Superstruct Entertainment is a British live entertainment company and one of the world's largest festival promoters. As of March 2023, the company had acquired over 85 festivals in Australia and Europe, making it the second-largest festival promoter in the world.
History
The company was founded in 2017 by James Barton, the founder of
Creamfields and former
Live Nation
Live Nation Entertainment, Inc. is an American multinational Entertainment industry, entertainment company that was founded in 2010 following the Mergers and acquisitions, merger of Live Nation (events promoter), Live Nation and Ticketmaster. It ...
executive
Executive ( exe., exec., execu.) may refer to:
Role or title
* Executive, a senior management role in an organization
** Chief executive officer (CEO), one of the highest-ranking corporate officers (executives) or administrators
** Executive dir ...
, and Roderik Schlosser of private equity firm
Providence Equity Partners, which provided seed funding.
In January 2017 Superstruct bought 70% of
Sziget Festival
Sziget Festival (, ) is one of the largest music and cultural festivals in Europe. It is held every August in northern Budapest, Hungary, on Óbudai-sziget ("Old Buda Island"), a leafy 108-hectare (266-acre) island on the Danube. More than 1,0 ...
in Budapest, and the following month invested in Spanish electronic music promotions company
Elrow.
In June 2018 Providence Equity Partners acquired a majority stake in Spanish festival
Sónar.
In August 2018 Superstruct invested in
Øyafestivalen
Øyafestivalen is an annual Norwegian music festival held in the Tøyen Park, Oslo. It has grown quickly since its modest start in 1999 and has become one of Norway's biggest and most important music festivals.
The festival has previously fe ...
in Norway.
In April 2019, the company acquired Victorious Festival, South West Four, Kendal Calling, Truck, Tramlines, Boardmasters, and Hideout festival from Global.
In July 2019 it acquired Next Events, the promoter of Germany's largest electronic music festival,
Parookaville.
In August 2019 they acquired International Concert Service, the owners of
Wacken Open Air
Wacken Open Air (, abbreviated as W:O:A) is a Heavy metal music, heavy metal music festival, held annually since 1990 on the first weekend of August in the village of Wacken, Schleswig-Holstein, Wacken in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. Almost all ...
.
In 2021 Superstruct bought Dutch event promoters
ID&T from LiveStyle.
In June 2023 Superstruct bought majority stakes in
Mighty Hoopla,
Cross the Tracks, and
Snowbombing
Snowbombing is a ski resort festival, held annually in the spring at the Austrian ski resort of Mayrhofen.
History
The event has been run since 2000 when it was first held at the French resort of Risoul as an après-ski nightclub promotional ex ...
.
In June 2024, the company was acquired from
Providence Equity Partners by
KKR for €1.3bn.
In January 2025, it acquired
Boiler Room from
DICE
A die (: dice, sometimes also used as ) is a small, throwable object with marked sides that can rest in multiple positions. Dice are used for generating random values, commonly as part of tabletop games, including dice games, board games, ro ...
for an undisclosed sum.
. In April 2025, former Channel 4 chief
Alex Mahon was named as the new chief executive of the company.
Boycotts
Following the acquisition by KKR, there have been boycotts and backlash by artists, due to its stakes in
weapons manufacturing companies, the
Coastal GasLink pipeline, and Israeli corporations operating in
occupied Palestinian territories
The occupied Palestinian territories, also referred to as the Palestinian territories, consist of the West Bank (including East Jerusalem) and the Gaza Strip—two regions of the former British Mandate for Palestine that have been occupi ...
. As of May 2025, fifteen artists had dropped out of the 2025 edition of
Field Day
Field day may refer to:
* For the armed forces use and its derivatives, see wiktionary:field day
* Field day (agriculture), a trade show
* Field Day (amateur radio), an annual amateur radio exercise
* Field Day (band), a Canadian pop-punk band fro ...
due to Superstruct's ownership by private equity firm KKR.
The same month
Mighty Hoopla issued a statement saying that it stands in opposition of the "unethical investments" of KKR.
Current properties
References
{{reflist
British companies established in 2017
Electronic music event management companies
Entertainment companies established in 2017
Festival organizations
Music festival organizations