Guwahati: Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Wednesday announced a strategic push into India’s booming concert economy, unveiling a new policy aimed at transforming the state into a premier live music destination.
The move follows Gujarat’s massive ₹641 crore windfall from Coldplay’s Ahmedabad shows and sets Assam on a path of “healthy competition” with neighbouring Meghalaya, which has rapidly emerged as an entertainment hotspot.
Speaking at the Lachit Barphukan Police Academy in Dergaon, Golaghat, Sarma revealed that Dibrugarh, Jorhat, and Guwahati will be designated concert hubs under the new initiative. These cities, he said, will be marketed to event organisers as viable venues for hosting large-scale performances, tapping into the growing appetite for live entertainment across the Northeast.
“Assam aims to engage in healthy competition with Meghalaya in hosting upcoming major concerts,” Sarma told reporters, acknowledging the recent rise of Shillong as a national music magnet. He cited the success of Ed Sheeran’s tour stop in the Meghalaya capital and a 65-fold increase in live event consumption there over the past year.
The announcement comes as India’s concert economy reached over ₹12,000 crore in 2024 and is expected to grow at 19% annually. Beyond ticket sales, the industry has proven to generate cascading benefits for local economies — with data showing every ₹100 spent on a concert ticket results in an additional ₹585 in ancillary spending on food, accommodation, and transport. The Coldplay shows alone created around 15,000 jobs, including 9,000 for local workers.
While specifics remain confidential, officials hinted that Assam will host a major December concert modeled after Ahmedabad’s successful Coldplay blueprint, which attracted over 222,000 fans from more than 500 cities. The goal is to position Assam as not just a participant but a frontrunner in India’s rapidly expanding concert economy, supported by infrastructure development, regulatory clarity, and regional branding.
The Chief Minister’s announcement marks a significant cultural and economic pivot for the state, aligning it with national trends and positioning it to capitalise on the entertainment industry’s exponential growth.
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