because it’s a great thing to do for the planet, but because it will make their events more appealing to what is a very sizable environmentally-conscious audience. 

🤖 Gen AI will continue to transform event discovery

Nearly half (46%) of consumers say they’re enthusiastic about the impact of Gen AI on their online shopping. And 58% say they’ve replaced search engines by Gen AI tools for product recommendations. So, what does all this mean for event creators? 

It means we’re entering a whole new era of discoverability. One where we’re moving away from traditional search engine usage to a much more personalised, targeted way of finding suitable events. For example, instead of tapping into Google a phrase such as, “Rock music events in Leeds”, an event-goer might ask a tool like ChatGPT to “Recommend rock music events in Leeds with a ticket price of £30 or less”. 

Three-quarters of consumers are open to Gen AI recommendations, compared with 63% last year – demonstrating that this new way of searching is likely to grow more and more popular in coming years. 

As an event creator, it’s well worth looking into this tech now. Specifically, how to ensure you’re optimising your website and online content in a way that makes it more favourable to Gen AI discovery tools. 

⚡A ticketing platform that can help supercharge your 2025 strategy

That’s a wrap on our 2025 event industry trends round-up! 

Looking for a new ticketing partner in 2025? Here are just a few reasons why Ticket Tailor could be a great option for the coming year 😌:

• We’ll help you tackle rising prices with the lowest ticketing fees around. 
• We’re a B Corp – which means we genuinely care about both people and the planet, about giving back, and about balancing profit with purpose. And we’re held to account on this.
• Our platform is packed full of useful marketing tools and integrations, helping you stay on top of the latest promotional trends.

🎟️ Set up your free Ticket Tailor account to get started >