Backstreet Boys effect: how much did Astana earn from the band’s concert

Tengrinews.kz – On September 21, the legendary group Backstreet Boys performed at the “Astana Arena” stadium. A Tengrinews.kz correspondent investigated how much the city earned from the event.

No government funding

Astana’s city administration stated that no budgetary funds were allocated for the Backstreet Boys concert.

Who came to Astana for the concert

According to the event organizers (Astana Concert, a private company), the show attracted 12,000 tourists from 45 countries, including Germany, Poland, France, Turkey, Finland, Lithuania, Estonia, Czech Republic, Serbia, Greece, Azerbaijan, Russia, and Uzbekistan.

Among the audience were well-known Russian celebrities like comedian Mikhail Galustyan, actor and entertainer Alexander Revva, and others.

Economic impact in tenge

Based on Mastercard data (tourists spend an average of $230 per day in Astana on accommodation, food, transport, and shopping, and stay about 3 days), the estimated economic effect of the Backstreet Boys concert is around 7.8 billion tenge.

This estimate does not include ticket prices, air/train fares. Ticket prices started at 40,000 tenge.

Tengrinews.kz has reached out to the organizers for official revenue figures.

What locals say

Fans began gathering five hours before the show. Unlike the Jennifer Lopez concert on August 1, this time there were no long queues.

Some fans traveled from Africa. By request of the band, many attendees dressed in white, and most of the flower bouquets given to the group were also white.

In the front rows, fans held colorful posters: "Tell me why?", "I love Backstreet Boys", "With love from Kazakhstan", "Kevin!", "Nicky, I wanna hug you".

People flooded social media with praise, especially noting smooth organization.

Photo: Tengrinews.kz

The concert started with a 1.5-hour delay. While waiting, the audience was entertained by Kazakh band Domino and Batyrkhan Malikov (Alem) from Ninety One.

Photo: Tengrinews.kz

The show kicked off with “Larger Than Life” and a series of major hits that thrilled long-time fans.

During the show, Brian Littrell thanked the audience, saying that because of loyal fans, Backstreet Boys still had work. He ended with several heartfelt “Rakhmet” (thank you in Kazakh).

The concert ended with a drone show — hundreds of drones lit up the night sky over Astana with stunning light formations.

A video from after the concert went viral: a bus driver played a BSB song, and the passengers started singing and dancing together.